Is it OK for kids to "get their nails done"???

[LostTheCoat]

Teenage DD just called to ask if she could (she's out and asked me on the hop). I don't even know what it means tbh (I've never even painted mine!).
Help?!

Right. I’ve been taking my oldest DD since she was very little, she’s 10 now and I love a good day out getting our nails done and a bit of a treat. Not a rod for my back if I enjoy it! 🤷🏼‍♀️

I thought it wrecked your nails? Not to mention if it's a cheap place you run the risk of fungal infections (has happened to two of my friends 🤮)

Why is the whole thread assuming this is gel or acrylics? OP you first need to establish what your DD means exactly, if it's a file and polish with run of the mill polish that you can take off at home with nail varnish remover, no problem.

You need more info-

Is it acrylics , gels or just polish?

Are you happy to pay up to £70 for it (depending on where )

If her nails are to be filed down at all make sure it's a decent place as done incorrectly it can cause a lot of damage to nails and getting infected. (I mean whole nail getting filed for acrylics )

A 4 year old doesn’t need to go to the salon to get their nails done whether they enjoy it or not. Nail salons aren’t meant for children, it’s what adults do to make themselves feel good and imo it’s feeding in to the narrative of the emphasis placed on aesthetics and beauty. She’ll be bombarded with that when she’s older so I wouldn’t encourage it when there’s no need.

A hair cut is a necessity so it’s not the same.

Yes, but not acrylics. They ruin both the nail and cuticle and are ridiculously expensive to upkeep in both time and money. As well as being painful if/when they rip off.

Dd17 gets russian manicures.

Neither haircuts or having nails done are necessities. In my home culture a lot of people never cut their hair for religious reasons.

Obviously both are also fine. But they are simply choices about how we choose to decorate our bodies.

My DD has had pedis in the early summer since she was about 12. They are a nuce treat and made her feel grown up and now (19) it's practically become an annual ritual. She doesn't get her fingernails done.
She gets a gel one which lasts the summer.

Not cutting their hair for religious reasons doesn’t mean it’s healthy for their hair. Also we’re referring to a child here

In my experience, nail bars file the actual surface of the nail down, causing damage. Acrylics are damaging too, and to a lesser extent, standard gels/shellac.

I would encourage her to go to a proper beauty salon and have a standard manicure (shape and normal nail polish).

But if she's really set on something more, by far the best option is BIAB/builder gel, which is really durable, lasts 3-4 weeks and doesn't damage the nail surface. Be aware that she will need to go back to the salon to either get them infilled or removed though, as trying to remove them at home is very likely to cause damage.They can be short and neutral coloured so not obviously fake looking. Not all salons offer this but google should tell you.

My teenage daughters are allowed to paint their nails and have been for a good few years, not that they do it very often and they've never had itdone at a salon. I've told them that gels and acrylics are expensive and can damage their nails so they don't do that. I'm very low maintenance and they don't have friends with the fake look so it's not really on their radar.

My nail tech is very against teens having it done. I’m not 100% sure on the details but the stuff they use, if it goes wrong can lead to allergies to things required for dental work and surgery etc in the future. But I don’t know if that can happen to adults too.

Honestly, you could say this about anything. Character clothes, cute hairstyles, a glittery backpack that they like...I assume you are not taking your kids to the hairdressers for a cut? Because that's not really necessary, is it? Scissors and a comb in the shower - job done.

@Kinsters

I think I'm probably shouting in the wind here...

A reputable salon won't even let small children in, let alone do their nails. The chemicals in there are really bad for them to be breathing in.

children's nails should not have chemicals painted on them, they're much more absorbent than adult nails.

I know it seems like just a bit of fun, but it's actually not.

when zi was younger, I felt the same as you & painted the girls nails when they wanted them done (just dt home) but I've learnt so much more about the chemicals, so now I wouldn't.

It’s fine! I’d she gets acrylics she will have to pay to have them removed. Shellac she can soak off at home. Nice treat for the holidays!

@LostTheCoat

what did you end up saying to her??

hsd she already had them done??

@KatiesMumWoof I can't get worked up about it as an occasional treat tbh. There are bigger things to worry about.

With gel they also seemed to file on top of our actual nail, which I found odd and they had to put tons of oil on the nail to counter act the acetone or something. It all seemed very unnecessary just to get a longer finish.

I'd rather use normal nail varnish.

Just another idea, I use the Lily and Fix nail wraps and find them brilliant.

They are only 1.99 and postage is free from the Australian site.

I absolutely love them and they last a week (would probably last way longer but I love changing them) it’s just another option for you.

You can still get just normal nail polish at a salon. Or at least the one I go to you can. I've never seen them doing anything other than regular polish tbh.

How is it unhealthy for their hair? We still wash it and tie it up or wear turbans. And yes from infancy. I would have been well into my twenties before I first considered trimming my hair and even now I have never taken it to a hairdresser, I just trim it myself.

I was just pointing out the manicure thing is cultural. I found the idea of taking a child to the hairdresser odd but accept it is normal here. They are just.local choices. Not good or bad just whatever seems normal where people are.

There are good reasons to object to manicures for a 14 yr old like the cost and the fact the nails will break and she needs to check the salon is reputable and the workers aren't trafficked.

But saying haircuts are essential and manicures are not us wrong when a) for example I always cut my own kids hair and b) some of us survived to adulthood without having our haircut at all!

Haircuts and manicures are both just inessential treats for kids. But there's absolutely no reason not to give kids treats.

A few people mentioning BIAB as being a better option. It really isn’t. It’s just the same as any other gel polish, in fact probably worse. Even just having gel polish (and ‘normal’ polish to a lesser extent) on the nails can cause surface damage.

@BeretRaspberry gel seems worse to me because of all the acetone and filing etc.
And it stays on for so long.
Regular nail polish seems more straight forward

Acetone really isn’t that bad. It’s temporarily drying but it doesn’t do any lasting damage. If you put a nail clipping in a bowl of acetone nothing happens…it doesn’t dissolve it or soften it or anything. The filing, if not done correctly, can cause lots of damage - my nails were wrecked after BIAB/gels and that was with a reputable lady I go to for all my beauty stuff.

Any nail covering can cause surface damage from just general everyday use. If you think of the polish as being a hard coat that’s stuck to your nails, every time that hard coat takes a knock, tiny, micro bits of top layer of the nail plate lift. The effect is much more noticable with gel of course with it being thicker and tougher but can happen with any.

A good rule of thumb- if the staff are all young women and the boss is an older man, steer clear. If the staff are all fully masked up, don't go in, they may be using products which are illegal in their country for safety reasons.