My poor DD has cut her eyebrows :(

[CambridgeBlue]

She's only 11 and has unfortunately inherited her Dad's hirsute-ness. I think her eyebrows look fine but she hates them and the other day I noticed she'd attacked them with scissors. Luckily they don't look too bad but I'm worried she's going to mess with them again.

I didn't want her to start worrying about her appearance so young and I've told her she looks lovely as she is and promised that when she's a bit older I'll take her to a salon to have them shaped properly but it's obviously not doing any good - due I think to bitchy girls at school.

What shall I do? I don't want her to wreck her eyebrows - mine are not great due to 80s over-plucking - so I'm going to have to help her out somehow.

Let her get them threaded, they trim them afterwards.

My mum never helped me with mine and I got teased about them, it wasn't nice. I tried to use hair remover cream and burned the skin and got teased even more.

As a mum you're programmed to think she looks lovely but a if it makes her feel more confident that's a good thing surely?

I agree with Fluffy. If she is worried about them now why make her wait until she is older?

Unfortunately if she's bothered about them she won't stop being aware of them. It's out the bottle so to speak. Could you take her to a friendly salon for a chat to maybe give her some pointers on low maintenance she can do safely at home. If she is being teased I would let her do something even at her young age rather than being miserable.

I would have been about 11 when my mum took me to get mine done - pale skin, but very dark unibrow that I was getting teased about.

The beautician was brilliant and showed me how to shape and not over-pluck so they looked natural rather than "done" IYSWIM.

Maybe speak to your local salon about your concerns about her age and the fact that you want it natural not a "scouse brow"?

Give her the choice. Say you've noticed what she's done. Do her brows bother her? Does she want to see what a salon could offer?

I suppose some will say she is too young, maybe that's what's holding you back? Personally I wouldn't want my DD's confidence knocked.

If it bothers her, she wants it sorting and I could help, it's straight forward to me

I have very dark brows and I plucked mine to non existence in school, which took yrs to grow back properly.

I would let her have them threaded so she feels more confident. I don't thinks she's too young if its something that is really bothering her.

If it's bothering her NOW, why make her wait? I don't get that.

Yes do take her to have them done professionally, no need to wait til she is older. This should avoid dd attempting further measures such as razoring or over plucking.

Take her to have them threaded now. My mother was in denial about all kinds of things (my eyebrows, leg hair, facial hair, weight) and refused to help me saying it was 'fine'. It was not fine and the bullying sapped my confidence. I think part of the problem was that she could not accept the fact that I was growing up and she wanted me to be a little girl forever!

Agree with the above. No young girl wants to look hirsute, let her get them sorted out. There is little to be gained by waiting.

Yes agree go now - when i was 13 i 'shaped' mine with a razor..! Would have been wonderful to have a mum that understood and took my self consciousness seriously!

Oh yes take her to a salon or teach her yourself now. I remember my poor friend who tried to trim hers using a razor it was so bad she corrected and the mn corrected again and ended up with little stumps. Took ages to grow out, she was teased mercilessly.

If she's bothered by them, why not let her have them threaded?

Poor love, little things like that are so much harder to live with at her age.

It is a shame that an 11 year old has noticed/been made fun of her eyebrows, but it happens :( My godson started having his unibrow 'taken care of' at this age because of being teased about it.

They seem to grow up so much faster than when we were kids (especially in the UK I have to say) - so if it was an issue for her, I'd take her to have it done (regularly) on the conditions that she a) leaves it alone and b) tells me about these things and doesn't do stuff like this in the future.

I work in schools and kids, especially girls, grow up physically / mature (not mentally I hasten to add) much more quickly. What might have affected us at 16, can be a bother to them at 12. It is grooming and the sooner you get the basics right, the less bother in the future. It is difficult to compare our youth, with theirs, but grooming is a habit best started early, before desperation sets in and real damage is done.

Big brows are in right now, show her some pics of <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=4.bp.blogspot.com/-SWeOYh8WPxM/UNVw9tkNcSI/AAAAAAAAgLM/KUVURCXBVwA/s640/cara-delevingne-LP.jpeg&imgrefurl=secret-hipster.blogspot.com/2012/12/cara-delevingne.html&h=1292&w=960&sz=289&tbnid=t1C4nZwSpvk0JM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=62&zoom=1&usg=__c9QOpLeMVtUxkBB9thwOKbLrSGM=&docid=W7dlwAIiiI212M&sa=X&ei=7hXQUc2eK4TP4QT24YCoAg&ved=0CJYBEP4dMA0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cara Delevigne to boost her confidence in her natural looks first, but if she is really unhappy I'd show her how to pluck a bit. Threading in Liverpool seems to be done right out in the open which I wouldn't recommend!

dd is 11 and i pluck her eyebrows for her, she was getting called monobrow at school so i just do the middle bit. i know she's young but it did worry me that if i didn't she'd take matters into her own hands and make a mess.

Thanks all, I do want to help (obviously) but I am annoyed that an 11 year-old should be having to worry about her appearance. I remember having similar issues myself but I was a good bit older - I hate how they have to grow up so fast these days!

I don't like the idea that she already feels she's not good enough - by helping her out with this I feel I'm backing up that message but there's no point ignoring it because goodness knows what she'll try next!

I did mention Cara Delevigne to her Jackie but it seems that looking like the identikit kids at school is more important than looking like a successful model .

My DD is 12 and has very thick eyebrows. She hated them, so I took her to have them threaded. They look fab, she's happier, job done.

And they're still thick!

speaking as somebody who does not wear makeup and is naturally grey
and does not shape my eyebrows at all

take her to a salon and get them done properly : then she can maintain by a tad of tweezers

I always tidy the bridge of my nose .... the main shape is beyond hope as I have a scar down the middle of one eyebrow!

its an easy way to boost her self confidence.

Ah. That's a shame, but I remember being the only curly haired 11 year old that had started puberty in primary school so I understand the need to fit in.

My DD is 11 and has very heavy dark brows, they are a lovely shape but they grow long upwards IYSWIM? I noticed she had cut them, she has seen me trim mine, but had did it badly. I told her to ask and I do them now if she asks me. She has been using hair remover since she was eight, it's sad but children can be cruel.

My Dniece had a mono-brow from the age of about 8. At 10 she begged me to help her deal with it as my DSis was a little reluctant. I got her some immac for facial use and she went from there. She (now 15) sorts it out herself these days and apart from one disaster all is well.

Unfortunately she still gets teased about her hairy arms (girls can be cruel).