What’s the right age for girls to wear makeup?

Jul 28, 2011 8:43 AM by Kim Grundy

Posted in Parenting / Age by Age / Tweens, Teens & College

The Makeup Debate

What is the right age for your daughter to wear makeup? Parents and experts dish on the right age for makeup and how to ensure it looks natural, not overdone.

Preteen makeup 2

"Mom, I want to wear makeup!" Those words may strike fear into the heart of a mom who feels like it was only yesterday she was walking her little girl hand-in-hand into preschool.

"Makeup often represents an adolescent girl's eagerness and excitement to become a 'grown up,' and explore her attractiveness to peers, but for parents, it can bring up fear and stress relating to their child maturing and becoming interested in boys," says Julie Hanks, a psychotherapist specializing in family relationships. "It may also represent a daughter pulling away from her parents to focus more on peers, which may feel scary for some parents."

Start slow

Many parents agreed they would start with light makeup, such as lip gloss and mascara. "When my daughter started 5th grade, she asked to start wearing make-up. I told her that she had to wait until Middle School. After a few trips up to school, I see that most (but not all) of the girls are already wearing makeup," said Mom Dawn Speese. "I have recently decided to relent, because I want her to learn proper techniques and use makeup appropriately and not like most of the girls that I have seen at school."

Carol Tuttle, mother of 5 and author of Dressing Your Truth: Discover Your Personal Beauty Profile, says she recommends starting with lip gloss and makeup between ages 10-12, progressing to foundation and cover up between ages 13-14. Between the ages of 15-17, blush, eyeliner and eye shadows are appropriate and by age 18 your daughter should have the skills to apply makeup to enhance her natural beauty.

Makeup overload?

If your child is wearing too much makeup, Hanks suggests talking to your daughter to find out the reason behind her makeup overload. For instance, is her skin breaking out? Is she trying to get the attention of a boy?

"When [my daughter] was around 13 years old, she started buying her own makeup, choosing colors that weren't natural looking or flattering on her. Any comments or suggestions from me were met with defensiveness," remembers Hanks. "So, I took her to a nice department store makeup counter and asked the makeup artist to do her makeup (and made sure it looked natural and age-appropriate). I then told my daughter that I would buy her the basic makeup (powder, mascara, and in exchange for all of her other makeup at home."

Too much too soon?

Some parents, however, feel that girls should not wear any makeup until they are older because it sends the wrong message. "We cultivate a natural, no-make up rule early in my family," says Michelle Nicholasen, author of I Brake for Meltdowns (Peseus/DaCapo Press). "My four girls are young, but they understand how I feel about make up. It's for dress-up fun only. My rule is no makeup or pierced ears until they are 18, at which point they can make their own decisions about these issues. I'll have my opinions, but I won't get in their way."

Dad Adam Nelson agrees." I have two very self-confident daughters that look past looks - in themselves and others - and realize that looks are really not important. Their criteria of 'judging' other people is whether or not they are nice. That's what is most important. "

Mom and founder of RedHauteMama.com Kirin Christianson says she picks her battles, and makeup is not one of them. "I'd much rather take a firm stance on boys, drugs, alcohol and getting her homework done."

Comments

Comments on "What’s the right age for girls to wear makeup?"

I'm 13 and I want to wear make-up. My mom wont let me, so I only wear it when she has to go to work (mascara mostly). How do I let her know that I want to wear make-up. I always watched my mom, when I was little, when she put on her make-up. So then I learned how to put it on, by watching her. All my friends wear makeup except me. I felt left out so I started using mascara and hiding it from my mom. Please inform me how I could tell my mom I want to wear make-up.

I didn't wear makeup until college - I was 19, and for very dumb reasons (because my boyfriend at the time wanted me to because he didn't think I was pretty enough without it). I didn't have any clue about technique (and learned as I went, and a little from my younger sisters). I was perfectly fine without it until 19, and over time (and long after the boyfriend was out of the picture) I learned how to apply it to enhance my natural beauty and how I didn't need to wear it all the time. I think when a girl is ready to wear makeup she'll broach the subject. I think it's important for mothers to explain makeup to their daughters, how to where it, and learn the motivations behind wearing it. A girl needs to be confident in her own beauty, and this needs to be reaffirmed by both parents. It's really important to me that my husband loves me and thinks I'm beautiful with or without makeup, and this is something I'd hope our children someday will hear, see, and know.

I started wearing concealer around the age of 13, but that was only due to my acne. If I didn't have acne I would've never started wearing make-up at that age. Now I'm slightly older and I still use the concealer, along with BB cream, to cover up the acne scars and eye-liner of lip-gloss every now and then. I don't think age has anything to do with make-up, it's just a self-confidence thing I guess.

I am a mom of an almost 11 yr old. When I was her age, my mom would forbid even "play makeup" and I also hid makeup bags during middle school/high school. My daughter has been playing with "play makeup" since she was very little. We talk about wearing makeup to enhance, not end up looking like a clown. Personally (this is just my opinion)I think it's ok to wear appropriate amounts (lip gloss, tiny amount of sparkly eye shadows). I think because I didn't make such a big fuss about it and my daughter was able to "play" when she was little...it's not such a big deal at home.

I am 21 and I still dont wear make up I am in athletics and have a boyfriend who loves me for me and i hope girls don't think that makeup is the only thing that makes them pretty because it's not true girls are pretty without make it shows who they really are so don't follow the crowd be your own person and don't listen to anybody who tells you differently

I am a 13 year old girl and my mom will not let me wear make-up and i really want to because everyone wears it at my school. i have some that i just put on at home to practice, so lately i have been sneaking it in to my school bag and putting it on in my school bathroom, and when we are dismissed i rinse it off before my dad picks me up. I am lost. I cant keep hiding my make-up from my mom and dad. What should i do??

I am a teen. My mom allows me to wear concealer,mascara and lipgloss. It is just because I pleaded her for her permission to wear makeup. But her personal opinion is that such products might damage my natural beauty it also contains toxins that are harmful for the earth and makeup users. Respecting my mother and her opinion I am wearing makeup occasionally.

I don't think that 15 is an appropriate age for girls to start wearing makeup because I think that girls have beautiful skin normally. Not every girl should wear makeup unless they have like some acne problem that if they want to they can put some cover up o but that's about it

Thanks so much Kim!