Makeup for little girls can be a controversial topic. However, we at Meland want to champion girls of all sorts, future sports stars, scientists, firefighters, astronauts, and princesses.
We firmly believe in a girl's ability to be anything they want, we want to celebrate that.
This means we want to encourage little girls to explore, engage and experiment through safe play. If a young girl is interested in makeup and wants to give it a try, we'll support them.
Makeup can be fun to play with, but how early is too early? And is this a toy that's really safe for kids?
Makeup can have a positive effect on children as it teaches a number of creative and fine-motor skills, as well as allowing them to imitate their mothers by playing grown-up.
When should I introduce make-up to my daughter?
This is a question many parents ask themselves. Some say that your child must be at least four years old before trying out some color on her face, while others we've heard from think that no girl under ten should wear any cosmetics at all.
We all know that kids copy their parents’ behaviour. So if mom is using makeup, your child will likely want to experiment with it just like she does. Makeup lets girls express themselves and feel grown up, which can help build their self-confidence.
Once a kid shows interest in makeup, we recommend being part of their discovery process by introducing them to pretend makeup at first, before graduating to children's makeup when they’re a little older.
Makeup toys for kids are carefully designed to be safe and encourage girls to experiment with colours, patterns and symmetry.
Using makeup can improve the fine motor skills of children, as well as their concentration levels, creativity and mental development.
Ultimately parents should decide whether their child is ready for makeup. As parents need to be part of the learning process for children, it's important for parents to be the ones that introduce makeup to their kid.
Suggestions to teach little girls how to use makeup
There are many ways you can teach little girls to use makeup. From playing dress up and makeup on dolls or toys, using a willing parent to act as a model, or just sitting down in front of the mirror themselves.
For younger kids, we recommend getting familiar with the different types of makeup with a pretend makeup kit that doesn't contain any real makeup. This will allow a kid to pretend play with their makeup.
One way would be that you could pretend that they're playing with toys or dolls, and give them make up for their toy/doll to play with. Extending their vocabulary and creativity in a safe (and clean) environment.
If using one of our washable children's make up sets, reassure your kids about how easy it is to wash off their makeup. It can be scary the first time they discover they look different with makeup on.
For extra safety, some of our kits come with makeup stickers; they stick them on their faces and then they remove them when they're done playing with the makeup. Makeup exploration should be fun, so you just need to let kids know that.
For slightly older kids (5+), we suggest only choosing safe and kids friendly makeup. Often kids are interested in makeup because they've seen their moms wearing makeup and therefore already have a general idea about how to use it.
Demonstrate how by simply by putting some makeup on yourself. Spend some time together by sitting in front of the mirror and just doing your makeup as a pair.
You can talk about wearing makeup for special occasions or even imaginary events, which is a helpful way to build social skills. Or you can just let the kids decide how to play with their makeup as long as it’s safe. It’s great to encourage them to explore their creativity by letting them try different styles and colors. Makeup can enhance children's imagination as they are free to create new characters every day!
We think it's also important to teach kids the good habit of removing makeup once they finish playing with it.
Make sure the kids have everything they need, including a towel or tissues to clean up and wash them hands if needed. Good personal hygiene habits will be useful for them throughout their life.
How Meland can help?
At Meland we offer a selection of makeup kits. For younger kids between 2 to 4 years old, we have sets that contain only plastic, imitation makeup that aren't able to be applied to the child's face.
For older children over 5 years old, we have special sets that contain actual water-based makeups that can be safely applied and easily removed.
You can check out all of our makeup kits here.
Important to remember…
Girls used to be told to wear makeup to please others. Not anymore! While we encourage little girls to have fun playing with makeup, we want them to know they wear makeup only if they want to. It’s for themselves and themselves only. Makeup can be used as an artistic expression or even for completing a costume.
Breaking free from conventional ideas of beauty is also what we should teach our girls. Makeup helps girls become their own person and allows them to express themselves however they like. Ultimately, they’re beautiful with or without makeup.
