How to Talk to Your Daughter About Makeup

01 Jan 2012 No Comments

Ah, makeup. It’s a touchy subject for moms and daughters. Daughters want to be able to do what “everyone” else is doing. Moms want their babies to stay little girls just a little while longer. When you’re at an impasse, what do you do? How do decide the right age? And how do you help her get ready?

Image via Wikipedia

Set a Specific Time She Can Start Wearing Makeup

Most girls start to wear makeup around junior high or middle school. Tell your daughter that she can start wearing makeup when she hits a certain age or grade, and stick by that. If you’re uncomfortable with letting her wear it because you don’t want her to look like a little girl trying to look older, you can start small and set restrictions. Set an age that you’re comfortable with and that you think she can handle taking care of her skin so it’s healthy, with or without makeup. Consider how responsible your daughter is. Make sure she understands that makeup won’t cover skin problems and can actually make them worse. You can wait until your daughter’s in high school or older, but remember that if she thinks you’re being unreasonable, she might buy makeup on her own (if she has an allowance) and put it on at school. Also, as a young lady, she can make mistakes with makeup, like too much blush or gold eye shadow, that won’t fly when she’s 20. Too much blush on a 13-year-old is cute and a little funny. Too much blush on a 20-year-old is simply unattractive.

Make a Day of It

Whether you go shopping with her for her back to school clothes, take her for her birthday or get her makeup for Christmas, make it something the two of you can do together. This will give you the chance for you to tell her that she doesn’t need to wear makeup because she’s beautiful just the way she is. It will also allow you to tell her your rules about makeup, including where she can wear it and how much of it she can wear. Consider scheduling an appointment for you to both get made up at a department or beauty store. That way, she can see how she looks in makeup that’s done well. She can also learn some tips on how to apply it. Consider letting her pick out a color kit, so she can wear the colors she’s excited about, like lipstick so red it looks black and purple eye shadow. It might not be your favorite, but eventually, she’ll learn the things that actually look nice on her. Also purchase products that will take the makeup off entirely, including eye makeup. Don’t forget an SPF lotion.

Products to Consider

To start, if you don’t want her going overboard, you might start with:

*Tinted lip gloss instead of lipstick

*Powder foundation

*Clear mascara

Makeup isn’t a bad thing. When she learns to use it, it can enhance her natural beauty and make her feel more comfortable in her skin. Keep the line of communication open by showing her what to do and she’ll be more willing to talk to you. If this first battle goes smoothly, it can set a precedent for the teen years.

Cindi Lewis writes for GLOSSY, a hair care and beauty products online retailer.

Teens and Makeup (fingerpaintmakeup.wordpress.com)
How much makeup should a 13 year old wear (wiki.answers.com)

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