Kiddie Makeover: Spa Offers Facials And Fake Tans To Little Girls

Every time I go for a manicure or pedicure, I’ll inevitably see a couple of mother-daughter pairings at my local salon. And by that I mean young moms with their little girls, usually around 6 or 7 years old but sometimes as young as 4. I always go back and forth between feeling jealous of their special bonding experience – I have two boys and you can be sure we’ve never bonded over a mani – and the feeling that it’s inappropriate for these kids to be getting a full-on foot soak, massage, manicure and polish at such a young age. But more often than not, I think it’s sweet – especially when these little girls’  eyes light up at the sight of their own nails covered in bright, multi-colored hues. (I do occasionally gag, however, when the kids show a sense of entitlement, or when you just know they’re ‘regulars.’)

All this talk of fingernail painting is nothing compared to the services on offer – including facials, makeovers and spray-on tans – at Trendy Monkeys, a new “salon and princess parlour”  in the U.K. aimed exclusively at the under-13 set (it caters to clients as young as one). Owner Michelle Devine, a catalogue model and single mother of two young girls, told The Daily Mail that the salon would allow girls to “exude confidence, glamor and the desire to look her best at all times, regardless of age.”

Needless to say, children’s rights campaigners are furious. “This is outrageous – it is giving children a complex about the way they look from the age of one,” child protection consultant Shy Keenan told The Daily Mail. Uh, you think?! Clearly the launch of a kiddie spa like this one can only add to the alarming sexualization of children. While we’re all wondering what exactly Michelle Devine was thinking when she came up with the concept, you also have to question the countless parents who would willingly take their child to a place like this. Playing dress-up or putting on your mother’s makeup is one thing. Getting a spray-on tan at age 5 is an entirely different beast.

(Photo: iStockphoto)