How Common Is It to Color or Perm a Childs Hair?

I am a mother of an 18-month-old and work full-time as a very successful hairstylist in the area. I can tell you from personal experience that it would be best to wait on serious chemicals, like hilights or perms, until they are 12 or 13 years old. It is a long process (at least 2 hours) to do any chemical-related service and I don't think young girls really enjoy sitting there that long. The chemicals we use are pretty strong. If you want a quick, natural way of hilighting your childs' hair, simply buy real lemon juice at any local grocery, and saturate their hair right before going outside to play. Lemon (or lime) juice will bring out beautiful natural hilights on any sunny day. And the best part is they can play for 2 hours outside much easier than they can sit in a salon.

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Ok - so you've gotten lots of responses already, but figured I'd throw in my 2 cents as well. :-) My vote is for NO ... other than potentially damaging her young natural hair .... little girls grow up sooo crazy fast these days - it saddens me ... let our girls know that they are beautiful naturally - they don't need amazing blonde highlights or the best curled hair ... they are beautiful just how God made them!!! While it may be pretty ... I'm sure that her hair is beautiful in its natural state!

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Old school here. I'm sixty years old and I can remember getting HORRIBLE machine perms as a child. Hair color for kids was unthinkable back then, but I see it more and more. My granddaughter has this dark blonde hair that is stunning in the summer when the sun lightens it and I am tempted to keep it a bit light all year, but my husband thinks I should let it be it's beautiful natural color while she's little. That's the only nudge I've needed to leave it alone. I figure she'll get into the chemicals soon enough.
Your call,
C. S.

Wow, Janet, I had the SAME experience with a perm, but I was in 5th grade. First one didn't take, went back for another and kept it on longer. Ever since that perm, my hair has lost it's natural wave. I have no body to my hair anymore, and honestly, I blame it on that perm. When it finally ran its course(I think 7th or 8th grade), my hair was limp and thin. I'd always had somewhat thin hair, and it's very fine, but this is just horrible. I hate my hair. No haircut or styling can make my hair look any thicker.

I know that with my daughter, she can perm/dye her hair when she is old enough to earn the money to have it done herself. I'm not going to put her in the position of having what I went through happen to her. But that's just my opinion.

I wouldn't do it. JMO. It will just ruin her hair. I bet
she has beautiful, silky hair now, and all those chemicals
will just make it dry & dull. I've been dying my hair since college, and I just have to keep doing it every 6 weeks to keep it up. I wish I had natural, shiny hair. Also, what kind
of a message are you sending her that young? It's not good enough, so let's do something about your looks? I wouldn't want to teach my daughter that so young.

If you really want to do it, then I would do others suggested. Get a wash-out color. Or do a semi-permanent color for special occasions only.

I got my first perm the summer before I went into 3rd grade. I wanted it. So I would say that if you daughter wants it go for it.

I think perming went out in the 80's. 7 is a little young to start doing anything like that. Why rush them to grow up? My daughter, who is 8, wanted to do a little color too, because so-and-so did it, my response was,,,,,typical mother response.."Well, if so-and-so jumped off a bridge would you jump off too?!" That's just our family though.

If you feel ok doing it then do it, but if you are second guessing yourself then don't.

I started getting my perms at 12 yrs. old & I still believe I was too young to be subjected to those chemicals back in the 80's!

If you want to do something fun with your daughter go buy her some new clothes if she wants a new style. She is WAY too young to be subjected to the chemicals of perms & dyes.

My daugheter is 6 1/2, and I have to say I have been a bit tempted to perm or color her hair. But then I remember what happened to mine. I was in 6th grade when I first got my hair permed. The first one didn't take, so my mom took me back a week later and insisted they leave it on longer. Well, it took that time. I had an afro!! The curl stayed in through 8th grade. I was 15 before I was allowed to dye my hair, but boy did I have fun. I was never into crazy colors. I just went from brown to blonde to red. I liked the red. Now that I have kids, my hair does not like the hair coloring. It gets brittle like straw.

I think I am going to wait until my daughter begs to have her hair done and then do something not so permanent first. Just so she won't have to have an afro.

Anyway, I say if you are comfortable with dying your daughters hair...do it. If not...don't. But do make sure she wants it done too.

I don't know I 'd start exposing her to all of those chemicals so young...I mean wait until she starts going grey at 25, then she'll make up for lost time on her own! ;) That & I just can't see covering up all of their natural innocence & beauty w/ chemicals & a focus so early on "beauty." Just me...
D.

If you and she really want to do something fun and funky, try some wash out colors. You can buy different ones from beauty supply stores such as Sally Beauty. At most use a temporary that washes out gradually over about a month (such as Natural Instincts). I used to work in the industry, and although perms and colors have come a long way in the past few years, they are still extremely harsh for a child. If you absolutely decide you have to do something for whatever reason, please go to a good high quality professional salon to have them do it. They can at least pick the products that will do the least damage to her hair and take extra precautions with her delicate skin.

Hi C.,

I am so sorry, but PLEASE DON'T MESS WITH YOUR KID'S HAIR!!! I am just giving you my opinion, but the time will come soon enough that she will be wanting to do so much stuff to her own hair. Don't be influenced by what other people are doing, believe me after everything that I have done to my hair (since my 20's) it is a wonder I have any left!!

Unless her hair is kinky and it needs to be straighten or other problems, just leave it alone and keep it cut every 5 to 6 weeks and leave it alone!! Kid's hair will only be that way for a little while especially after all the brushing, pulling, bows, pony-tail holders, rubber bands, combs, clips even the sunlight, pool water, etc. All of this damages the hair follicle and then adding the blow-drying, curling it and then add coloring or highlights and then having to keep it up....just let them be kids!!

Again, she will be asking for this all on her own very soon, so give her time to be just be a kid and not worry about it for now.

Look at all the maitenance you have to do to yours as an adult, ...do you want to have to do that now w/your child? Figure out how much it would cost for the upkeep and I would venture to guess you would wait.

Anyway, purely my opinion, but I just wish folks would make their kids leave their hair alone while they are young.

Thanks!

Gladys