Pint-sized Salon Services

ABC news article about salon services for little girls: http://abcnews.go.com/US/beauty-salon-services-kids-full-hair-nail-body/story?id=15061284

I've got mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, children usually don't need salon services to look good. They look fine the way they are, and I don't like the idea of marketers making them feel inadequate:

"The marketers are definitely telling them, you're not pretty enough, so you need to buy makeup and you need to wax your eyebrows and get your hair straightened. You need to change all of these things about yourself," she said. "That has a strong negative effect."

Plus, as much as I enjoy the beauty of little girls, physical beauty isn't everything. Personality is very important, and I wouldn't want kids to get too focused on looks.

On the other hand, it's kind of natural for girls to want to look good. As long as they don't get carried away with it and get vain and arrogant, why shouldn't they pamper themselves and have a little fun?

I suspect part of the appeal of salon treatment to young girls is the attention they get, a chance to feel "grown up," and have someone make them feel important:

"There's always a market for little girls and giving them a little special time and a little love."