Post # 1

Member
3774 posts
Honey bee
Our 6 year old is getting ready to compete in her first irish step dance competition. Most of the girls wear make-up and hair pieces like this:

Some of our friends have mentioned that they think this might be inappropriate. I personally don’t see a problem. (By the way, I am so not the pagent mom type) She works hard at dancing and I want her to put her best foot forward (quite literally 🙂 I haven’t bought her a wig yet but we did do a make-up trial today. This is the amound of make-up I feel comfortable with. Would you allow your child to wear make-up and a wig for a dance competition?
My daughter’s make-up trial

Post # 3

Member
2214 posts
Buzzing bee
Before opening the thread, I literally thought “only if it was a dance recital.” That was the only time I was allowed to wear makeup until I don’t know.. 13? Not sure why she would need a wig though. Why not just curl her hair?
Post # 4

Member
6884 posts
Busy Beekeeper
For competition I would yea, I see no a problem with it. Now every day life nope
Post # 5

Member
908 posts
Busy bee
I don’t think it’s a big deal, personally, but I will say that the only pageant I ever entered (which I won!) I was the only girl without makeup on (we were all five). Sometimes putting your best foot forward is just being a normal looking little girl who can dance.
However, I don’t think allowing your daughter to wear makeup is where parents are being “inappropriate”. Some of the extremely sexy clothing some little girls dress in however . . .
Post # 6

Member
5091 posts
Bee Keeper
When I was little, my mom let me do just a small touch of makeup for theatre productions and family pictures. That’s it.
Post # 7

Member
246 posts
Helper bee
As long as she still looks like the sweet little girl she should look like I think it’s okay. I have a huge problem with mothers who make their little girls look like miniature grown women with over the top hairstyles and heavy makeup.
Post # 8

Member
1733 posts
Bumble bee
A bit of lip gloss and maybe some sparkly eyeshadow. Definatley no where near as heavy as I put it on or the kids from toddlers in tiaras
Post # 9

Member
5657 posts
Bee Keeper
I used to do dance when I was a kid and we always wore a bit of stage make up. There were few if any girls that DIDN’T. It helps people in the audience see your face and your expressions, it’s totally normal imo for dance and recitals.
Post # 10

Member
1853 posts
Buzzing bee
omg, she looks so cute there!
I think the makeup is totally appropriate for a 6 year old in a dance recital!
Post # 11

Member
189 posts
Blushing bee
For recitals, yes, dress-up, sure. Every day? No.
Post # 12

Member
1578 posts
Bumble bee
- Wedding: June 2013 - Country Club
She doesn’t look like she’s wearing much at all, which I think is fine. (: I think that if she looked 16 years old because of the makeup, that’s when you’d look like a bad parent. I wore light makeup for pagents and dance competitions growing up (very similar to your daughter’s makeup).
Post # 13

Member
1501 posts
Bumble bee
For a dance recital yes. Everyday wear no.
What you are doing is totally fine and part of being a little girl in dance!
Post # 14

Member
1991 posts
Buzzing bee
I admit I voted before I read it… so now I changed my answer from NO to YES. I danced in recitals when I was little, and always wore lipstick and bush so that you could see my face from the stage.
Post # 15

Member
276 posts
Helper bee
I think its ok! I loved to dance as a kid and my mom would let me wear a little bit of make up. Also, your daughter looks beautiful!
Post # 16

Member
412 posts
Helper bee
that’s super light/natural for dance. irish especially tends to be about the glitz – wig, bright-coloured costume, and big makeup. for competitions, you need to draw the judge’s eye first to get them to focus on your footwork, so girls tend to go all out since there’s so many on stage at a time. stage light washes you out, and so you need to darken your features – eyeliner/fake eyelashes, blusher, lipstick. maybe eyeshadow to match the dress 😉 if there aren’t stage lights, or it’s a smaller auditorium, you could forego lashes, and use a lighter hand, but if it’s a big auditorium, you want people in the back to be able to see you, so i would use an even heavier hand.
i think being able to distinguish between a stage face and an everyday face is important. if anything, doing stage makeup made me experiment LESS with makeup growing up because it wasn’t a big deal and i didn’t consider it to be everyday face. when there’s a big event, i’ll go all out (and even get fake lashes), but everyday, it’s eyeliner, bronzer, done.
and yes, get the wig. for a little girl, i might just get the ponytail one; you get the “look”, but they’re sooo much cheaper. (and they do grow out of them). if she’s still doing it when she’s older, then get the full wig.