Girls Getting Bikini Waxes, Manicures, Blowouts As Tween Beauty Market Booms (VIDEO)

How young it too young for a manicure? For a blowout? For a bikini wax?

Apparently there are no limits, with 1-year-olds getting manicures and 11-year-olds getting their hair down there waxed.

Andrea Canning of ABC's "Good Morning America" took a look at the big steps being taken by little girls to be pretty -- and luckily she's just about as freaked out as we were.

If we must, we can deal with little girls getting blowouts, as it's not a far leap from little girls getting their hair cut and dried. We can maybe understand the manicures for tweens, only since nail polish is pretty harmless.

But trying to justify plucking and waxing for the elementary school set, a la "Toddlers & Tiaras"? "It's just part of hygiene!" is not an excuse. (Neither is the fact that they might be wearing these crotchless panties later).

Another downside to the whole tween spa boom not noted in the segment, aside from saddling our girls with crippling insecurities about their appearance, is encouraging kids to spend. Not every family can afford a weekly mani-pedi or twice-weekly blowouts -- nor might these girls, once they grow up and leave the house, find themselves with the means to maintain their tween beauty routines.

What do you think: should elementary and middle school-age girls be getting pampered in the salon?

WATCH:

Comments

[Michelle Brodeur Brooks]

11:28 AM on 12/05/2011

Horrible! Parents ought to be ashamed of themselves. Let kids be kids for awhile before you start teaching them to be vain! They should be teaching them brains over beauty first!

[cafebeege]

03:47 PM on 12/05/2011

I agree Michelle, brains FAR more important than beauty. Not that we can't have both...:o)

I'm a mother of only sons. Seems to me that this issue should be decided by practicality and the age that the individual girl physically matures. I'm told it is speeding up approximately 10 mos. every 10 yrs. AND, yes the culture of OUR country leans toward removing hair on legs, underarms, and bikini area. If some don't want to, that's their choice. It is still considered good grooming in THIS country. I don't particularly like beards on men either. More sanitary to shave.... period. No food, bacteria, etc. caught in the hair.

If I had a daughter and she REACHED an AGE where she developed noticeably heavy hair in the aforementioned areas, yes, I would teach her that it was good grooming to remove it.

There's a difference between wasteful vanity and good grooming and self-respect. Everything in life is about balance. Nine year olds should be out riding bikes and playing. Only GRADUALLY (mostly later) as their bodies give cues of nature/biology taking over should they be taught how to BALANCE both physical appearance and their unique values, talents and abilities that they have to contribute to the world and society. God help the girl who is taught only the first.

[Michelle Brodeur Brooks]

07:06 PM on 12/05/2011

Of course I agree in good hygiene. I think it is ridiculous though to promote vanity and sexuality at the tween phase. My daughter is in the 5th grade and just getting ready to learn about all this. She is not quite at the puberty phase. In response to kids getting bikini waxes, she is not going to be shaving down south anytime soon I can tell you that. That's what razors are for when the time comes. I think people know the difference between vanity and common sense hygiene. I am all for beauty and brains and thank god my daughter has both (naturally in the beauty department). I just think we all need to use good judgment when it comes to raising our kids responsibly, as in that there are more important things than just looks and also teaching our kids to not bully other kids based on their looks.

[sextonfan]

02:40 AM on 12/05/2011

This is just sick. Honestly, there are some in this country that just need their heads examined. Why would you subject a child to a bikini wax? To what end? It's just ridiculous. What's next? Nose jobs? Boob jobs so they can look like little versions of mommy? Some of us won't be satisfied until even our infants are plastic.

[Nopinky]

07:09 PM on 12/04/2011

Cuz girls need just a little more help growing up insecure and shallow with no sense of priorities.

[anitafeeney]

02:03 AM on 12/04/2011

i have had a thought has it occured to anyone that there might be a valid reason for the hair down below as they say like catching dirt thus preventing infections and that it might be there also to keep the private parts warm in the freezing cold weather in addition to outer layers of clothing

[Chica63]

12:44 PM on 12/04/2011

As far as dirt, etc goes, hair may serve more of a purpose if someone doesnt have access to regular bathing and what is considered proper personal hygiene. If you lived in primitive envioronment it MIGHT be more beneificial but scientists still arent in agreement on that. If hair were about keeping us warm we'd all have huge pelts of hair and have more of it on other parts of our bodys like hands and feet.

What scientists ARE in agreement on is that pubic hair traps pheromones which attract sexual partners. According to most scientists, that is the main fuction of pubic hair.

Those who get waxes don't seem to be at risk for any more infections that those who don't waxed but we're not talking about brazilian waxing for these girls (where hair is removed everywhere including the labia and below) we're just talking the bikini line. Also, there is more of a risk of infection and other complications from shaving than there is from waxing.

[Chica63]

01:15 PM on 12/04/2011

So many typos. lol Sorry about that.

[anitafeeney]

11:56 PM on 12/04/2011

firstly it was just a thought and another one that occures to me is that these girls wouldnt care about this stuff if the adults in their lives were not so obsessed about it now as i have said if there is a tremendous amount of hair and said girl is bieng bullied that is one thing but they would not obsess over it if the adults in their lives wouldnt obsess about it

[ghostic]

12:51 PM on 12/03/2011

I have mixed feelings about this. I see nothing wrong with little girls getting their eyebrows waxed, for example, if they are insecure or getting made fun of. I hate moms who won't let their daughters do things to make themselves feel better...often because the mom wants to be prettier than her daughter (sound weird but it's true). But I also hate moms who push their daughters to get beauty treatments they don't want, or worse, find painful. It should be up to the girl herself. Plus, their are cheap, at home alternatives to all these expensive spa treatments.

[DandaPanda]

07:02 PM on 12/02/2011

My daughter has been getting her eyebrows done since 3rd grade..it is almost abusive for a mother to let her little gilr walk around with a unibrow and a moustache...and do not get me startef on little girls with legs so hairy they look like little. Furry bears...I live in a pretty upscale place and it amazes me when I see perfectly manicured and groomed moms with these unkempt little girls. My daughter is older now and she has told me that she cannot understand why some of her friends are such a mess.

[TexasMother]

09:50 PM on 12/02/2011

You are SICK and I feel so sorry for your daughter!

[purpleroses]

10:00 PM on 12/02/2011

I don't agree with her judging other people's kids, but I do think that if a kid is "old enough" they should have a choice on the things like facial hair that other kids would make fun of.

But apparently where she lives there is more than one "furry bear" kid so I hope those kids are spared the experience that I was.

[DandaPanda]

10:37 PM on 12/02/2011

I feel sorry for your daughter. Its too bad that you are going to ignore the obvious and subject her to teasing because you are too pent up to deal with it.

[lefty81]

10:37 PM on 12/02/2011

"...I live in a pretty upscale place and it amazes me when I see perfectly manicured and groomed moms with these unkempt little girls."

No wonder about your disgusting comments. I can only imagine what exactly it is about those little girls you consider to be "unkempt". I am so afraid for your daughter. I pray that she remains unaffected by your superficiality in the end.

[xtruth04]

02:08 PM on 12/02/2011

In the first place, a tween girl has so little pubic hairs, there is nothing to see to begin with. Secondly, why would a mother want to make her very young daughter want to be even more appealing to the pedophiles that are out there - just waiting. Doing all these "beauty" procedures to a very young girl, sets them up for later believing that anything goes if that is what it takes to get you ahead in the entertainment business. No morals - no worthwhile lasting experiences.

[Chica63]

02:34 PM on 12/02/2011

As a professional waxer of 16 years I can tell you some tween girls have a LOT of hair. Unless you've been going around peeking in windows I'd guess you have no real knowledge of what most tween girls look like under their clothes.

[Chica63]

02:37 PM on 12/02/2011

And secondly, it seems a lot of adult posters here are projecting their own experiences and adult opinions on bikini waxes onto these girls. Just because a bikini wax equals sex to you doesnt mean that's why someone else is doing it. And the whole comment about pediphiles is so rediculous... I cant even...

[IndyStacey]

02:44 PM on 12/02/2011

please explain why an 11 year old needs a bikini was. Educate us.

[Christopher Koulouris]

01:45 PM on 12/02/2011

Insecurities about self appearance? But doesn’t that make the world go around in the first place? Isn’t that the first thing humans notice about each other? Or is this huffpo’s attempt to warn us that the realities of life outside of our household’s aren’t always so savory and conditioning a 6 year that what also matters isn’t her homework assignment but how her appearances shape up in the outside world. Something that until now we only cared about once we reached puberty and looking a certain way helped us with the prospective opposite sex and to some degree how we were received by society.

http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2011/12/yes-its-true-your-tween-daughter-can-now-get-herself-a-bikini-wax/

[juiceplushabit]

01:42 PM on 12/02/2011

My daugther has mild autism. She does not have well developed fine motor skills. I laser the hair under her arms (she is 10.5) because if she tried to shave and cut herself it would be all over and she would never remove hair again. I do not do this to "beautify" her. I will, when she is older, laser the hair on her legs and bikini for the same reason. Beyond that I do not see why mother's put such unnatural pressure on their little girls to be beautiful. There is already enough pressure from tv shows and magazine. I accept my daughter for who she is and where she is developmentally. She is not into her hair yet so I let it go. I just asked that it be brushed. I do not want to make it a power struggle or put too much emphasis on exterior beauty.

[Victoria-nola]

08:46 PM on 12/03/2011

Why does a 10.5yo girl need to shave under her arms? WHY?

What is wrong is that children aren't allowed to be children anymore. Children do not need to have anything shaved on them.

[juiceplushabit]

10:15 PM on 12/03/2011

The average onset of puberty is 8.5 -11 years old. Once the body starts to develop body odor occurs. My daughter started puberty about a year ago...if I let her hair grow as you suggest she woud smell.

[Victoria-nola]

12:03 AM on 12/04/2011

I haven't heard this idea before. But I suggest that you're buying into rigid ideas about women and women's bodies that aren't true. Of all the people who shouldn't be put in rigid boxes, autistic kids are probably first on the list.

And to all the mothers commenting here who are so afraid of their children being the object of teasing-- you can't protect your children from being teased. Virtually everyone gets teased and the children whose mothers TRY to keep them from being teased are often the very ones who get it worst. You'd do better building up your daughters' self-esteem and preparing her to NOT LET TEASING GET TO HER. That actually has a hope of working. But turning children into mini-adults does not protect them from being teased, and robs them of the most joyful part of life.

[gohomeobama]

01:32 PM on 12/02/2011

America's values are going thanks to libs. Wake up America!

[kauna13]

01:51 PM on 12/02/2011

Oh, don't you even start that bull. If these girls are a product of liberal values, then all those little girls from toddlers and tiaras that get waxed and plucked and tanned are a by-product of those ultra conservative southern values. This issue is about money and crap parenting, not political affiliation.

[TexasMother]

09:54 PM on 12/02/2011

Exactly! I guarantee you 99.9 percent of these Tiara Toddler moms have "Bush Cheney" stickers! Guarantee!

[anitafeeney]

05:14 AM on 12/05/2011

this has NOTHING to do with politics it has to do with parents forcing a warped body image on young girls

[Real Old Fart]

01:12 PM on 12/02/2011

I suppose that all you folks would prefer a more mature young 11 or 12 year girl to parade around the beach or swimming pool in a bikini that looks like she has a raccoon in her crotch!?

[Chica63]

01:46 PM on 12/02/2011

Exactly. And it's happening to them younger and younger every year.

[lefty81]

10:47 PM on 12/02/2011

It's because of these steroids and chemicals that they put in the food. These 10 and 11 year olds that go to you look like they are 15 or 18 alot of times don't they (I'm not trying to be funny, I'm for real)?

[anastmosis]

01:56 PM on 12/02/2011

No, I prefer that girls (and boys for that matter) at the beach or swimming pool wear a swimsuit that covers their bodies sufficiently to prevent as much as possible any wardrobe malfunctions of any kind and make any shaving or waxing unnecesary. I've seen girls wearing two piece bikinis that were not string bikinis but were wide enough to cover everything and still be a two-piece bikini. It can be done.

[Chica63]

02:14 PM on 12/02/2011

You dont need a 'wardrobe malfunction' for some of these girls to have hair that shows beyond even a modest suit line.
I have a very conservative client who spent hundreds of dollars trying to find a suit that would sufficiently cover her tween daughters hair while still being fashionable and not further traumatizing her by making her look like a complete outcast. She couldnt find one. She finally allowed her daughter to shave only to have her break out in a rash of huge ingrown hairs (just the way her hair/skin is). Depilitories gave her a rash of another kind. At age 12 mom started letting her getting waxed for the summer only. Now they can both move on and focus on far more important issues than her grooming.

[indigoblue322]

12:55 PM on 12/02/2011

I don't have too much of a problem with the occasional manicure or pedicure - as a treat or reward or something, but the waxing is utterly ridiculous.

[phdpamela]

12:47 PM on 12/02/2011

Inept parents. This country has some serious problems (other than those we already know about) coming our way.

[buddapeacecz]

12:11 PM on 12/02/2011

I also need to say this. There is no harm in self care. There is nothing wrong with getting your nails done, your hair done, grooming yourself, etc. It is not a crime to take care of and groom your body...nor is it a crime to be pampered if and when you can afford it. Maybe all you crabby ones need a spa day yourself...?

[Just a passerby]

12:20 PM on 12/02/2011

did you deliberately decide to ignore the implications about giving 11-year-old wax jobs, or did you just not notice it?

[DandaPanda]

07:06 PM on 12/02/2011

Clearly you have not hosted a pool party with a bunch of hairy legged 11 year olds...oh and don't get me started on hairy armpits

[anitafeeney]

05:22 AM on 12/05/2011

there is no issue with grooming yourself ie nails trimmed to a nice length hair clean and neat clothes clean and unstained and not ripped and if it is a special occasion ie 16 th birthday prom or bieng in someones wedding party getting the nails and hair done by the hair dresserbut no 9 10 11 or 12 year old needs to be going to get waxed or a manicure or pedicure or a facial or anything like that

[buddapeacecz]

12:05 PM on 12/02/2011

Should they be getting pampered at the salon? Can they afford it? If a family can afford to pamper their kids, why is in anyone else's business???

BTW a bikini wax and a BRAZILLIAN wax are different things. One wears a bathing suit or panties for a bikini wax...for a Brazillian it's all off...and I highly doubt the vast majority of estheticians would give a Brazillian to anyone under 18.

[Chica63]

02:18 PM on 12/02/2011

Correct. I would never do a Brazilian wax on anyone under 18. Anyone under 16 must wear a bathing suit or panties have the female parent in the room.

[obamich44]

04:26 PM on 12/02/2011

You make a good point. I have been getting waxed for years and never noticed whether or not there are any signs about giving anyone under 18 a Brazilian.