Do You Pluck Your Kids Eyebrows?

If she doesn't care, don't do it. You will make her feel like something is wrong with her appearance if you do. If SHE notices and says something, discuss the what, why, how, etc. but don't initiate it.

Unless it bothered her a lot, I would let it go and even then not wax them. My DD is inheriting my eyebrows, but it never bothered me til I was in middle school. I wouldn't look to Toddlers and Tiaras for parenting advice, personally. Let them be kids. My DD also has a birthmark that is fairly large but flat and there's no medical need to change it. I am teaching her that it makes her special because one day some kid is going to notice and make fun of her (or for something else) and she needs to have the confidence to shrug stuff like that off. If she is 15 and plucks her own eyebrows into oblivion, then so be it, but at least I'll give her a lot to work with before then!

Please do NOT! Let the little one grow up the way she was intended to. Let her make the decision of whether she likes unibrows or trimmed once she grows up :)

Please don't put that insecurity on your child.
There is nothing wrong w/ her uni-brow.
Like Jill said, it is very common.
By plucking her eyebrows (which would physically hurt her) you are saying: there is something wrong w/ you.
And there isn't.
The moms on that show are living on another planet.
And will probably have hefty psychologist bills to pay one day. ;)

Are you serious? No, I wouldn't put my five year old in ANY kind of pain for vanity.

I think question you ought to ask yourself is "what is the purpose of shaping my 5 year old's eyebrows?". If you can think of a legitimate purpose, then go for it. Personally, the only purpose I see is for the vanity of the parent.

No! We're german/irish but somehow my youngest has a dark, crazy unibrow but she also has beautiful blue eyes and blond hair so it looks kind of cool. But she's 5.5 and no way will I pluck her eyebrows yet. It hurts and she's just a kid. Until it bothers her, it's one less thing to deal with. I honestly think it looks just fine on little kids. It's pretty common.

Edit: I'm shocked how many people say to wax it etc. She's only 5!! Wow. My daughter has never even commented on hers and she's a very girly girl. Hugely into her wardrobe, nails etc. But I think it's not until over 6 or 7 years that girls start to think if they're pretty compared to other girls. I'm fine with helping out when they start to care on their own w/ NO prodding from me but if the little girl doesn't care and other kids don't mention it, then like someone said, who is this being done for? Must be the parent's vanity.

I actually saw that show for the first time last night -- egads!!! So sad!

I haven't read your other responses, but if it were my child I would wait until she asked or brought it up. I personally think 5 years old is too young to show our daughters that they need to change themselves physically to fit in or be considered attractive. Just my opinion.

I think that you are taking it too far. I think that she should first learn that in her very natural state she is most beautiful. She has the rest of her life to determine how she wants to look--form moment to moment, if she wants--but I believe very strongly that her foundation should be one of satisfaction and even pleasure with what she looks like and who she is when the curtain comes down. Obviously, you could make her feel insecure about things that she doesn't even think about now. Even more, you will be determining what look she will need to maintain, instead of letting her determine how she wants to look.

When I was a girl, I was a little hairy. My eyebrows grow straight up, and I never did anything about them until I was in my early twenties. In junior high and high school, someone was always trying to shape them, but I was content with my natural self. Once I got into glamour, I realized that they didn't go well with the look that I was trying to achieve, so I started shaping them. I tried different shapes with different looks. We don't have to have the "final answers" as babies. From moment to moment we need to be able to love who we are on every level, and that is so much better achieved with less external pressure to fit in to an ever-changing ideal created by others. My hair did thin out, and I just love the light fuzz that's all over my body. I shave my legs, but I don't have a fit if they aren't perfectly smooth at any given time. (Oh, and I am pretty good-looking, in case you are wondering if I'm just content looking like Frankenstein and King Kong had a baby.)

I'm wondering if it's maybe bothering you more than it's bothering her. Not to be snarky, but has she even mentioned it?
I think the day that she asks about it, is absolutely the perfect day to wax it or buzz it off. Not a day before.
Good luck!

9Personally I love to see little girls with little dark hairy eyebrows and peachy fuzz 'sideburns'--So cute!

If my child had a unibrow I would pluck/wax in a heartbeat! I said that before I even had kids. I would not walk around with a unibrow; so why would I make my child. I say do it!

I have to "free the unibrow" every couple of months on my son. I just shave it off. He thinks it's funny. Takes five seconds and he looks so much better.

From someone who grew up with lots of facial hair....leave it alone if it doesn't bother her. I was adopted and have some middle eastern heritage, my adoptive parents and sister looked very different from me, had light hair and very little facial hair. It wasn't an issue for me until my sister started making a big deal about it then I became VERY self conscious about it. This stayed with me until I was in my 30s and had laser hair removal. At some point she may want it removed, but at 5 leave it alone.

My own daughter has facial hair too and has never been bothered by it. In middle school we started waxing her eyebrows but nothing else bothers her. She is confident and happy with her appearance thankfully!!

My sister decided to pluck my eyebrows for me when I was in 5th grade (against my will) - it was horrible - she missed several times and got my skin while she was sitting on top of me. I didn't forgive her for years. Unfortunately she was babysitting that evening and my parents weren't there to intervene.

I would do it only if it bothered HER. I have a nine-year-old with generous eyebrows, but they're not real dark. Her legs are also getting hairy, but I'm not saying a word. The day she asks me if she can do something about it, I will agree.

She likes to pluck my eyebrows for fun! I let her because she does a good job and my eyesight (at 50) is iffy up close! Good practice for her, also.

Absolutely do not do it! Do you want to start sending her the message (at 5) that she's not good enough? That's what you'll be doing.

If one of my boys had a SEVERE unibrow, I'd ask them if they would like me to wax it. And just the center part across the nose.

But if they say no, I'd not bring it up again. Just say "let me know if you want me to and I will" and let it go.

My oldest has ears that REALLY stick out. He's been picked on about it. This year I asked him if he'd like to have them surgically pinned back. He completely took me aback (and pleased me) when he said "it's okay mom, I like myself the way I am."

I do too! And it will never be brought up again unless HE mentions it.

I have been wondering when this will come up for my 7 year old - her's are very thick and hairy too. However, I would never recommend bringing this up with a child so young. I think this falls under the category of "it's her body" and if it doesn't bother her, don't create an issue that doesn't exist. In my case, I figure a time will come for my daughter in her preteens and teens where we focus on this kind of grooming, probably nearer to when she is ready to shave her legs. Girls focus too much on their physical appearences as it is, don't start too early.

But I implore you to never pluck for her - now or when she is a teen! I ruined my brows as a teen by not doing it right or letting friends do it. I wish I had gotten electrolisis,(*sp?) or waxed at a good spa so I understand how to shape and thin without looking tacky!! Brows never grow back. And this is all the more reason to wait. You don't know how her hair will grow in, and you could do more damage now. Plus she will learn to hate the whole grooming thing at this age. Bad idea all around.

"Toddlers and Tiaras" would give an unfortunately slanted view of reality, in which someone's idea of physical "perfection" becomes the main goal of life, and that somehow, that's okay or even desirable. Physical beauty is fine, but to subject kids so young to the idea that they have to be pretty in other people's eyes is not healthy on an emotional or spiritual level.

Chances are good that that brow line will thin out on its own in coming years. If and when your daughter begins to fret, with no coaxing from you or her dad, about too much eyebrow, you can talk about her options. Plucking might be too uncomfortable for some kids, but shaving or shearing might be reasonable options. There are special devices that are like miniature hedge shears for removing excessive feminine facial hair that are non-irritating.

I think if you want to fine! A unibrow on anyone is just a bit much.

If my daughters had unruly eyebrows and unwanted body hair that would certainly stand out id go to the salon with them and make it a "girls" day.

I mean technically a cleft lip is not really bothersome, just unsightly. No one would ever tell you not to put your kids in major surgery if they had that. I mean a little hair isnt that bad, but it is much more manageable.

Having so much hair SO YOUNG will get noticed and if i were you i would treat it the best way possible not to single her out.

I think there's a big difference between "shaping" the eyebrows, like Toddler & Tiaras, and removing the hair in between them to stop the unibrow!

Go for it.

That's so funny you should bring up this topic because my daughter asked--well begged--me yesterday to pluck her eyebrows.

Some background: she is 12, and it was not a unibrow, but it was definitely a lot of crazy black hair where it shouldn't be. She is Irish and Italian, so she has very fair skin--and black body hair!!! I felt so bad for her in the 5th grade that I had to let her start shaving her legs, because kids were making fun of her : (

I would do nothing at all, until your daughter mentions it. Then, as another mom suggested, explore her options. But I would definitely not approach her first, or she will feel self conscious. Believe me, other kids will zero in on any differences, and you can "pre-emptively strike" the unibrow, but it will be the legs or something else next :(

Not that it's all bad though; my daughter has come to embrace both her fair skin and her crazy Italian hair...it will all work out for your daughter too, I'm sure!

Honestly, when I first read your question...I was like WHAT? NO!!!

But after thinking about it, you might want to do something......especially since she is getting to be school age. I wouldn't pluck it though, she probably won't like that, but if you do, do it right after bath/shower when pores are open so it'll hurt less. I would try one of those personal little shavers - they cost about $7, they have a battery and look kinda like a big pen with the cap on.

At her age, I would use one of those Finishing Touch trimmers, maybe introduce her to waxing/tweezing in a few years if it bothers her.

I would not shave or "shape" anything on my little kid except if they have a unibrow. I would shave or wax my kid's unibrow. A unibrow detracts from a child's natural beauty to such an extreme extent in my opinion, much like a huge birthmark. But no, I do not have to groom my son in that way at all. He has lovely eyebrows. :)

I did, she saw the difference between her eyebrows and her friends and the kids started making fun of her. I also did it because she tried to do it herself with a razor and as you can imagine she messed up her eyebrow needless to say I had to color it in for a while until it grew out. The only part I pluck was where they met and only enough to create a gap.

I never heard of this until you posted the question. I had heard of the monster mom who injected botox into her daughter in the girl beauty pageants, but that made the headlines.

Otherwise, obviously not something that crosses my mind. I would not consider doing any form of beauty treatment on a young girl until SHE starts to notice and request it. They are just perfect the way they are.

This cracked me up. You are gonna get a lot of outrage out of this post. LOL
I understand where your coming from, My youngest has the hairy back issue, It drives me crazy, I hope and pray it falls out soon. Shes almost 7. As far as tweezing and waxing, No do do this to her, but there is a tool made for eyebrows and it basically just shaves the unwated hair. It doesnt hurt and it doesnt tramitize them. Ive seen it used on Toddlers and Tiaras. A friend of mine also has it, she says it works great. My 16yr old has lip hair issues, and every now and then I force her to wax it, It drives me crazy. I'm gonna go buy the shaver as well.

Good luck. AT least your not spray tanning her and getting her fake nails at 5.

My 15 year old son gets his eyebrows waxed.
Yup, my shaggy haired, hippie wanna' be son wants neat brows. Luckily our hair stylist understands boy brows and they look "manly" and neat. He only does it a few times a year also.

With that being said - I would not do a toddler's eyebrows. Now, as she gets older and/or expresses concern about her eyebrows, then, yes, I would. But I would be very careful and very sparingly thin it out. Over plucking or waxing can lead to permanent eyebrow loss (kills the follicles and they don't grow back).

God Bless

My dad is from India, so DD has the dark hair on her legs & various other places. I guess we're lucky that she didn't get a unibrow, but if she did, I would not hesitate in trimming it up a little.

Unibrows run in my husband's side of the family. I asked our niece who does hair for a living when it is safe to start waxing the unibrows for my bows and she said not until after puberty.

I use one of those small electric razors and trim my daughter's eyebrows because if I don't she has a unibrow. I think as a parent it is our responsibility to lessen the opportunity for other children and/or parents to make comments about our children's appearance and this did stand out enough to detract from her beauty.

For special occasions like a recital, being in a wedding, or having pictures I might pluck a little in the middle to lighten the brow but not a total pluck until it's shaped perfect kind of thing.

I let my girls watch me do it and I let them see how painful it is. It's scared them off of doing it for quite a while. Their brows are lovely as they are and they're so young that even though my 6 year old has generous brows, they're adorable. I wouldn't do anything until she asks.

I would, if my girls had uni-brows... believe it or not, it was one of the things my husband and I discussed before we had kids (while being pregnant). LOL! His sister had uni-brows, I'm part Spanish, so... just in case it were to occur, I'd pluck (or probably I'd explore less painful ways to remove the hair) for uni-brows. But only uni-brows, as you have said as well. None of our for girls are hairy or with uni-brows, so we don't have to worry about it.

Uni-brows are DEFINITELY one of the TOP things made fun of- but yet one of the easiest things to take care of. We brush, cut, style our kid's hair... might as well groom the brows as well! All the moms saying "she'll think there's something wrong with herself" I don't think that is true at ALL. What about other "changes" we make to kid's looks on a regular basis? It is easier to say "don't do it" if you have not experienced the same situation. Not to sound terrible or anything, but a uni-brow has a tendency to define that person IMMEDIATELY as "the person with the uni-brow". It is a very stand-out feature, and overshadows the beauty of one's face- especially in girls.

I do agree that show is plain crazy- as are the parents. If i didn't have kids, I'd possibly find that show entertaining, but I have four girls and that show is horrifyingly sick to me.

One of my DD had very thick hair and unibrow (from my Italian side) on her legs, arms and eyebrows. As soon as she had an issue with it --- around 5th grade, I dealt with it. She had eyebrow waxing from around 4th-5th grade. The legs and arms waited until later --- I think about 6th grade. I just waited until she really needed some intervention! She is 18 now -- no issues :))

haven't read your answers. My daughter has been shaving her legs since she was maybe 8 (she inherited very dark hair from my husband's side of the family - ugh). I have been having her unibrow waxed since she was maybe 9 or 10. She's about to turn 12. I don't know if I would have been waxing at 5 unless it was REALLY bad.

If one of my kids had a really bad unibrow, I would take care of it. I probably wouldn't pluck. I hate plucking my OWN eyebrows! But I would probably use one of those little eyebrown razors to take care of it.

Get one of those Nair waxing kits that you heat with your fingers and just do the middle. But don't force her to do it. Just make the suggestion. Tell her it will hurt for like 10 seconds and do it.