BABS Salon & Spa

by Vina Lybbert

My first year of middle school, puberty began to creep up on me with a vengeance. I was not one of those girls with luscious locks and porcelain skin that seemed to mysteriously avoid any of the embarrassing side effects of growing older. Instead, my hair was very fine, my complexion anything but perfect, and my confidence was lowering by the minute.

The onset of puberty can bring on acne, create oily hair that can dull your natural color, and cause hair to grow in places it shouldn’t be growing. So there I was in all my glory: mousy, oily hair, uni-brow and a forehead full of zits. There was a period of time when I wore my bangs swooping over my forehead in true Skater Boy fashion, though I was never a skater.

My mother was not fashion savvy. In fact, I would even say that she felt this uncomfortable time in my life a “right of passage” that all girls go through as they enter womanhood. When I went to her, out of desperation, she provided me with a little hope as she promised to take me to the beauty shop. And I was the poor sucker who fell for it and ended up with a really over processed poodle perm which puffed high in the front and no longer covered my acne or the large caterpillar pretending to be two separate eye brows. The next day I went to school with tight curly locks with a pink barrette holding back those bangs and exposing my shiny, bumpy forehead. And just as I expected, I was met with pointing and snickers from my classmates. By noon word had spread and a few of my loyal friends took me into the bathroom and watered down my coils and tried to help. But alas, just after lunch my boyfriend of 7 months sent me a note via another boy—the coward—breaking up with me. It was definitely a day of infamy that will forever haunt me.

When my oldest daughter came to me crying about her newfound problems, I sat down and thought about ways I could help her. I decided to take her to the salon where she received face-framing highlights just to brighten things up. Then we headed to the waxing station where they used an age appropriate wax and we shaped up her brows (in other words, created two separate brows). We finished the visit with a mini facial and a skin care lesson that she is still practicing months after. When we left the salon she was on top of the world. My little girl went from being overwhelmed with all that puberty was throwing at her to a soon-to-be young woman with amazing self-assurance.

Bernadette Blanchard, owner of BABS Salon in Birmingham, agrees that “feeling good on the inside can be directly related to looking well groomed on the outside. How many of us have had bad hair days and just felt crummy all day long? Helping these little ones by teaching them proper skin care and ways to improve their grooming habits is not about vanity, it’s about instilling in them a level of self respect and confidence.” Bernadette is also an instructor for the American Cancer Society’s “Look Good, Feel Better” program at Beaumont Hospital. The program helps cancer patients cope with the physical side effects of treatments and helps them to regain their confidence and encourages them to take control of their lives.

Of course it would have been easier to hug my daughter and convince her that “this too shall pass.” But if, as a mother, I could help her through this awkward stage of her life and not force her into experiencing those embarrassing moments that many of us look back on with disdain, I had to try. Fortunately, today we have plenty of safe, affordable options available to aid us in the battle against all that threatens to take away our natural beauty. Research and education are valuable weapons for both you and your daughter when deciding to go toe-to-toe with puberty.

For more information on the side effects of puberty, click here.