5 year old gel nails - is just once ok?

[ChronicallyOnLime]

God I don’t want to sound like an awful mother because I know gels can weaken nails.. but will one time be ok?

We’re off to Disneyland next week as a surprise for DD and she is utterly obsessed with having her nails done, we always use regular polish for her but they never last more than a day or two. I do my own gels at home for special occasions and I’m wondering whether I could do it on DD just for our trip?

I can avoid filing her nails surface as it’s not necessarily being done for that much longevity as you would an adult. But I’m just wondering if it’s still a terrible idea?

Took my granddaughter twins to my Salon for a birthday treat age seven. Ordinary polish. Every nail had to be a different colour. They were thrilled. Their nails weren't damaged. School frowns upon gel anyway.

I wasn’t saying she didn’t have friends. I said I’m glad my daughter isn’t into those interests because her close friends aren’t into those so most likely wouldn’t have that friendship group and judging by the other children in her class would struggle making friends with others. If you and her have took that to mean I was saying her daughter has no friends then that’s on you. I don’t know her daughter, how do I know what friends she has? Unless she doesn’t have any friends and I’ve touched a nerve of course.

Well google says experts advise no earlier than 15-16. I didn’t read the article (there were several on the same subject) but I’m assuming there must be valid reasons why the age minimum is circa mid teens.

I wouldn't, but I'd get a decent top coat and maybe some nail art stickers to make her feel fancy in a more age appropriate way.

She's 5. Don't be ridiculous, let her be her age!

I suppose I need to hand back my post-grad qualifications and resign from my professional job, as I've enjoyed playing with hair and make-up since I was small and my daughter does too. I've clearly been accidentally mistaken for something other than the vacuous, superficial idiot I am.

I forgot that now women are allowed careers and an education, the least we can do is fit in with the men by eschewing all stereotypically feminine endeavours. I'd better get my overalls on and go and tinker with the car engine before the university comes to tell me off for tricking them.

She is 5 - you could permanently damage her nail bed. You know how thin her nails are!
She is 5 - just how long does it really take to repaint a 5 year olds nails

Not the main point of the thread I know, but I’d be very surprised if there aren’t quite a few children in your child’s class that are interested in space and dragons- these are very common interests for young children, (along with the Titanic and sharks in my DD’s case!) Children have a range of interests, just as adults do, and these aren’t at all unusual!

If I wanted to look at the bigger picture and be a bit cynical about it, I might suggest it’s a shame that so many girls end up with this particular interest (fashion and beauty) which often leads to a lifelong interest, and conveniently ends up making an awful lot of cash for the industries involved. If mothers are engaged with the industry, I imagine their daughters are more likely to be.

If what I was into and played as a child had a bearing on how I turned out, I would be a scientist with immaculate nails who drove a skip lorry and rode a pink pony on weekends.

And there aren't whole commercial industries built around dragons and space adventures? I think Disney and Pixar have done very well with both of those themes... but that's OK because they are stereotypically "boyish" and therefore worthy of respect. A boy buying Star Wars merch is a collector and fine, a girl buying make-up is a bimbo and such a shame.

Just so you know, LED is still UV it is just a different method of emitting it. LEDs are more powerful than standard UV but you use them for less time. So I am not sure how it effects total UV exposure

OP, here's a Disney pack of nail stickers for kids from Amazon. It's Frozen, Snow White, Mickey Mouse, and something else that I can't make out. Why not do her nails as normal and give her these stickers as a special treat? I'm sure she'd love Disney nail stickers when going there on holiday. I like the idea of a PP about putting clear varnish over the stickers to make them last longer too. You could do a coat of her favourite colour, then the stickers, then the clear.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BGGL9T2L/ref=oxscacttitle1?smid=A1K79IK16Q9ONI&th=1

Ignore all the bluestocking-esque, pearl-clutching about your kid having nail stuff. Many little girls love kids' makeup and there's nothing wrong with them expressing their feminine natures, if they're so inclined. The horror over little girls wanting to be feminine is rooted in sexism, the same sexism that gives us tomboys but no male equivalent. And I'm quite sure that no parents ever tell small boys not to play with toy soldiers or diggers because those things are for men or much older boys. It's natural for many little girls to have feminine natures, and I find it a form of cruelty to deny them their self-expression. No one stops little boys from expressing their masculine natures. 🤬 (This is a bugbear of mine. I don't have a daughter but if I did, she'd be free to express her true self, no matter how feminine or masculine. I certainly wouldn't be frowning on feminine things just because they're feminine.)

No she’s far too young and this isn’t at all appropriate. What are you even doing painting her nails?

Let her be a little girl.

Good god I wouldn't even let my 5 year old have painted nails.

I was planning to be an author more famous than Beatrix Potter AND a scientist.

Sadly, it all went downhill the day I found a bottle of peel-off kids nail varnish. I didn't realise it was a gateway drug. Before I knew it, I was seeking out harder and harder nail varnish. At my worst, I was getting through 2 or 3 bottles of Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails topcoat in just a few months. By then, it was anything I could get my hands on. Foundation, eyeliner- I even dabbled in face masks and skin care.

I used to be able to read, but that all faded away around the time I started putting polka dots on my nails and wearing dresses to work. Of course, no-one took my seriously- when I delivered presentations wearing anything other than a bare face and a plain trouser suit, everyone fell about laughing.

Now I just spend my days watching Love Island and tittering vacantly, trying not to laugh lest my 2 inch mask cracks, occasionally getting distracted by my hair sizzling as I curl it over and over.

Go to Clare’s accessories and get some kids press on nails.

Just asked my sister who is a spa manager and very experienced therapist. She said that as a one off it would be ok BUT she wouldnt recommend it as most kids will pick off the gels and thats what causes the damage. If they were properly soaked off and nail treatment put on, there wouldnt be any serious damage, but as I say, she wouldnt recommend it.

Five. Years. Old. ☹️

Your daughter has all these lovely things going on in her life and yet I still feel sorry for her.

Absolutely brilliant, @MrsSunshine2b! Howling over here!

This stereotype of feminine things = brainless needs to die a bloody death, yesterday.

I haven't got the strongest nails, I've only had gel nails once and honestly it took years to correct the damage. I wouldn't risk it myself as her nails are probably even more fragile than mine.

Hope the holiday is great.

You are going to Disney land she’s not going to worry about her nails and if she does that’s a much bigger problem!

This sounds like the kind of thing I would do if I had girls. Child age appropriate, but still fun, stuff. We used to put transfers on us like tattoos when I was a primary (not as young as five).

Does she get a spray tan at the same time?
Letting children have cosmetic procedures is pretty awful. Let children be children and stop sexualising them!

I really think it’s a terrible idea.
literally why?