No matter where you live, you will see girls (and some boys!) of all ages walking around with hair colored in some of the most unusual tones. From bright neon colors to pale pastels, these are referred to as fantasy colors and are currently gaining in popularity. This is one trend which has been around for quite a while and it doesn’t look like it will be going anywhere anytime soon. If your teenager, or pre-teen, comes home insisting on a fantasy color, you should probably understand a little bit about what they are so that you can make the determination as to whether or not they are safe for your child.

How Old Is Your Child?

The first thing to consider is the age of your child. As your child grows, their hair texture and color will see significant changes. This is due to natural biological changes within the human body and obviously nothing to be concerned with. In fact, many parents love looking back at the different stages of their children’s development to see just how their kids have changed over the years. Hair is one of the changes most notable.

However, this leads to some concern when it comes to chemicals. Most cosmetologists will not use strong chemicals on pre-teens or younger for a number of reasons. In days gone by, perms were highly fashionable and many women attempted to give perms to little girls but with devastating effects. Hair would split and break and some kids looked more like a walk-on for a fright flick than a stylish little girl with curly hair. Remember, young hair is virgin hair and it may be very fragile. If you are going to let a pre-teen child use color, always opt for temporary products that will easily wash out within a few shampoos.

Short Hair Lends Itself Better to Temporary Color

Since you are advised not to bleach a child’s hair, short hair holds color better than long hair. It is easier to apply as well. You will also want to be aware of the natural color of your child’s hair. Light hair is easier to color than dark hair if you won’t be using peroxide to lift it. Today’s fashions seen on popular online magazines and blogs like My New Hair Styles show an increasing number of girls wearing styles like stacked bobs which can be colored around the contour or in layers in keeping with the stack. In either case, short to medium length hair is the ideal length for experimenting with fantasy colors.

Fantasy colors also tend to be safer for kids because of the danger chemicals pose to sensitive skin on the face and in the eyes, should the product drip down below the hairline. While it is never good to get any foreign substance in your eyes, fantasy colors are formulated with chemicals that aren’t overly harsh. This means they will pose less danger for a child than peroxide activated permanent or semi-permanent colors. Is it safe to use fantasy colors on your child? If you know what you are doing and the child is old enough, there should be no problems at all.