A number of US spa chains are specifically targeting children, sparking debate over whether introducing infants as young as three to beauty treatments is instilling healthy lifestyle habits for the future, or encouraging gender stereotyping and sexualisation of children.

According to the International Spa Association’s (ISPA) 2014 US Spa Industry Study, there are approximately 20,180 spas in the US. The same study found that 25 per cent of spas in the US offer treatments for children under the age of 13. Four years ago that number was 15 per cent.

Treatments for teens (13-19 years old) are offered by 51 per cent of US spas, up 20 per cent from the study conducted four years ago.

Going beyond mother-daughter manicures, adult spas are adding separate menus of services for children, offering a range of massages, facials and other treatments, despite them being too young to have had their first pimple.

According to an article in the New York Times, there are a number of children’s spas in the US with different marketing messages. Sweet and Sassy – a national spa chain – says its cosmetologists are specially trained to work with children. They offer pamper parties where children walk down a red carpet after beauty treatments and go for a ride in a pink limousine.

Custom-size robes, oil rubs for heels worn rough by barefoot play and lifting clients onto massage tables when they are too small to do it themselves are among the services provided by Beverly Wilshire spa in Beverly Hills, California. A 15-minute “princess facial” costs US$50 (€42, £33) and includes a ‘facial cleanse and massage’.

A New York chain called Seriously Spoiled Salon and Spa, which opened in 2008 and has since opened two more locations due to its success, charges US$500 (€412, £331) to US$3,000 (€2,528, £1,983) for spa parties for youngsters.

Toy retailer Toys ’R’ Us has the mass market catered for with a US$30 (€25, £20) Orbeez Luxury Spa bath – a pedicure station in which girls immerse their feet.

Offering beauty treatments to young children, especially girls, is a hotly contested subject in global parenting circles. For example, protests took place outside two new spas set up by Spanish spa chain Princelandia near Barcelona due to the company’s perceived failure to “socialise girls in an egalitarian way”. Boys are often either unwelcome or outnumbered at children’s day spas.

Lynne McNees, president of ISPA, however, said it was good for girls to learn that beauty treatments can reduce stress and promote health. “It’s very similar to taking little kids to the dentist,” said McNees. “Let’s get them early, and get those really good habits.”