When to get your 'tween her first bikini wax

http://www.phillymag.com/articles/pretty_babi es/page1

So.... I was wondering when people get their daughters their first bikini waxes? Eyebrow shaping waxes? Facial treatments? Botox? Boob Job? ManiPedi? Blow out?

 

 No one?

OH, for me, when I have kids, I want them to look like proper whores by 7.

-end sarcasm-

:\ Parents are ridiculously stupid these days :P

heh. I wasn't allowed to wear make up until I was 16. I wasn't allowed to wear jeans to school until then either. But that was 'back in my day'...there were also a lot fewer hair care products, thus the awful fuzzy hair of the 70's :D

A bikini wax at 8?  Um...exactly what is there to wax?  Ok, maybe she's a very early developer, but um...no!

I'm so thankful my DD was a tomboy until about 13-14 and even once that began to fade, make-up was not a big deal to her at all until she hit about 15-16.  I never had to fobid or rfght with her on it.  She did it in her own time, which was not adverse to my time so yay for that!

Now...if we go into tatoos and piercings, there we had some issues! 

I was allowed to wear lip gloss in middle school and make up in high school. I wasn't allowed to shave my legs until I was probably 14 though, and was so mad at my Mom for not letting me until then.

I guess it's all about being self-absorbed these days.... we're heading closer and closer to a hybrid of 1984 and Brave New World.

My daughter is 13.  Here’s my take on things.  First bikini wax? 18 because no one else should be interested in those regions until then.  Eyebrow shaping?  She does that a bit now, but mostly with tweezing.  Eyebrow wax? Maybe when she’s 14 or so.  Facial treatments, ManiPedi, & Blow out?  I will not spend my hard earned money at a salon for a 13 yold, but I do all 3 of those things along with massages for her at home myself.  Botox?  Since wrinklage doesn’t run in our family, I’m assuming she won’t need that until she’s at least 45.  Boob Job?  The way she looks at 13, I’m assuming that she won’t need one, but if she did, I would say 21 and do with her own money. 

My daughter's current age: 16
Age when I let her pierce her ears: 12
Age when I let her shave her legs: 14
Age when I let her get dreadlocks: 14
Age when I let her wear makeup: 15, but she only wears lip gloss, her choice
Age when I took her to a spa for mother-daughter pedicures: 15
Age when she gets a bikini wax: I don't want to know about it unless there are complications and she wants my medical advice in which case I will probably refer her to planned parenthood
Age when she gets a tattoo: whatever the legal age is and it won't be on my dime
Age when she gets a breast reduction: totally up to her

Whatever... she is the most beautiful soul in my world.

When I got my first period my mom showed me all about keeping the happy places trimmed, shaving ankles and armpits (which I find ironic 'cause she shaves once a year, or when she has a doctors appointment, whichever comes first), wearing deodorant, and all that fun girly stuff.  She never encouraged me to shave, only keep things trimmed, but that was a personal decision I made around fourteen.  I didn't like the feeling of a bush.

I didn't learn a damned thing about makeup until I was closer to seventeen.  My mom doesn't wear it.  My mom knows nothing about it.  I learned everything I know, about applying makeup, eyebrow tweezing and waxing, skin care, hair care and such, from an internet forum.

I'm hoping to all hell I'll have a girl when it comes time for children (sister has two boys, scared of baby penises).  I'll teach her the ins and outs like my mom did for me.  When she gets her first period, unless down there starts creeping out the sides of her panties, I'll teach her all about feminine grooming.  If she wants to go the waxing route, she can wait until she's sixteen, or proves she's mature enough and won't go prancing around in her thong in front of all her little friends saying, "LOOK WHAT MOMMY BOUGHT ME!" and points down. 

Kids are trying to grow up so fast these days.  Everyone I knew was wearing makeup (poorly) by the age of twelve, had bras that were heavily padded when nothing else on them really was, wore clothes that gave them curves they had not yet developed, and were bragging about their boyfriends and sex. 

I can't really 100% make decisions now.  Alex and I have discussed these things idly.  I see nothing wrong with piercings at a young age.  Tattoos when they do one hell of a job of convincing me they're not going to be ashamed of it after a month.  I'm throwing out the ideas that we have talked about.

Remind me to find this thread in 2026, when my kid is around thirteen.

I starting wearing mascara and blush at 14.  Nothing else until 16.  I was allowed to shave my  legs when I turned 13 but, my god, if you had seen my legs you would have wondered why I had to wait so long! 

I have 3 daughters (16, 14, & 6).  The oldest wears make-up and shaves her legs.  She does not do her eyebrows simply because she doesn't like the pain.  The middle one wears mascarra and shaves her legs.  She isn't into make-up because she says if feels gross on her face when she runs (she's on track).  My youngest is allowed to wear chapstick and as a special treat, she can have her nails done in clear or a very very light pink.  The only exception is for recitals when she is required to wear make-up on stage. 

The thought of any of my girls getting a bikini wax is just insane!  These women need to have parenting lessons at a minimum!

It depends....I have a 15 year old who started to shave at 9.  Yes, 9 because her Dad is Italian and very, very dark and she inherited that along with excess hair.  Her legs were hairy and it embarassed her, so I let her do it to feel better about herself.  I guess she was about 12 when she started to pluck her eyebrows, and had them waxed initially at about 13.  She was going through puberty and was starting to sport a unibrow.  Sometimes age is not a factor, but looking good and feeling good about yourself is!  I had a friend whose daughter was in the first grade and her legs were so dark and hairy (and they really were, poor thing) that I convinced her to let her shave.  The poor little thing was getting teased!  You do what you have to do!

Edited to add:  No deal on the bikini wax.  I had my first one last year at nearly 38.  She can shave like the rest of us.

Seriously I was thinking of letting my 8 year old shave her legs. She is getting teased so much she won't wear shorts anymore. Poor girl. I hate to tell her though, but what she really needs is an eyebrow plucking. As far a bikini wax COME on what is there to wax. (And mine still bathes in front of me so I know there isn't anything!)

Mint, you should really give it some thought.  Her self confidence will improve immensely!  I was at the hairdressers the other day and in walked an 11 (or so) year old girl with the messiest, thickest eyebrows I had ever seen.  She got a wax, and would not stop peering at herself in the mirror.  Finally, she said "Wow, now I look like all the other girls..."  I almost cried, really.  If it is something that is easily fixable, then I say go for it.  She will feel so much better about herself.

The article wasn't just about your standard run of the mill girls with bushy eyebrows. The article was about high scale spas and girls that get full body waxes and bikini waxes at age 8 and that get upset if they don't get their weekly blow out / mani / pedi.

Sorry for the diversion...just read first page of the article, where i had enough.  What a bunch of spoiled little freaks.

My mother actually let me try makeup in middle school. She said to me "if you want to go to school looking like a clown go ahead". She was right...I looked ridiculous.

I shaved my legs without telling her around 10 years old.

Had my ears pierced when I was 7.

My friend's mother thought my eyebrows needed to be plucked when I was 13 so she went ahead and did it for me.

I think if something is going to cost a considerable amount of money (boob job, tatoo) then the appropriate age is whenever she can earn enough money and afford to pay for it herself. Hopefully that won't be until after 18. But I think treating your daughter to a manicure/pedicure/facial for a special occasion is okay after 11 or 12 years old. As far as a bikini wax I think after 16 years old is ok. I was 30 when I had my first bikini wax and wished I had started doing them when I was younger.

I'm 19 right now, and I did all of these self-beautifying things at a fairly young age, but I am very far from being a whore. 

Waiting until your daughter is 14 to let her shave is quite cruel. I can't stand overbearing parents. My mom let me shave in 3rd grade. I think I got my first eyebrow wax in 7th grade. And I think she let me get my first mani/pedi for my 8th grade graduation. Being well-groomed is very important to me, and I'm grateful my mom has the same values as well. One downside, though - I wasn't allowed to get my ears pierced until I was 12. 

My advice is - if she has light hair, then encourage her to hold off on shaving for as long as she can. I had dark hair, so I really needed to get rid of it.

I did read the article. I just was commenting that some girls do need to do some spa treatments at an early age. Mine needs it and she doesn't get the treatments. Any treatment that is not needed is silly. I'm sorry but a bikini wax on an 8 year old is just plain silly. The botox at 20 that the article mentioned or the skin treatments on for younger looking skin on a 12 year old, or worse yet inplants for 16 year olds are all silly. Shoot I was a B cup till I was 24 then became a DD overnight! Glad I didn't get implants at 16.

Cnjjeanmard, I was going to wait untill it got a little warmer and see how she still feels about her legs. She refuses to wear shorts and in GA here she needs them come summer. She left for India last night and we had a huge fight about her taking her shorts with her. I hate to cave on the leg shaving but I don't want to make things worse for her peer wise. Girls can be so harsh. I didn't start shaving till I was 12 so it's hard for me to allow her to do it at 8. Thanks for the input I appreciate it!

Oh, and I got my first bikini last summer (age 18). I have never been sexually active, I just got it because I practically live at the pool in the summer and it's awful trying to shave everyday. 

And I started wearing lip gloss in 6th grade, and perhaps a little mascara in junior high. But in high school, I wore whatever makeup I felt like.

I really didn't have any guidelines, I just did these things when I decided to.

Why wouldn't you let your daughter wear makeup when she wanted to? It's not usually about attracting boys (like they'd notice) but looking pretty.