How Young is too Young when Using Extensions in a Child’s Hair?

I am going to venture out on a limb here and say that this is a matter of opinion and is at the sole discretion of the mother or caretaker involved.

I refuse to leave it at that though, we love our little girls, they are our pride and joy and caring for their hair can be some what of a priority since like us we want to see growth and health in their hair just as much as we want to see it in our own.

There is no doubt that braid extensions help us to keep our hair healthy by breaking the need for constant manipulation and protecting our ends from damage.

However with a child there are two things to consider when making the decision on if you should add hair extensions* to her hair, one, how fragile her hair might be at the time of the decision and two, how mature she is.

When we refer to extensions, we are talking about any kind of weave hair that you would add to your child’s hair to protect it or just as a part of her regimen.

This topic has been debated a lot especially when we see celebrity children rocking braids from as young as six years old. Off the bat for me I can say definitively that 6 is way too young, but lets really discuss it.

Is a child’s hair too fragile for extensions?

The hair on a child’s head when she is born is much different from what it will look like at 13. Her hair will change over the years, the color will change, the thickness, and the texture will change as the child grows. Up until the point of puberty your child will have thinner and more fragile strands that can easily break and get damaged with more stress.

In fact there are specific recommendations from doctors and professional hair stylists who refute the use of chemicals and additives that can potentially cause harm to a child’s hair before the age of 13.

The scalp is of particular interest because it is an extension of the child’s skin, and just like you would do everything to protect her skin and not put stress on it with harsh creams, you want to treat her scalp in the same manner.

Even though extensions* are not ‘creams’ you need to be able to care for your daughter’s scalp in the gentlest way you can without the fuss of extensions* that might get in the way.

My opinion is, if you want to protect her hair, you can braid, cornrow or twist it just as you would with extensions hair, just using her own hair instead. With that said, if we were to determine what age is most appropriate for braids and weave hair based on physical attributes alone, I would say when her hair isn’t changing as much and is strong enough to handle it.

Typically this would be during puberty but even then you still want to have some sort of control with regards to how long extensions are in, and why you are putting them in her hair in the first place. Lets move on to maturity.

Should extensions depend on maturity?

Personally, this will only be an issue after my child is 13 point blank, because at this time we can probably safely determine if her hair is strong and healthy enough to ‘take’ braids.

When we refer to maturity we mean, are you and your child able to decipher the difference between using braids and extensions* as a means of protecting her hair for growth and health rather than a crutch because your daughter is not particularly thrilled with her own hair?

Sometimes children can view certain things with more imagination than we might like, they are influenced by everything around them, like Disney princesses with long flowing hair that does not look like their own, or other kids in class that tease her about her ‘wooly’ hair making her feel a little insecure.

They might feel a sigh of relief when they finally get braids because it is the perfect compromise for what they view as a better alternative to what they have.

It is important that your child understands her hair, loves her hair, and knows that extensions are just a means to give her hair a break from time to time so that her own hair can stay healthy and retain length.

Is that easy to explain to a child? Not always, and that’s why we have to not only lead by example, but we also have start the conversation early, very early. At no point should a child feel that hair extensions* are a replacement for her own hair, once she understands that, then she might be able to wear extensions* from time to time once she hits puberty.

What about weaves?

We have primarily been focused on braid extensions, but what about full coverage weaves or crochet braids? This again is a matter of opinion, I am not a fan of weave extensions for little girls, and by little I am referring to girls under 16.

I have never raised a teenage girl before so that is just my own opinion minus the actual experience. What is your opinion, how young is too young for braid extension hair, and how old should a child be for her to have her first weave?