Tween girls will usually start to show interest in wearing makeup on a regular basis
My daughter is only 4 years old but recently I caught her standing in front of the mirror using her red crayon to pretend to apply lipstick — most likely because she has seen me putting on my makeup many times before.
This is cute and amusing now, but it made me think about the day she’ll start asking to borrow my eye shadows and lip gloss, or request for a makeup kit as her birthday present instead of a LEGO set or a My Little Pony castle.
Most of us probably started to experiment with wearing makeup on a regular basis when we were about 16 years old — but with the current influence of beauty tutorials on social media, more affordable makeup that’s easily found everywhere, or possibly even due to princess culture, a lot of girls feel the need to start wearing eye liner and lip gloss at a younger age.
So when is the right age to wear makeup?
Parenting Expert, Jan Faull MEd, says, “Makeup, hair styles, and clothing are the gray areas in parenting — there are no hard-and-fast rules. Each parent-and-child pair needs to settle on certain parameters without resorting to heated arguments, which will only hurt the parent/child relationship, most likely making the issue bigger than it is.”
Unless your little girl is still not old enough to stay home alone by herself, then she’s probably not ready for a full face of foundation and mascara.
Is your little girl ready to move on from paint palettes to makeup palettes now?
However when your daughter becomes a tweenager (around 9 – 12 years of age), this is when she’s transitioning from childhood to adolescence and starting to figure out her self-identity.
If your tween is now rolling her eyes at the mention of a family outing to the zoo, and instead has been bugging you to bring her on a trip to Sephora, here are a few tips for you to to make sure that she’s truly ready for this next step towards womanhood.
Teach her about proper skincare
Your daughter should know how to take good care of her skin before she starts piling any makeup on her face.
Get her a gentle facial wash and teach her how to thoroughly cleanse her face, especially before bed.
Make sure that she’s responsible and disciplined enough to maintain a proper daily skincare regime to show that she’s ready for makeup.
Remind her that if she does not remove all traces of makeup properly, it can clog her pores, resulting in acne and can also cause her skin to age faster.
Let her know that maintaining clear skin is always better than trying to hide pimple break-outs and fine lines by slathering on heavy foundation and powder in future.
What else should you teach your daughter before she’s allowed to wear makeup on a regular basis? Go to the next page to find out!
Set some ground rules
If you are not comfortable with your daughter wearing makeup just yet, let her know how you feel and try to come to an agreement as to when she is allowed to rub on a little rouge, such as for school performances or special events like parties, weddings, family reunions, etc.
Encourage her to stick to a more natural look rather than attempting to recreate the fully contoured look with false eyelashes and plumped up lips that she’s probably seen on Youtube or Instagram.
Let her start slowly with some tinted lip balm instead of lipstick, and the simple use of an eyelash curler to emphasise her eyelashes and open up her eyes instead of applying eyeliner and mascara.
Rather than slapping on thick foundation, concealer and powder, tinted sunscreen or BB cream also offers sheer coverage (and sun protection!) without being too heavy on your tween’s skin.
Tell your daughter that you will only provide her with the basics for now and when she’s old enough to earn her own spending money, only then can she buy her own full range of makeup, brushes and the works!
Instead of forbidding your daughter from wearing any makeup at all, try setting some basic rules you both can agree on
Have a heart to heart talk
Ask your daughter why she wants to start wearing makeup?
Is it due to peer pressure because all her friends are no longer hanging out at McDonald’s after school and are now annual members at MAC instead?
Maybe she has a crush on someone and thinks that he’ll be attracted to her if she was more dolled up?
Or is she unhappy with the way she looks and feels that makeup can give her a confidence boost?
Whatever her reasons are, remind her that looks aren’t everything and beauty is only skin deep, and focus on all her positive qualities instead.
Have an open communication with your tween and don’t be quick to put her down or brush her feelings aside.
Your daughter will be wearing full makeup on a regular basis some day and although today might not be that day, as her parent you should support her on her journey to self-discovery.
Gently guide her on how to blossom into a strong and confident young woman who is comfortable in her own skin — with or without the cherry lip gloss.
At what age do you think it’s ok for your daughter wear makeup? Share your thoughts with us below!