Is 8 too young for beauty/styling?

[Kirstymcc99]

Need ideas for nearly 8 year old girls birthday present. She loved it a couple of weeks ago when I curled her hair with my straighteners. Is 8 too young for a proper curling?

Yes. Perfect.

At 8 she's getting to the age where some decent quality grown up art materials will be treasured and looked after. A perfect suggestion.

I’d probably go for the heatless curls set as a part of a birthday gift .
maybe some craft stuff and books too or Lego or whatever she is into .
my granny used to put our hair in rags to curl it when we stayed with her .

Give her a few more years of freedom to just be herself before funneling her down the tart yourself up route. Too young to be beauty conscious.

I have 3 DDs and the most they ever did was to paint their nails - usually a different colour for each!

Did her parents know you were using straighteners on her hair??

Course it’s too young.

Get her some Brusho - and a spray water bottle. She will create some beautiful pictures with it and it is fun. It comes as little pots of crystalline powder paint. I always make a hole in the lid and shake it onto the paper, then spray with water.

Ditto Yupo paper (plastic paper and a bit expensive) and a few liquid water colour droppers and she can create fascinating pics by moving the paper around.

Also gel plates - you can put on Brusho or any paint, spray and then roller a piece of paper over it to make a print. You can also put leaves or flowers in the mix. Youtube it.

Also use very wet paint and let colours blend, then put the paper in the freezer and enjoy the exciting results! Or you can spread wrinkled up cling film over it and wait for it to dry and see the lovely patterns that appear.

The important thing if you choose to encourage her interest in art is that she is NOT required to produce an accurate picture of something (which she will not be able to do) as she will become discouraged by her results. She needs to explore colour and shape and have fun!

I sooooo hope you’re joking OP. Eight year old girls shouldn’t be thinking about their appearance beyond cleaning teeth, face and brushed hair. Give her something to enjoy being active or creative or outside.
I despair of women who thrust “beauty “ onto children. It has no place in a child’s head or life.

Sounds like the child is the OP’s own daughter. Nothing to suggest otherwise.

We did nail painting here a couple of times on both children (DD and DS). That felt a bit different to me- playful and creative, a bit like face-painting, rather than emulating adult beauty trends or stereotypes.

My next door neighbour used to straighten her child's hair at this age, maybe even a little bit younger i'm just one of the most insecure teenagers about her looks that I've ever met. She had baylage or whatever it is called in year six. My daughter and her used to walk to school together and multiple times on my daughter called for her. She was in tears because her hair wasn't right or it wasn't straight.

Ah, I read it as not the parent. Nothing to suggest either way in the OP I think