TikTok’s Viral Mermaid Haircut Will Carry Your Waves to Life

It’s summer time. It’s sizzling, it’s sunny and all you wish to do is cool off on the seashore or by the pool. You don’t wish to fuss together with your hair in any respect, particularly on sticky days the place you end up sweating buckets as you maneuver your curling iron or blowdryer brush to craft these summery beachy waves. TBH, there’s nothing grosser than these beads of sweat trickling down your again in a sizzling toilet on a 90-degree day.

What if you happen to may merely reduce your hair into the proper air dry type as an alternative? That’s the speculation behind the viral mermaid reduce, which surfaced (pun supposed) on TikTok as an ingenious reduce and magnificence resolution for folks with wavy hair who need one thing that dries into these carefree, easy waves and bends related to sea sirens. Forward, we break it down.

What Is the Mermaid Haircut?

Like many developments, it began with a TIkTok video. Hairstylist Lila Kinds shared the method alongside a tutorial on a model head, explaining precisely why the reduce works so superbly on wavy hair sorts. And it caught on quick, rapidly going viral given our obsession with all issues mermaids—good day, live-action Little Mermaid and the mermaid pores and skin development.

For those who’re not a stylist your self, the TikTok video could really feel a bit technical and professional-focused (what’s overdirecting?), however if you happen to like what you’re seeing and listening to, right here’s what it’s worthwhile to know in regards to the mermaid reduce.

At first, it’s all within the title. While you hear “mermaid,” you most likely consider comfortable, flowing waves like storybook sirens and well-known mermaids a la Daryl Hannah within the ‘80s basic Splash. “The mermaid haircut is a coiffure that goals to recreate the easy, tousled waves typically related to mermaids,” explains Pureology inventive director Jamie Wiley. “It sometimes entails lengthy hair that’s styled in free, cascading waves, harking back to the beachy, carefree look.”

The mermaid haircut is the non secular sister of one other stylish salon type. “It’s similar to the butterfly reduce as they each share the weather of face framing and layers, however the mermaid is far softer, protecting longer lengths all through and fewer layers,” says Adriana Papaleo, grasp stylist and artistic director at Rob Peetoom Salon. “Most of those cuts which might be going viral are actually a variation on basic cuts.”

Get a Mermaid Lower

With so many buzzy development names floating round, it may be onerous to elucidate precisely what you need and be sure to’re on the identical web page as your stylist. Wiley recommends bringing images and examples of what you’re envisioning earlier than the scissors come out. “Focus on size, layers, and proposals on greatest methods to type at residence,” she says. Ask for a “mermaid reduce the place every part is pulled ahead and reduce across the face to create comfortable tousled layers that replicate waves.”

As talked about within the viral video, the mermaid reduce works particularly nicely for wavy hair sorts, so when you’ve got a little bit of texture, this system may convey out the very best in your hair. “Waves and curls do nice with zig-zag or curved partings as a result of it offers variation in the way in which the feel sits dry,” says Papaleo. “This goes for waves which might be pure and air dried in addition to waves which might be created in styling. In the end this reduce goes to appear like a really comfortable face body with lengthy layers shifting in direction of the again.”

Papaleo additionally notes that there aren’t any layers reduce within the again and says that the stylist alleviates potential heaviness by texturizing the reduce when dry; if you happen to don’t just like the “heavy” feeling of one-length hair, you could wish to ask your stylist so as to add refined layers all through as an alternative. “This may be remedied by including slight layering by way of the again parts of the reduce.”

The magic of the reduce is that it makes probably the most of what you’ve already bought, even when it’s simply the teeniest little bit of wave. “It capitalizes on the pure texture and wave sample of the hair,” says Wiley. “It additionally enhances the pure waves of the hair by amplifying the prevailing curl and wave sample within the hair, making a extra outlined and voluminous look.”

Type a Mermaid Lower

As talked about within the video, the mermaid reduce method means you shouldn’t need to spend hours styling.

For these with pure wave, Papaleo recommends utilizing Davines’ Momo Hair Potion ($30) as a styling cream, then utilizing a Denman brush or wide-tooth comb to outline waves earlier than “pushing” within the texture together with your arms, then letting hair air dry.

In case your hair is extra curly than wavy, she likes Davines’ This Is a Curl Constructing Serum ($32) to outline the curl and seal the cuticle. “This might then be air dried for at-home styling or subtle for extra quantity and curl,” Papaleo explains. “Within the salon, I’d diffuse the curls and shake them free to convey out the layers.”

Can’t let go of your curling wand, even when it’s sizzling and sticky? Wiley ​​understands. She recommends prepping with a warmth protectant like Pureology Colorfanatic ($34), then taking one part of hair at a time and wrapping it across the iron, holding in place for just a few seconds to create a free curl. “Repeat this course of for all sections of your hair, alternating the route of the curls to realize a extra pure look,” she explains. As soon as your full head is curled, finger comb for a extra pure look and add a spritz of Pureology Mushy End Hair Spray ($31) earlier than you head to the workplace… or the ocean.