Being a teenager can be a tricky journey for anyone to navigate, but it may have certain difficulties that are retained for female teens. Female teenagers are trying to cope with changing hormones, school, a part-time job, and trying to “fit in” with the world around them. They are trying to find their place in the world and part of that is exploring their individuality. They want to experiment with hairstyles, clothes, and makeup.
This can be concerning for any parent, as they may question some of their teenager’s choices, but maybe wary of saying anything. They don’t want to overstep and cause a confrontation with their teen daughter, but they would like to offer some friendly advice and tips to help them along the way.
Is Your Daughter Ready?
There is no magical age for when a child becomes old enough for makeup, but there is an idea of when it is developmentally appropriate. According to Parents, things like makeup are a “parenting gray area.” That means that there are no hard rules or laws on the subject, and it is likely up to each individual family. Chances are that teenagers are being influenced by the amount of time they spend on social media.
If your teen wants to start wearing makeup, the best advice may be to think about why your child wants to wear makeup, and possibly go on a shopping outing together to pick some out.
Make Sure It Is Safe
According to Cleveland Clinic, if your teen wants to wear makeup, the least we can do is make sure it is safe. This may mean that we need to do a little research ourselves. If possible, it is great to pick out a product that has very few ingredients in it.
It is also advisable to start off with less. Encourage your teen to start off slow and ease their way into adding more, as the old saying goes, ‘It is always easier to add than to remove.’
There are always going to be great YouTube tutorials that mom and teen can watch together. This can be a great moment for bonding.
It’s Much Deeper Than Makeup
While makeup can be fun, it is also important to make sure your teenager understands how to care for their skin that’s underneath the makeup. According to New Folks, it is important to emphasize the importance of making sure that skin is clean and healthy when removing makeup. Teenagers are still prone to oily and acne-riddled skin, and if they want to wear makeup, they need to be responsible for making sure that their skin stays healthy.
This is actually especially true if their motivation for wearing makeup is to hide blemishes and imperfections, it is important to let them know that makeup will not make them go away, and it may actually make it worse.
It can be hard for mom to handle the makeup talk and that is because it is a sign that her daughter is growing up, and this can be hard. However, it is always important to remember that this can be a wonderful bonding opportunity. It can be actions like this that make it easier for a teen to open up to mom.
Sources: New Folks, Parents, Cleveland Clinic