Bright’ kids in town

Nail art, hair wraps, manicures: kids today know the secrets of looking good.

TINY little feet soaked in rose water. Nicely manicured hands. nails sparkling with art, making them look pretty. Many kids of today not only want their skirt to be rightly matched with their top but also, their nails, hair, feet to be stylish, trendy and well maintained. They no longer mind accompanying their mammas to beauty salons and spas because they want to look fashionable and get noticed. They love being pampered. Don’t be surprised if you find a tenyear-old getting a mani c u re done. She would even demand a particular shade of nail paint that matches her birthday party dress.

Unlike earlier, when kids went to salons only to get a hair cut done, these days they love indulging in nail art, hair extensions, manicures and pedicures. “Kids as young as 11 years old visit the salon. They are really fascinated by nail art, which is quite a fad these days. They love to play around with designs and colours,” says Sonia Thapa, owner of a beauty salon. Yellow, pink and blue, all shades pretty and vibrant, adorn the teeny-weeny nails. “Nineyear-olds come for the hand and feet spa. They love doing nail art, glitter tattoos, temporary tattoos, hair extensions and hair wraps,” says Priya Kriplani, owner of beauty salon in the city. While manicures and pedicures can cost anywhere between 100 and 800, nail art and hair extensions range from 100 to 250. Hair wraps can cost up to 300. But, don’t they face problems at school? Thapa responds, “Kids can’t be flashy at school. Hence, they opt for French manicure and paint subtle colour flowers on the nails. But, during the holidays and festive seasons, they love to jazz it up with glitter and shimmer.” Holidays and festivities give kids a opportunity to deck up and look their brightest best. Says Neha Anand, mother of an eight-year-old, “My daughter loves funky nail colours and the chocolate manicures. She gets it done during the holidays as it is not allowed in school.” Riya Gandhi, an eight-year-old, quips, “I love doing nail art. It’s cute and colourful. Plus, manicures and pedicures are very soothing. They give me a fresh and clean feeling which is awesome. My friends and I enjoy the experience. I like to be prim and proper and stay stylish.” Going for a nail art is fun, and funky. Agrees eleven-year-old Meeta Keskar, “I just love admiring my nails with colourful butterflies and funky paints adorning it. I enjoy experimenting with colours.”

The trend of visiting parlours is fast picking up among city kids as they want to look great. From a parent’s point of view, getting manicure and pedicure gives a clean look. Spa owner Riona Biyani tells us, “Mothers insist on getting manicures and pedicures for the kids as they are worried about germs and dirt that stays in their nails after a sports activity. The feet getreally bad. Complete manicures and pedicures are not recommended. We avoid doing the cuticles for them. You can rather say we just do the ‘clean up’ of the little hands and feet.” Another school of thought is that manicure and pedicures should be done after you go past teenaged years. States Vienna Albuqueque, owner of a beauty salon, “It is totally wrong for a kid to get these things done at such a young age. We should let kids be their age.”

Some might agree. Others may not. But it’s nice to see little kids strutting around with butterflies, flowers and fruits adorning their hands and being stylish.