Nair has a product that most people are unaware of called Nair Pretty. I’ve never seen it on store shelves in my town but apparently it is available. It’s designed for girls, young girls that are 10 years old and sometimes younger.
The product’s slogan is “pretty isn’t a look, its a feeling”. Its teaching young girls that to be pretty you have to use this product. Any adolescent viewing this page will almost certainly think that in order to fit in they have to remove hair around their bikini line and other areas. The truth is that no young girl should have to worry about things like that until she is truly ready. Nair Pretty is another marketing scheme feeding off the self esteem of young girls.
The site tries to encourage mothers to get their kids to use this product. It advices them to talk to their daughters and instead of telling them they are pretty no matter what, it says they should say that in order to be a woman they should use Nair Pretty to boost their self esteem.
This product is the same as other Nair products that adult women use. There is no ingredient difference except for the “fruity” smell of it. Its specifically targeting young girls and making them think that its something all their friends use. Why would they do this? That is simple, they want to reach people as early as possible to make more money off of them.
Its kind of disturbing when you think about it. Girls at a vulnerable age don’t need to be told things like this. It completely takes away the thought that no matter what you look like you should feel beautiful. Those are the types of words young girls need to hear. They don’t need Mom saying “your legs are getting hairy, you have to do something about it or you’ll never feel beautiful”.
The site does not tell of any of the dangers of Nair like a serious allergic reaction. I used Nair a few years ago. Minutes after applying it my legs turned red and started to itch intensely. It was days before the stinging and soreness went away. What young girl at the age of 10 or so needs to go through that? Instead Nair Pretty does say that is safe to use before tanning. Once again, what young girl needs to worry about tanning? The Nair Pretty package does have the usual warnings on there. It says the typical stuff like don’t use on broken skin, do a test patch and then wait 24 hours. The last warning of course is “keep away from children”.
Beauty products are constantly being made to target younger consumers. They are made to think that this is how all girls need to look and you should start making yourself “pretty” as soon as possible. The product isn’t for women of all ages, its just for young girls. The only difference between Nair for women and Nair Pretty is in the packaging which has a young girl on it. Girls need to be told they are pretty and not handed a product which makes them think at 10 years old that Nair Pretty is the way to feel that way. No girl at that age needs a smooth bikini line or to be subjected to more anxiety about how they look.
The Nair Pretty website:
http://www.nairpretty.com/index.html
