How Old Should Girls Wearing Makeup?
“Makeup often represents an adolescent girl’s eagerness and excitement to become a ‘grown up,’ and explore her attractiveness to peers, but for parents, it can bring up fear and stress relating to their child maturing and becoming interested in boys,” says Julie Hanks, a psychotherapist specializing in family relationships. “It may also represent a daughter pulling away from her parents to focus more on peers, which may feel scary for some parents.”
How old should your daughter be when she starts wearing makeup? It depends on why she’s wearing it. Some girls love watching YouTube videos on make-up application and are interested in make up as an art form. They think it’s fun, mature, creative, and challenging. If make up is something they enjoy doing for hours in their room—let them practice and have fun! Encourage them to take pictures of themselves or have them explain to you how they created different looks.
If your daughter wants to wear make up out to school, the conversation warrants some further investigation. Glamour magazine reports that “more girls than ever are starting to wear make-up from the age of 11 – three years younger than it was a decade ago.” Many parents aren’t comfortable with their daughters heading off to elementary school wearing eye shadow. Parents.com has good insight into the issue: “Go ahead and tell your daughter that you understand and appreciate her interest in makeup and dress-up, and that when she’s at home she can experiment with outrageous outfits and exotic makeup all she wants. But outside the home — school, social events, and extracurricular activities — you cannot allow her to wear lipstick or makeup.” Mothers and daughters can dress up for special dinners with Dad, to take photos together, and other special family events. Along with ear piercing, bikinis, and other modes of mature dressing, every family and culture is different, so just make sure to have open conversations where both parent and child are heard and understood. Above everything else, make sure that the relationship is prioritized over the ‘issue’ and try to join your daughter in her interest rather than trying to control it from the outside.