What age would you let your child

[Sgt Mickey]

This little girl was so adorable! Just sitting there in her little t-shirt and jeans so patiently like she'd been doing it her whole life (guess from what Mom said, she had been, basically).

Starting 'em out young, I guess.

Only thing I was ever allowed to use in my hair was the aforementioned Sun-In, which didn't do a thing for me. Other than that, I've never considered highlights or anything until this year. Turning 40 in a few months has me in a kind of a funk, KWIM?

I turn 40 next month and I do color since I had grey hair starting at 18 I do love to change it a lot. It does make a difference in how I feel.

 

[aprilgail2]

I am terrified that my DD will want to dye her hair one day. She has long platinum blonde hair and if she dyes it, it will never go back to its original state. My DS however I would have no problem if he dyed his hair, within one haircut it would be back to normal.

My daughters friend had platinum blond hair and starting in 3rd grade she has it dyed jet black- she is now in 7th grade and has it more of a chestnut brown but the kid did not in any way want to be a blond!

 

[disykat]

I would have let my boys color their hair from age 16. Prior to that, no. I'm reasonably sure I would have had the same rules for girls. There are products they can experiment with if they want to that wash right out. I consider it my job as a parent to protect them from longer lasting experiments.

I consider things like dying your hair to be a grown-up thing. I didn't WANT my kids looking like grownups. It seems like when I see it on younger kids, it's generally a rebellious thing. However, I'd actually be even MORE concerned if it was simply about thinking it would make them look better.

I started coloring my hair at about 45. At times, it makes ME feel high maintenance and silly.

 

[DeaverTex]

Hair coloring as it's done now is such a fun, whimsical thing. I wish I still had enough hair to participate. I'd need scalp dye to go along with the hair dye.

 

[marmalade]

My daughters friend had platinum blond hair and starting in 3rd grade she has it dyed jet black- she is now in 7th grade and has it more of a chestnut brown but the kid did not in any way want to be a blond!

When my DD was little she wanted to cut her hair off because she wanted dark hair, and she thought if she cut it it would grow back dark. Everyone makes comments about her hair and she didn't like it. One lady even asked if it was her natural hair color, when she was 3.

Now at the ripe old age of 7 she loves her hair, I just hope she continues to love it.

 

[violetrose]

When my DD was little she wanted to cut her hair off because she wanted dark hair, and she thought if she cut it it would grow back dark. Everyone makes comments about her hair and she didn't like it. One lady even asked if it was her natural hair color, when she was 3.

Now at the ripe old age of 7 she loves her hair, I just hope she continues to love it.

My DD went through a very short stage where she didn't like her blonde hair either. It is becoming more and more unusual to see tow headed blondes anymore. My sisters and I were all tow heads as were a lot of our friends but it just seems to be less common now. My DD was always one of the only, if not only girl in class with platinum blonde hair. They do go through stages where they don't like to stand out but now that she is 23 her hair is her lion's mane.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

I am going to go against the grain and say 3rd grade is old enough for some highlights in her hair. My DD wanted some highlights in her hair in 3rd grade and we got a highlight kit from Walmart and did it at home and it turned out super cute. This year (she is 12) she has dyed her hair dark red. (You can't have freaky unnatural hair color in our public schools or she would have blue or pink hair) But she does the coloring herself.

She is really good with hair. I dye my hair really dark brown/almost black and she does the coloring for me once a month. It is hard to do your own hair. Or it is for me anyway.

I think if she gets tired of the highlights you can always change it back to natural hair color. And color WILL TAKE AND HOLD in a child's hair. Not sure where anybody came up with the idea that it wouldn't. Hair is hair.

It's up to you as a parent to decide what age you think is right for her to have her hair colored. You asked the question but you already said yourself that you think third grade is too young so you answered your own question really.

I don't mind a child expressing themselves with hair color even at a young age but I draw the line at piercings and tattoos. You can get those once you grow up and move out of my house and can pay for them yourself.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

DW says 18.

 

[Pigeon]

Probably 8th or 9th grade. Neither of my dds has any interest though. Some of the girls were getting them at 8 or 9.

They are very expensive though, and while I don't really care what kids do with their hair as it grows back, no way am I paying for professional highlighting job for an 8 year old.

 

[jen0610]

whatever ae she is when she asks for them, honestly. Her hair, her choice. As long as it's not against school code, or if it's in the summer...I am cool with it.

I have boys, but they are allowed mohawks, etc. if they ask for them. it's hair. It grows out. nothing you do to it is truly permanent...

DD pretty much understands why there are reasons behind what I will say no to.

For dancing, she has to be able to get her hair into a bun. So that bob cut she wants that is longer in the front and super short in the back, is a no until she make the decision to stop dancing. She just got her hair cut back in May, and she really really really wanted some bangs. I said no, at first. When she did the pleading eye thing, I told her she would have to suffer the hair drama, when I had to deal with getting them slicked back into her bun. We've done it once and she is letting them grow back out. They didn't like where they had to go and she didn't like the amount of work it took to glue the suckers into place.

Unnatural colors - the pink, green, electric blue, and orange - that she has mentioned, are no's. For kinda the same reasons. She dances and while the purple stripe she had, which was maybe an inch wide, when slathered in gel and combed back into a bun, it blended right into her brown hair, none of these colors will.

Of course after applying the entire bottle to your hair for maximum benefit throw in a few lemons for good measure, sit in the sun for like - forever!

Oh boy do I understand. I think they still sell that crap.

They do and a couple of years ago DD was looking at a bottle and I told her no way would she EVER get to use that. My best friend in high school used it once and it took forever for her hair to look and feel right.

 

[meggiebeth]

3rd grade is IMHO too young. I wasn't allowed to get my ears pierced until I turned 12. And I am fifteen now and still have no real desire to dye my hair. In an ideal world, I think even 15 is too young. It can damage hair and they are extortionately expensive.

What an interesting thread

 

[disney1990]

My granddaughters started getting some pink highlights in their hair when they were in 6th grade (middle school) - very light, not in your face highlights.

 

[njmom47]

I know I let my dds do funky hair stuff when they were younger but can't remember exactly what ages...probably middleschool. DS had blue spikes when we was in about 2nd grade. All 3 were towheads as youngsters. DD1 loves to color hers white blond (currently has pink underneath); dd2 just graduated beauty school (there really was no other profession for her. She had her own nail kit at the nail salon in 4th grade ). Both dds have had blond with black underneath, all shades of blond and light/med brown/red.
I love to see a purple or pink stripe, but maybe 3rd grade is a little young!

ETA I asked both DDs and they said 6th grade was the first time we did anything to their hair.

 

[disney1990]

One more thing. Somethings are worth fighting about and some are not. My son-in-law used to be very strict on his daughters (my granddaughters). They could not wear 2 piece bathing suits; they could not get their ears pierced; they could not wear shirts that even begin to show any skin - even in the summer.

Five years ago, my granddaughter (who was 8 years old) was diagnosed with childhood cancer (non Hodgkins lymphoma) -- we almost lost her. Her father now has seriously reconsidered what is important in life.

Pink highlights in their hair, ears pierced - not a big deal in life.

 

[HelenePA]

One more thing. Somethings are worth fighting about and some are not. My son-in-law used to be very strict on his daughters (my granddaughters). They could not wear 2 piece bathing suits; they could not get their ears pierced; they could not wear shirts that even begin to show any skin - even in the summer.

Five years ago, my granddaughter (who was 8 years old) was diagnosed with childhood cancer (non Hodgkins lymphoma) -- we almost lost her. Her father now has seriously reconsidered what is important in life.

Pink highlights in their hair, ears pierced - not a big deal in life.

exactly! I almost lost my first daughter so many times her first two years of life.. you really do realize a lot of stuff is just VERY unimportant after that.

 

[shortbun]

I told my son he could pierce an ear at 13. I told him he could get a few highlights then too. As soon as I said yes, he didn't want them anymore. He's sprayed color into his hair a couple times-orange and green, blue too I think. It washes out and satisfies his need for a 'look.'

 

[disney1990]

exactly! I almost lost my first daughter so many times her first two years of life.. you really do realize a lot of stuff is just VERY unimportant after that.

I am so glad your daughter is alright. It really does give us perspective!

 

[Alsobrook]

get highlights in there hair? My daughter wants highlights but she only in the 3rd grade. I think that age is way to young

When she's old enough to pay for them with her own money.

 

[scrapquitler]

My mother used to do those Toni Home Perms on me...from about 2nd grade on up...after several disasters, she started taking me to the salon every few months for a perm! Never had my hair colored or high lighted until I was about 35 (my hair completely changed color when I was pregnant). Mom never in her life (to this day, at age 65) had highlights or colored her hair, but she still perms it religiously every few months.

When my DD was in third grade, she asked me to dye her hair, and I did. Then in 9th grade, she wanted blue highlights, so we did that. Last spring, she wanted purple hair (all over). We did that. Since then her hair has been pink, purple, blue and now platinum blonde (we had to bleach it to get rid of the pink residue). Tomorrow it is going to be dyed turqoise. I am now officially, in her eyes, the coolest Mom ever.

I told her that if she wants to experiment and do something wild with her hair, NOW is the time to do it. She doesn't have a job, she's not applying for colleges yet....but I did explain to her that some teachers or other adults might consider her hair color and make assumptions about her, and she needs to realize that she might find some discrimination because the teachers might think less of a girl with green hair. So far though, we haven't noticed that at all. I did tell her that her hair MUST be a 'naturally occurring hair color for humans' before she has her senior pictures taken next summer.

I do her hair at home, because I am way too cheap to be running to the salon and paying the hairdresser for all this work.

I noticed that many (okay, perhaps even MOST) of her friends started having highlights, bright stripes or allover dye jobs on their hair right around the beginning of sixth grade.

 

[aprilgail2]

exactly! I almost lost my first daughter so many times her first two years of life.. you really do realize a lot of stuff is just VERY unimportant after that.

exactly! My godson was diagnosed with leukemia at 2- he always wanted his ear pierced so by kindergarten he was the boy with the pierced ear, in 2nd grade he had a second hole in that same ear and he also had long hair- once it fell out he did not want it cut again until he was about 13 years old--who cares, it made him happy and when he passes away at 14 everyone was happy that he at least got what he wanted and no one made him wait for silly little things like that.