A co-worker of mine recently complained that his mother in law had taken his little girl to get a makeover; face made up, hair done, new clothes — the whole shebang. Now, this wouldn’t seem like such a big deal unless we’re talking about an 8 year old girl. Barely old enough to start wearing lipgloss, in my opinion, let alone actual lipstick.

“Regular use of certain cosmetics is rising sharply among tween girls, according to a new report from the NPD Group, a consumer research company. From 2007 to 2009, the percentage of girls ages 8 to 12 who regularly use mascara and eyeliner nearly doubled — to 18 percent from 10 percent for mascara, and to 15 percent from 9 percent for eyeliner. The percentage of them using lipstick also rose, to 15 percent from 10 percent.”  The New York Times

So, yes, I did empathize with him. When I was 8, lipstick and makeup were objects belonging to a far and distant future. The stuff was not for kiddies my age, for sure. Besides, in my household, they’d rather I walk out the door with ratty hair and mud smudged cheeks than a red pout. You know, stuff kids at that age usually sport on their face.

Apparently, tweens wearing makeup is no new phenomena. There are more and more salons offering makeup services to young girls. Walk down the aisle at your local drugstore and you’re sure to find at least some makeup targeting tweens. Hannah Montana wears it. Heck, even Dora the Explorer got a makeover so why can’t they?

In a recent New York Times article, a mother who took her 11-year-old daughter for a makeover says, “I figured, better that she’s informed and has the right tools than she goes into it blindly with her friends in the bathroom and comes out looking like a clown.”

While I do see the logic behind her approach, I still think that young girls should focus on just being kids. They don’t need to be stressing about how they look or what mascara another friend has on. Besides, I don’t think it’s healthy for girls to obsess over pouty lips or full lashes at such a young age.

What are your thoughts?