Coloring or highlighting a childs hair???

[The Mystery Machine]

I started having my dd hair highlighted at 10. Her hair color is UGLY. Sorry it is true. I wish it wasn't but it is. If I could have gotten her in the chair at 7, I would have!

 

[peg2001]

Wow. It's just hair, folks. I'm donning my flame retardent suit to tell you that I dyed (using the temp stuff that washes out in 8 to 10 washes) both DDs hair this summer when they were 6 and 3!

They really like the red hair of a friend (gorgeous auburn) and DD6 had asked for red hair. I made her wait until summer and then used one box of strawberry blonde on her and our younger DD. You should have heard the compliments whenever we went out. People loved it, "Where'd you get such beautiful red hair?" A complete stranger rushed up to DD6 when she was out with her aunt, grabbed her arm, and gushed "Your hair is gorgeous, don't ever change it."

I must admit that most people looked at us like we were aliens if we admitted that we dyed it. Oh well.

Let the flames fly!!
Peggy

 

[KathyTX]

I see lots of little boys at DS's elementary school with highlighted tips. I think they just do it for fun, and it's not a big deal. I also think it's just hair, and it usually actually looks pretty cute. They still look like little boys. (My DS has no interest in highlights.)

When the little girls do it, I think it can be a bit different. They're usually trying to look older and sophisticated, and I find it a little disturbing. Like the examples of 8 year old girls with updos, lipstick and belly shirts.

Maybe it's sexist of me to say this, but it seems the boys are doing it just for fun, the girls in an attempt to be sexy before their time.

 

[palmtreegirl]

I don't see anything wrong with the blonde spikey tips for the boys because they're going to be cut off in a matter of a month or so anyway.

My DD who's 7 told me she was bored with her hair color and wanted to dye it, I told her no ask me again when your 12. I did let her have a make over night where we put some of that color that washes away with shampoo in our hair; mine was blue and DD's was red, just for the night.

 

[gemmie214]

I have no problem with hair dying. I mean, really, that would be very hypocritical on my part. I do think 7 is to young and I would make a kid wait till teenage years cause any of that stuff to me is "big kid" stuff. If they do all that in elementary school what is there do do but up the ante in middle and high school. Kids should have stuff to look forward to. I also think it is a whole different story if the kids wants to experiment with hair color and if a parent wants to change the child cause they perceive the child's physical attributes "ugly". I find that plain sick.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Originally posted by gemmie214
I also think it is a whole different story if the kids wants to experiment with hair color and if a parent wants to change the child cause they perceive the child's physical attributes "ugly". I find that plain sick.

Perhaps ugly is too strong of a word. What I mean is that her hair color is very pretty with the highlights.

 

[Kimnicki]

I let my DD8 put Sun-In in her hair last summer(bad move) and then by October she had dark roots. It looked really silly so my mom paid to have her hair foiled, but not lighter, darker. It gave her some "low-lights" so that her hair looked more natural. You think I'd know better about the sun-in, I did go through hairdressing school!


Kim

 

[MHopkins2]

Originally posted by gemmie214
if a parent wants to change the child cause they perceive the child's physical attributes "ugly". I find that plain sick.

I was wondering how long it would be before someone went off about that one. I look at it like this: my eyes don't change their functioning due to the age of the person I'm looking at. So if I could look at an adult's hair, think it's ugly, and advise her to get it colored (preferably without saying flat out that I think it's ugly, because that's just rude), why couldn't I do the same for a child? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the DD in question didn't have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the hairdresser's chair, so I vote more power to both Mom and DD.

 

[Roxter79]

Originally posted by Cruisin'Kroezes
This is my opinion and I am sure to get flamed for it.

It is just hair. It is not permanent, hair will grow out.
My husband always says he doesn't care if our kids have purple hair with pink polka dots done up in a mohawk, cause it is not permanent.

There are bigger, more difficult battles to fight in life such as smoking, drugs, alcohol etc.

Again, just our opinion and neither of our kids has ever had purple hair with pink polka dots either, but if that is what they want to do then............

I totally agree. I'm 14 and I started to dye my hair at 12 I just went blond becuase I was going through the everyone else is doing i t phase. NOw the past year I've dyed it back to my natural colour.

It actually turned out lighter so tomorrow I'm having it re-done and highlighted red. the highlights are a joke to my mother. She's a red head and she's always like ohhh Sammi's just like me ohhhh and I was likek fine! so I'm streaking/highlighting [w/e it's called] it red

 

[Arabella Figg 2003]

My older dd is 13 and has been highlighting her hair for about a year. A good highlighting job is so natural that no one knows you're doing it. She did it to enhance her natural color. She loves it.

I started doing my hair at 16. I've gone from very blonde to blondish to red and back again. chill out, it's only hair.

 

[mus muris asinus]

Originally posted by MHopkins2
I was wondering how long it would be before someone went off about that one. I look at it like this: my eyes don't change their functioning due to the age of the person I'm looking at. So if I could look at an adult's hair, think it's ugly, and advise her to get it colored (preferably without saying flat out that I think it's ugly, because that's just rude), why couldn't I do the same for a child? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the DD in question didn't have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the hairdresser's chair, so I vote more power to both Mom and DD.

It depends -- A Mom telling their 10 year old that she thinks her hair is "ugly" probably isn't exactly doing much for their self-esteem.

 

[MHopkins2]

Originally posted by mus muris asinus
It depends -- A Mom telling their 10 year old that she thinks her hair is "ugly" probably isn't exactly doing much for their self-esteem.

Agreed! I was going on the assumption that Mom phrased it more like, "Let's go get highlights in your hair, won't that be fun??" and not "Holy potatoes is your hair ugly! Let's go fix that wreck!" I like to give the benefit of the doubt there.

 

[HappyMommy2]

I met a Japanese-American family at a recent holiday party--Mom and Dad, plus 3 kids; the boys were probably about 9 and 7 and there was a little girl about 4. EVERYONE except the dad had their hair dyed a very brassy blonde--even the little girl! I guess it was kind of cute but it sure made them stick out! Maybe that was the idea.

Dyeing kids' hair isn't the biggest deal in the world in my book, but I kind of wonder--if that's the "battle" at age 6 or 7, what will the battle be at 10, and 12, and 15? Seems like things just escalate too fast and kids grow up too quickly these days.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by tiggerlover
Am I the only one who thinks it is a little odd to color or highliight a 7 year olds hair?

No. Unless there is some dire need for this to be done (ie, the child accidentally got into something that colored their hair some freaky color and you are dying it back to normal.

I was not allowed to dye my hair until I was 18. And then, I did it once and thanked god my mother didn't let me do it as a kid. Now I'm 27 and I have not dyed my hair since.

 

[Disney Ella]

I had a former boss who used to get her 5-year-old DDs hair permed because "it had no body and wouldn't do anything." I always wondered why a five-year-old's hair had to do anything.

 

[peg2001]

Originally posted by HappyMommy2
Dyeing kids' hair isn't the biggest deal in the world in my book, but I kind of wonder--if that's the "battle" at age 6 or 7, what will the battle be at 10, and 12, and 15? Seems like things just escalate too fast and kids grow up too quickly these days.

I can only speak for myself, but there was no battle! DD6 asked for red hair and we said yes. DD3 wanted to be like DD6 and we said yes. No battle.

I guess I don't see hair dye as a "mature" activity at all. Now, if we were to start talking about body piercing or make-up at young ages, I'd be on your side.

Peggy

 

[Robinrs]

I think it definitely depends on the intention, as with anything.

Back when my son was in the second grade, a beautiful little girl who had been in his class since kindergarten came back over the summer with her brunette hair bleached a golden blonde! Not streaks, totally bleached. Her little sister in kindergarten was bleached also. I barely recognized her.

Turns out she told my son that she wanted it because all of the "cool" girls in the class (she named them) were blonde! Sheesh! I couldn't believe it, the second grade has peer pressure???

It's one thing to think this, but to become a party to it? I think it was a perfect opportunity to sit down and talk to her about individuality and how beautiful Mommy and Daddy thought she was instead of changing it to match another's look.

Somehow that bugged me.

 

[Otto's Doll]

I think 7 is too young also.

 

[Crankyshank]

For the parents that let their young children and preteens dye their hair on a regular basis, aren't you concerned about the long term damage it will do to the hair? Especially if the hair is fine, thin, or doesn't have a lot of natural oils in it

 

[Arabella Figg 2003]

You haven't seen my dd's hair! If we could market the oil from her hair...

Seriously, my dd gets her highlights done at a salon that specializes in color. The colorist who does her hair made me stop doing mine very blonde because my hair was starting to fry.

DD uses a good shampoo and conditioning regimen, and her hair is gorgeous.