Why can’t I wear this top? Why can’t I go to the nightclub? Why can’t I go on a date? Why can’t I visit the salon? Just a few chapters from the mom-and-teen daughter battle book.

When it comes to salons, it sure is hard to resist the lure of exotic beauty treatments screaming out loud from glossy magazines. What makes it worse is that most localities now boast their own swank beauty addresses.

But mothers being mothers will try and get their way, often dissuading daughters from beginning a regular beauty regimen. “Once you start, you’ll have to continue forever? Delay as much as you can?” is by far the most oft-heard advice here.

But teenaged daughters being daughters are perpetually convinced about just how wrong their mothers are and how desperately they need a facial or a pedicure.

GoodLife gets a few experts to address the most common age and beauty related query, for both mother and daughter.

Removal rules

“The average age of girls visiting parlours has gone down,” says aesthetician Ruby Biswas of Saajo, a salon in Shyambazar.

Regular services like waxing and threading are naturally high up on any youngster’s list. But what is the recommended age for hair removal? Experts say girls can safely start once they hit puberty.

“Adolescent girls, 14-15-year-olds, should be asked to keep their underarms clean, especially if they go for a swim. Similarly, if they are the active, outdoor sort, their legs should be hair-free,” says Ruby.

The next obvious question: waxing or razor? Younger skin, says Ruby, should opt for waxing. “Not only does it make the skin silky, but shaved hair grows back faster and coarser. Not to forget cumbersome in-growth.”

But a visit to the salon at an early age should be need-based and not driven by peer pressure. Fine hair can be removed at home, naturally.

Here are some tips from Ruby. Make a scrub of rice powder, with a pinch of turmeric and curd; or soak leftover roti or bread in milk, mix a dash of lime juice and a pinch of turmeric.

“Both these scrubs are excellent to do away with fine hair,” says Ruby.

Threading the eyebrows and upper lip can easily wait till high school.

Skin special

Relaxing as they might feel and inviting as they might sound, but the truth is that young skin does not require facials.

“Their skin is anyway so taut that there is no requirement for a facial,” says skin expert Sharon Rodricks from June Tomkyns.

Sharon pegs 30-plus as the right age for facials. This is when the skin needs extra nourishment to retain elasticity and firmness.

“Younger girls can indulge in a clean-up session that removes dead cells, blackheads and acne. At best, they can try an occasional vitamin C facial that focuses on pressure points to de-stress; nothing more than that is recommended,” adds Sharon.

Nail notes

Children should be made conscious of their nails from early childhood. Closed school shoes, outdoor activities and humidity can play havoc with the nails.

Ruby says that a manicure and pedicure routine must be set up at home as early as possible.

“Children should be taught to wash their hands and feet properly and trim their nails. But make sure they aren’t cut too short.”

Professional manicure and pedicure can wait till 16-plus.

Tress talk

This one is good news for school principals and teachers. Hair colouring and bonding, feel experts, should go to the head only after 16 years.

“We have many pre-teens walking into the salon with pictures of their favourite stars and wanting to get red or pink streaks,” says Priscilla Corner, hair expert at June Tomkyns. “But their scalp is so tender that they should definitely avoid colour application.”

so, hair colouring and other chemical treatments come with a detailed post-care regimen that youngsters are best kept out of.

“All this involves a certain level of commitment and responsibility ? something I don’t relate very young schoolgirls with,” adds Priscilla.

So, playing it stylish is a lot about playing it safe.