what age would you let your daughter get her eyebrows waxed?

cynder

My 12 and a half year old is very self conscious about her unibrow, she's blond but not that noticeable. The kids at school are teasing her about it, they have little to tease her about, so are picking up on her slightly hairy eyebrows and sideburns.

So much so it's getting at her. I'm considering letting her go to beauticians to get her eyebrows shaped.

You think she's old enough yo get them done?

Lola92

From my experience of beauticians a lot of them will only treat children over a certain age limit - I know it is 15 in the one I go to, so maybe bear that in mind.

On one hand I think where is the harm in it, it is nothing to invasive or OTT but I would also wonder what kind of message that would send to a child of that age. They can be so easily influenced and take everything to heart, I feel that allowing her to do it (or suggesting it if she hasn't brought it up) would probably be compounding her feelings that she should conform to the expectations of others, why should she have to cave to their bullying?

Daisy M

If she gets them waxed they are going to notice that too and will have another reason to tease her. Maybe getting them lightly plucked would be a better choice, it wouldnt be as noticable.

cynder

Daisy M wrote: »

If she gets them waxed they are going to notice that too and will have another reason to tease her. Maybe getting them lightly plucked would be a better choice, it wouldnt be as noticable.

I couldn't pluck them, do beauticians still pluck eyebrows? Ive heard of threading too but never tried it myself.

I know there will always be a reason to tease someone, you get rid of one reason they find another. However there is not much to tease my daughter about, she isnt fat, she isnt skinny, she isnt ugly, isnt spotty, she is blond and she does get blond jokes but others in the class are blond too.

I dont know what I can do about her side burns (little bit of hair in front of her ears) She doesnt have side burns but she insists she does so she cut the hair herself and has now made it look worse. I tired to tell her to let it grow and tuck it behind her ears...

She herself asked to have her eyebrows waxed, to get rid of the little bit of a uni-brow she has and the thickness of the rest of her brow.

I sort of see shaping eyebrows like straightening teeth, if her teeth were crooked i would get braces for her or if she had an over bite.

But then with shaping eyebrows am I/she placing to much emphasis on looks?

Could do it as a one off for her conformation but only as a one off. I dont know im a bit lost...

Didnt even think she would be talking about it until she was 14 or 15.

Acoshla

My mom let me bleach the hairs on my legs when I was 12, they were very dark and noticeable compared to other girls my age, she said I was too young to shave/wax so bleaching was the compromise for about a year. My mother would probably have taught me to pluck my own eyebrow if they were an issue rather than have me get them waxed. Why couldn't you pluck them, couldn't you teach her to do it? Much less of an ordeal/fuss than going to get them waxed, and cheaper!

Neyite

Probably if she is not allowed to get them done professionally, she will attempt to do them herself, and that would result in almost likely disasterous results and consequently more teasing (like cutting her side burns)

I would suggest maybe that you ask a beautician to give her a subtle pluck (ie, get rid of the monobrow area, but to go very lightly on the rest) and to show her how to do it, or else could you you-tube it and get tips and do it for her as a mother-daughter beauty evening (that way you have control!)

I think you might have to weigh up the fear of having an emphasis on looks with the issues that continued bullying might cause her. From your previous posts it seems she is quite a level headed lady, and from this age anyway lots of girls get a bit obsessed with their "flaws" (oh to be that age again with beautiful skin!)

cynder

Im very blond, and have little facial hair so Ive never plucked my own eyebrows, never had the need too. I dont want to start experimenting on my 12 year old. Rather get a pro to do it.

I didn't even realise you could bleach leg hair.

cynder

Neyite wrote: »

Probably if she is not allowed to get them done professionally, she will attempt to do them herself, and that would result in almost likely disasterous results and consequently more teasing (like cutting her side burns)

I would suggest maybe that you ask a beautician to give her a subtle pluck (ie, get rid of the monobrow area, but to go very lightly on the rest) and to show her how to do it, or else could you you-tube it and get tips and do it for her as a mother-daughter beauty evening (that way you have control!)

I think you might have to weigh up the fear of having an emphasis on looks with the issues that continued bullying might cause her. From your previous posts it seems she is quite a level headed lady, and from this age anyway lots of girls get a bit obsessed with their "flaws" (oh to be that age again with beautiful skin!)

Thats a great idea, ive never done it so i might try it on me first and then have a go on her... If she will let me..

thesimpsons

Neyite wrote: »

Probably if she is not allowed to get them done professionally, she will attempt to do them herself, and that would result in almost likely disasterous results and consequently more teasing )

my son had a unibrow in primary and got unending teasing about it. had just that day asked a beautician about it when he took the razor to it himself. Wish I'd been a on the ball a few days earlier. I'd say let her get it done professionally. There's a 14yr old girl near us with a really dark unibrow and parents won't let her do anything about it - I'm just waiting for the day she tackles it herself.

The Lovely Muffin

Lola92 wrote: »

From my experience of beauticians a lot of them will only treat children over a certain age limit - I know it is 15 in the one I go to, so maybe bear that in mind.

On one hand I think where is the harm in it, it is nothing to invasive or OTT but I would also wonder what kind of message that would send to a child of that age. They can be so easily influenced and take everything to heart, I feel that allowing her to do it (or suggesting it if she hasn't brought it up) would probably be compounding her feelings that she should conform to the expectations of others, why should she have to cave to their bullying?

Daisy M wrote: »

If she gets them waxed they are going to notice that too and will have another reason to tease her. Maybe getting them lightly plucked would be a better choice, it wouldnt be as noticable.

I agree with both of these posts OP.

I never had a unibrow, but had very thick brows that were sticking up all over the place, I started getting them waxed/plucked when I was 18 as I didn't feel the need to get them done before hand.

Rather than waxing your daughters brows, maybe lightly pluck them and see how it goes.

Just remember if you wax/pluck them, they will need to be maintained and it's extra money each month.

I'd try a few Youtube videos and then try plucking them to see how it goes. I always find it easier to do someone else's rather than doing my own.

lace

When I was about 13, a girl in my class decided to shape her own eyebrows.....with a razor.

Needless to say, the result was awful and the poor girl ended up with almost no hair left.

In a case such as your daughter's, I'd say it's better to do something before she takes matters into her own hands. I would strongly advise against waxing, however as it is extremely bad for the sensitive skin around the eye area and (imo) totally unsuitable for children.

Adult fashion magazines and ads are full of pictures of ladies with fuller brows and tips on how to fill-out and make brows look bigger so the fuller brow is very much in-vogue at the moment. I don't know how you'd feel about showing her some flattering pictures of such models (although I'm conscious that such magazines portray unrealistic images of beauty and you may not wish to glorify such publications as an authority on what is and is not considered beautiful). Even showing her a picture of someone like Audrey Hepburn who is hailed as an international fashion icon and "beauty" may be enough to encourage her that thicker brows can be beautiful.

Come to some sort of compromise with her. Agree to help her get rid of her unibrow with some careful plucking but don't let her go overboard or get carried away.

CookieMonster.x

grindelwald wrote: »

My 12 and a half year old is very self conscious about her unibrow, she's blond but not that noticeable. The kids at school are teasing her about it, they have little to tease her about, so are picking up on her slightly hairy eyebrows and sideburns.

So much so it's getting at her. I'm considering letting her go to beauticians to get her eyebrows shaped.

You think she's old enough yo get them done?

I'm 16 so I just thought I'd give my opinion. You says she has blond hair, is it really that noticeable? I can't imagine it is overly noticeable. I would pluck the hair in the middle and leave it at that. I wouldn't go near waxing or the rest of the eyebrow for a while. In my school, some first years have their eyebrows done (not very many) and it's only really in 3rd year when people actually start.
If her eyebrows are light I would just pluck the middle hairs and leave the rest. I can't imagine that any of the other girls have their eyebrows done? I think she would stand out a lot too and imo she's a bit young!

up for anything

My daughter has been bleaching, waxing, immacing and shaving since she was twelve - she has dark hair and lots of it. She used to get severely slagged about her unibrow. Most of her classmates were doing the hair thing as well. I don't know any friends of mine who have taken a hard line on hair removal. What's the point? It's harmless and I don't think it leads to an emphasis on looks.

The worst thing about it is the continual monetary outlay. Once she starts your pocket will start to suffer. I had a seizure a few months ago when I went to pick up a tub of Jolene bleach - €18 fecking euro! :eek: If I were you I'd either take her to have them waxed or plucked and make sure the beautician doing it gives her pointers or a lesson as well on method and shaping. I remember our first foray into waxing her eyebrows - painful and ended up very messy with wax all over the place and many panicky posts all over the internet asking advice how to take off wax once it had hardened (I've never had to defuzz so didn't have a clue either.).

Being a teenager is hard enough without having to put up with something that in a couple of years she'll be getting rid of on a regular basis anyhow whether you like it or not. If she was spotty and there was a miraculous cream that got rid of them in minutes would you not buy it for her?

cynder

I see the point that she might end up going at them herself and i need to step in before she does that.

She is blond but her eyebrows are a dark blond and her eyelashes are black (all my kids have blond hair and thick, long, black eyelashes) as i said my eyebrows are a very light blond so i can get away with it, my daughters are very thick and darker than mine as is very noticable if you stand a meter away from her, if you stand 5 meters away not very noticeable.

She mentioned it to her dad last night, and his not keen on my experimenting on her so it looks like we will have a word with the beautician at the weekend.

Jerry Jordan

If my child was being teased and was upset I would absolutely let her get her eyebrows plucked or waxed. You could buy her a plucker and show her how to do it. also maybe you know someone local who could come to your house and do it.I dont see the point in letting her suffer over a simple beauty routine that most women do.

The Princess Bride

Would echo the advice of those who said ask a beautican.

The issue is when she starts secondary in September, she may attack her eyebrows with a vengence- as some teenagers not a hundred km away from me did when they became 1st years:eek:

Peer pressure is a serious force to be reckoned with-our poor babies.

Knit wit

My 12 year old did a DIY job on her eyebrows recently with a razor ... She has big bushy mafia style brows ... I spoke to a beautician about it before but they won't deal with anyone under 16 so I'm at a loss what to do. I think when her brows grow back I'll try another beautician to get them shaped and then teach her to maintain them herself. It's not easy being 12 ....

cynder

Well she got her eyebrows done last night at the beauticians, they waxed the middle bit and the underneath bit and used tweezers, they never once asked her age and i didn't volunteer it.

Took a photo today of her (in the hairdressers getting highlights done and pink at the back that you can only see when its tied up) and you can see they did a good job of it. Nothing dramatic with the eyebrows just neater and less bushier.

Edit - pic deleted-

The Princess Bride

Wise choice Grindelwald- great result and will be easier to manage from now on,should ye decide to go down the d.i.y route.

LegacyUser

I really know how your daughter feels.... It is probs better to get them waxed for her, she will fell better about herself! Its really nice!

ajjmk

My mam brought me to a beautician to get my eyebrows plucked for my confirmation. Now, don't go jumping to conclusions about how kids that age shouldn't be getting beauty treatments like that - I have very very dark eyebrows and used to have a unibrow when I was younger. All the beautician did was pluck the hairs in the middle, and then tidy up my brows very slightly. Little or no shaping was done and it all looked very natural for my 12 year old self.
It didn't seem like much, but it made all the difference in the world to me.

Cat Melodeon

Back in the 80s when I was 13, I hadn't a clue about beauty and grooming (and still have very little interest in beauty/fashion). I was always clean, but beyond that, hadn't a clue. I was that girl who took the razor to the eyebrow and made a hames of it. I still have a scar, the hair never grew back and one of my eyebrows is totally wonky. I can't pluck the other one to match as then I'd look totally ridiculous. I have to use makeup to get anywhere close to symmetry.

If your child has a monobrow, sort it out before they are brave enough to do it for themselves. Because they will do it, no matter how sensible they are or how uninterested they are in their appearance. Even though I have no interest whatsoever in trends or looks, I think having tidy eyebrows is one of those grooming basics, much more important than having shaved legs or armpits. If they had bushy hair soming out of their nostrils, you'd sort it out (I hope). It doesn't have to lead to an obsession with appearances, just frame it as the equivalent of not having a snotty nose or a moustache (if she's a girl) or body odour. It really doesn't have to be a big deal.

LegacyUser

Yes of course she is. My daughter was in the exact same situation as yourswhen she was 12. My daughter had dark brown hair so it was more noticeable and she was extremely cautious of them, so I took her to a beautician. The wax that was put on didn't hurt a bit and she felt so much better afterwards.