Is there a such thing as too young for makeup? Can someone start getting into makeup at too young of an age?
— Christine
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I absolutely agree.Lipstick is a gateway drug..LOL I think kids are growing up WAY to quickly these days. Personally,I started wearing makeup at 12 and in hindsight,it was way to young..And it’s probably what started my skin problems.Alittle lipgloss and maybe some concealer in certain situations is ok but anything more should wait till highschool at least
I can definitely see it when there’s a special occasion or a really nice night out where a touch of makeup might be warranted!
I agree, I think a lot of girls start playin with make up when they are wau too young … sometimes you see girls with full make up and their hair done like for a party, with artificial nails and you think they are 18 but then you are finding out they are 12 or 13 … out here where i live theres a lot of girls like that then when they turn 20 they already look like they were 40. here also a lot of those “hot 13s” use too much sunbed and then they are orange and their skin gets some ugly spots. and a lot of young girls buy the cheapest cosmetics cause usualyl when you are that young you dont have much money to spend and these cheap comsmetics damage skin much more than expensive ones … of course it just looks bad when a little girl has wallpaper on face, they seem these days to be growing up early but its only physical growing up cause in their minds they are still immature kids so i think there is no need to do make up at this age. i mean concealer is ok, lipgloss to or a little mascara but not full make up. when i was young i was using only mascara – transparent or brown and thats all cause in my school make up was banned so i had to wait with it to high school anyway i was mad then but now i think it was good
Oh, goodness! Yes, sometimes our youth definitely grows up too fast. I know I personally look back on my childhood and wish I had spent less time trying to grow up and more time enjoying those easy days!
I feel that make-up is acceptable to wear at any age, young or old. But here’s the catch. I NEVER feel that make-up should be worn for reasons like “I’m not pretty without it” or “I can’t leave the house without make-up”. I find that mentality to be somewhat disgusting.
I started wearing make-up when I was 12 as my mother refused to let me beforehand, and I have always felt this was a bad decision. I never wanted to wear it for its “beauty” qualities. I wanted to wear it for its theatrical properties.
I just turned 17 years old, I’m about to being my second semester of college (living in the dormitories), make-up didn’t cause me to grow up faster, it wasn’t even a factor in it. I grew up faster because I wanted to.
Using make-up as a scape goat for children wanting to be mature adults (and parents that don’t attempt to give positive self-images to their children) is unfair to the cosmetic industry. =)
Well, with that caveat, then I completely agree, George! I haven’t found very many girls who have talked and worn makeup for its theatrical properties, though. It would appear that that is more of a minority view than the majority view, unfortunately!
I agree with what has been mentioned, both for and against wearing makeup as a young lady. I am surprised, however, that no one has mentioned that wearing certain types of makeup can attract guys in the wrong way.. meaning that guys might think that you are a party girl or even “easy” if you wear, say, heavy eye shadow during the day time. When I see girls younger than 18 wearing such eye shadow, heavy lipstick, and dark eyeliner and mascara I can’t help but think along those lines myself. I see excessive makeup at a young age equivalent to allowing young ladies wear extremely short skirts, low-cut shirts, and tight jeans. It can send of the wrong signal at a time in a girl’s life when it is inappropriate and even dangerous to seem so “sexy” without being mature enough to handle the consequences.
but at the same time I do not see natural looking makeup as a minus at young ages. growing up with mild acne I can see why light powder or concealer would help with self-esteem issues growing up. a little mascara or a neutral eyeshadow look would be fine with me as well.
That’s an interesting point, Tiffany! Thank you for bringing it up. I don’t think it’s something that registers on my radar as meaning such things, but I am sure that is exists on a definite level!
I think that it’s sort of appalling to see people put a ton of heavy makeup on kids (usually when a kid is say, at some kind of audition) it’s weird and wrong, and just too Jean Benet. But I do think it’s ok to get into it as a teen, say, by High School. I know I got most of my makeup experimentation out of the way in High School. I tried some weird things, but I learned a lot, and now I am a pretty experienced makeup applier. But there’s also something to be said about being natural and laying off the makeup when you need to. My grandmother (who’s in her late 80’s) recently had surgery, and when she woke up in the hospital later, the first thing she asked for was her lipstick, so she could “feel human again”. LOL.
I think high school is a definite place for experimentation as well. When I think “too young” and trying “grow up too fast”, I personally classify that as those in elementary school or junior high, not those in high school.
LOL, your grandma’s statement made me giggle!
I think that it isn’t the age that is important, but the meaning or intention of the makeup. As long as the makeup is worn out of enjoyment, not anger or pain, then it’s ok. Makeup is fun, colorful, and a great way of experimenting as long as it isn’t a crutch for girls who feel ugly without it. So if I see a 12 year old with mascara, concealer, and blush all over because she thinks that’s the only she can be pretty, that’s sad. But I have babysat for girls as young as six who love my makeup and want “makeovers”… they always end up with blue eyeshadow and red lipstick in all the wrong places, but at least they are playing with it out of enjoyment.
Hey Julia! I think that’s a great way to put it 🙂 I totally agree with you. I think it’s only natural for a child as young as six to want to play with makeup, if their companions/caregivers are into it as well. My only beef really comes from girls that think they need makeup to look older/be pretty, I guess!
I do think that age is important, but It depends on the particular person so I don’t know how old. Also, it depends on the makeup. Like if I had a daughter and she wanted to wear make up and she was say 10 or 12, I would have no problem giving her a lip gloss or something. It may boost her confidence or make her morning-verfore-school routine more fun without actually changing the way she looks.
But there are a few more things to consider than just self esteem. For example: Kids are bad with routines. If you don’t watch them, sometimes they will still be skipping on brushing their teeth or washing their hands… so also, removing their makeup. I can imagine that if you don’t remove your makeup all the time your eyes probably get kind of sore. Or at least something haha!
I also agree with a point above. You can use makeup to look older and honestly, if you’re 12 you don’t need to be mistaken for a 18 year old. That could end badly 😉
And lastly, a lot of makeup isn’t necessary. If you haven’t gone through puberty your skin is nice and oil free, so why clog it up with concealer or foundation when you don’t need to?
But in conclusion, depends on the age which depends on the person and also depends on the makeup in question. 🙂
Sorry I meant to elaborate on the makeup removal thing and just add about how kids aren’t very keen on taking care of their makeup and the hygiene of their products. They are more prone to sharing eyeshadows or liners, for example. Taking poor care of your products can also lead to infection…
oh yes, definitely…I would let my daughter get pedis and manis from like birth, but as for eyeshadow, lipstick, etc, she can start light makeup at about 12. Which I’ll probably put on her since I love to do it! I started around 12 and came out just fine, if not a little beauty obssessed, lol
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LOL! Wow, pedis from birth! What a lucky girl!
I think there is def. a time when a girl (or boy) is too young for makeup. Before jr high is too young, outside of playing dress up at home. There is also the issue of who’s choice it was to put on the makeup for young children. I have seen parents who put concealer/powder on their child for preschool class pictures. Or dabbed a bit of gloss on them too. This crosses a major line for me. It’s like the parents are projecting their own need for some sort of ideal perfection on their child and I don’t agree with that. It’s one thing for a child to want to try on her Mommy’s lipstick, and another when Mommy feel the need to make her child up.
Dress up is totally another story, since it’s just for fun and it’s not at all serious.
i totally agree with you joli. i was never forbidden to wear makeup but i never had the need for makeup. at 15, i wore those clear thin lipglosses with the roller tip and i was set. i’m amused at my 8yr old, i wanted to see what her reaction be if i let her play with my makeup, she liked playing but she would wipe everything off right away. she asked me why i needed to wear makeup and i told her it’s to make me look better because mommy is getting older. she had a very confident look on her face, she understood that she was young and she looked alright. her older brother told her she didn’t need any lipgloss and she took it as a compliment. i hope she will stay that way till she’s starts working which is really when i started wearing makeup.
Your eight year old sounds like one smart young lady!
I find it quite appalling when girls younger than twelve are allowed to wear a full face of make up. I’ve been to a few formal events where some guests dressed their kids like adults, including hair and make up – and paraded around them like trophies. Kids should be allowed to be kids – and improper make up does send out rather disturbing vibes.
Wearing make up should be a slow and gradual process – IMO in early teens, starting off with lipgloss, powder, blush and then going on to eyeshadow, mascara and lipstick from fifteen/sixteen onwards.
I definitely like your idea of a slow and gradual process. I think I started opposite, though, I think I wore eyeshadow and then moved on from there, lol.
I think the best example of what we’re talking about are the behind-the-scenes photos of 4 and 5 year old children getting spray-airbrushed with tanner before beauty competitions. Poor little things with fake eyelashes glued on them with tons of fake hair… first of all, where is the class in that? I think it’s just the most tacky thing in the world to send a message to a kid that she has to have all these things stuck on her to compete for the prettiest with others. However, I was maybe 12 when my mom first took me to get my eyebrows fixed up, and I am forever thankful. There’s a line there somewhere.
I have a sort of olive/freckly skintone, and I was always very envious that nobody else had dark undereyes. I actually liked the fact that makeup evened out my skintone, but I’m sure I probably went overboard more than a few times. I think I did a pretty good job of keeping it simple, until I was about 15/16 and started matching my eyeshadow to my hair (green, purple, pink, blue, different every week), but that’s just fun. Makeup is the lesser of a lot of evils in a world where some parents get their daughters breast augmentation surgery for their 16th birthday.
Hey Erin! Yes, makeup is definitely not a huge evil in the grand scheme of things 🙂 It’s amazing what some families find appropriate, isn’t it?
As mentioned a few times, there is a time and place for everything… I was 4 or 5 and wore red lipstick with my white dress at my cousin’s wedding. And let me tell you- I was SOOO CUTE!!! =)
lol, I just bet you were!
I didn’t start wearing real make up until I was 14-15. I waited until my mother felt I was old enough, and she could sit me down and show me how to wear it properly. I didn’t start wearing foundation, and more expensive make up until I was 16 (and had a job so I could pay for it!). Before that, I just stuck to clear glosses, and lip balm with maybe a little eyeshadow. I’m 21, and I’m glad I waited. My sister is 15, and she’s been wearing heavy make up for 2 years. She doesn’t take care of her skin, and all the make up she piles on makes it worse. She just doesn’t get it.
When you’re young, you have enough problems with your skin. It’s not the best idea for young girls (or boys) to wear lots of make up. Then again, our society is so focused on looks, you can’t really blame kids and young teens for wanting to wear make up. It’s just a small part of a much larger problem.
Yeah, I can definitely see what you mean – makeup can be a manifestation of a small part of a larger problem!
It’s great that your mom showed you how to do it all!
I’m 24 and I think I got my first mascara when I was only 19 and I don’t feel like I deprived myself of anything. Today I still have mascara, base and lipgloss, but that’s almost as good as it gets. It’s not because I have anything against wearing make-up, on the contrary, it’s amazing how you can change your look in one go, but it never caught on with me.
I see young girls walking in the malls wearing more make-up than I’ve done probably in my whole life, and it makes me feel sad. I agree with some of these comments. Why don’t they just their youth rather than spending all that time on make-up?
Hey Eva! It’s great that you commented and added your two cents! I’m happy that you’re here, even though you’re not a full-blown makeup addict 🙂