Salons cater to kids as young as four

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Kavya Joshi’s parents are busy arranging for their daughter’s princess-themed birthday bash. Kavya, is turning eight and her pre-birthday plans include visits to the hairstylist to braid her hair with dazzling ribbons and beads; the pedicurist to soak her feet in rose petals and honey; the make-up artiste to apply pink or red lip-gloss and rouge on her cheeks.

Kavya also wants her invitees to be dressed in a similar fashion.
Shreya’s parents, while trying to cater to their daughter’s demands landed up at the Fuzzyhare (at the Ambience Mall, Gurgaon), Kids’ Spa and Salon designed to pamper toddlers.
“At Fuzzyhare, we have a piano-shaped nail bar that takes care of those little fingers that need manicures; we undertake nail art and use alcohol free nail paints. We have a pedicure chair shaped like Cinderella’s slipper,” says Praneeta Shringi of Fuzzyhare Salon.
“We use coloured hair gel, capes with cartoon characters, scissors with barely visible blades, and distribute free candies to children from attractive boxes. Teens can play X-box games and get temporary gel-based tattoos,” she adds.
For young children, who maybe traumatised by scissors or a sanitised environment, Fuzzyhare is the place to go.
Vanya Spa Services, is another place in city, which claims to use only natural products, has a range of spa therapies for children belonging to the age group of four-14 years.
“We provide children with ‘ubtans’, fresh fruit scrubs, a champs massage, champs manicure to smoothen and exfoliate tender skin,” says Leena Mehta, marketing manager of Vanya Spa Services.
Talking about this emerging trend in the city, Ankit Chettri, a hair-stylist at Flora Unisex Salon in South Delhi says, “Children are becoming very fashion-conscious these days. They even suggest different hairstyles and make-up that could be tried on them.”
Toddlers are choosing from the wide array of sport icons to popular heroes to even celebrities — David Beckham, Harry Potter, Justin Bieber, Hannah Montana, Rihanna, Barbie, etc for inspiration.
“Kids really don’t keep still all the time, so we have to switch on our television sets to keep them hooked,” Chettri adds.
Most salons ranging from local beauticians to luxury hotels provide basic mani-pedi services for kids. Some even provide gentle massages, soothing scrubs, warm oil therapy and relaxing spa sessions.
“The examination of child’s hair texture, face cut and body structure is very important if you want to give the kid the look he or she demands, so consultation with a stylist is very important,” says Imran Ahmed, make-up and hair stylist at Madonna, Green Park.
Swati Dubey, mother of five-year-old Shreya says, “My daughter loves being pampered. I regularly take her to the salon for a stylish haircut and a hand and foot massage. My kid should match the standards of her social circle." Other parents willingly agreed with this indulgence.
In order to cater to the requirements of the young, the cosmetics industry has flooded the market with attractive shampoos for kids, conditioners for tender scalps, fragrant soaps in various shapes, powders, hair-gels, lip-glosses etc.
After a close study of the emerging trend, psychologist Dr. Girish Banwari says, “Undue and excessive emphasis on external grooming may end up making the child pathologically self-conscious and abnormally self-indulgent at the cost of underdevelopment of the more desirable inner and positive personality traits like empathy, humility and caring for others.”