Mom asks if she’s wrong to wax her five-year-old’s eyebrows after being bullied

How young is too young to wax your eyebrows? When this child’s cousins began bullying this mom’s daughter about her unibrow, she decided to wax it off for her so the bullying would stop. When the father found out, however, he was very upset. She asked Reddit their opinion on how young is too young to start things like waxing eyebrows. (1)

Is 5 Too Young To Wax Eyebrows?

This mother was sad and scared for her five-year-old daughter. Their cousins came over and began making fun of her over her thick unibrow. The teasing was relentless and quite mean. She wrote about the experience in a post on Reddit, which has since been deleted.

“They’d call her countless names, and at just five years old my daughter already thinks she is ugly. It breaks my heart because nobody (let alone a five-year-old) should think they are ugly. I reassure my daughter she is beautiful and not to listen to her cousins, but my daughter still believes she is ugly.” she explained.

Her daughter was set to start kindergarten in just a couple of weeks. She was afraid that the bullying would be even worse at school. The mom wanted to help her daughter gain confidence and avoid the trauma that is early childhood bullying. She decided to wax her daughter’s eyebrows, just so that she would no longer have the unibrow.

Her daughter was so happy when she saw herself in the mirror afterward. She even called herself “pretty” – something she had never done before. The mom explained she made sure to talk to her daughter that she was beautiful both ways, but she was definitely happy to see her daughter feeling so confident.

Dad Doesn’t Agree

This happiness, however, was short-lived. When her husband came home, he was extremely upset. To their daughter’s face, he told her she was beautiful, however, after she went to bed the couple had a big fight.

“He said it was horrible of me to be subjecting my five-year-old daughter to beauty standards. And that at such a young age I’m pushing it on her, instead of telling her she is beautiful the way she is,” she wrote. “And no five year old should be waxing their eyebrows, and I’m pushing the mentality that she is only beautiful without her unibrow. And that my daughter is too young to know what she wants and she should have been able to make her decision to wax it off when she is old enough.”

The mom explained that she understood her husband’s concerns, but her daughter said she wanted to get rid of her unibrow. The unibrow made her unhappy. She didn’t want her daughter growing up being bullied and teased for something that could be easily changed. What’s more, she didn’t want her daughter to one day blame her for not taking action sooner.

Reddit’s Opinion

The majority of people supported her. They said that while yes, it is important for us to teach our children about unrealistic beauty standards and to love themselves as they are, allowing her to be bullied could cause lasting damage.

“As a woman who had a moustache for way too long – He does not understand what growing hair is like as a woman or girl and is refusing to understand.” wrote one user.

“My brother growing up was relentless and made fun of me for having a unibrow (I didn’t), but it got to the point where I took care of it myself. I’m still self-conscious of it to this day – that bullying leaves a mark. I’m glad you gave your daughter the option to not deal with that.” wrote another.

Many others talked about how cruel kids can be and that there is nothing wrong with helping empower your child’s self-confidence. She wasn’t telling her daughter that there was something wrong with her or that she wasn’t beautiful. Her daughter was unhappy with a part of her physical appearance and it was affecting her self-esteem. The mom helped her make a small, quick change that completely changed how she saw herself – from ugly and unworthy to quite the opposite. 

 “You are a great parent. My mother didn’t let me shave or wax and body hair until I was almost in high school. It was extremely embarrassing and was constantly picked on. Your daughter is beautiful both ways but good for you for allowing her to feel confident in her body. Your husband needs to get over it.” said one user.

Kids Are Waxing At Younger And Younger Ages

Kids today are growing up in an increasingly difficult world that spotlights physical appearance. In the world of Instagram, everyone looks “perfect”, so it’s a difficult pill to swallow when you don’t look like that in real life. Many children as young as eight from all ethnic backgrounds are turning to professionals for body hair removal. Face, arms, and the bikini line are the most popular requests at the salons. (2)

“At that age they’re swimming, so they don’t want it to show through their bathing suits,” says Annette Palumbo, the operations manager for Sugarmoon salon in Toronto, Canada. “Social media has really upped the ante about how young people want to look. Younger people are doing everything—shellac nails, gel nails, hair, balayage. It’s gotten to the point where they’re the mini-me of an adult.”

Is It Safe?

Currently, there are no real guidelines for age limits when it comes to waxing. There are risks to every form of hair removal – even shaving. It is important for parents to have discussions with their children and help teach them about safe hair removal. The reality is, they will likely attempt it on their own or with their friends if you don’t, so you may as well be a part of the process. This is both for their safety and your peace of mind.

“Pursuing hair removal in pre-adolescents and adolescents remains a personal and family decision,” says Dr. Rebecca Levy, a dermatological specialist at Toronto Sick Kids Hospital. “Examples of red flags include axillary (underarm) or pubic hair growth in pre-pubertal children. Excessive facial hair growth in females, particularly when accompanied by menstrual irregularities, acne, or thinning of scalp hair.”

At the end of the day, you are the parent and it is your decision. That being said, make sure that your child is a part of the conversation. If they are being tormented by their peers over something so simple as hair removal, empower them to overcome this while also teaching them about self-esteem and confidence.