MAFS' Alana recreates Insta-famous mermaid hair

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Mermaid hair is all over social media at the moment, and last night Alana Lister brought it to the MAFS dinner party.

The 30-year-old looked like she’d stepped right out of an Instagram post as she walked in dressed in her bright orange bandeau top and skirt, with her hair cascading over her shoulders in beachy waves.

Unsurprisingly, we saw her styling it in her and Jason’s apartment earlier that night with a Mermade Hair Pro Waver, the $89 tool that’s supposed to give you Kim Kardashian-like locks.

Unlike most curling wands that you use by wrapping sections of hair around the barrel, the waver works by clamping and holding as you move it down the length of a section of hair.

It’s been a massive hit on social media where the mermaid trend, which is pretty much 2020’s answer to the crimped hairstyles that were all the rage in the 80s and 00s, has really taken off.

How to get the look

You can recreate this trend using a hair straightener or a curling wand with the right technique, but it’s a little more straight forward with the waver.

You have to start by adding texture to your hair so it holds onto the style, and a heat protection spray is always a good idea too.

Starting with a small section, you hold the waver close to the roots for around five seconds before sliding it down and continuing along the length of that section. The smaller the section, the more defined the wave, whereas thicker sections will give you a looser look.

While the waver looks super easy to use to Instagram, everyday shoppers say it takes a little getting used to as it’s quite heavy and can be a bit clunky at first.

“Bit tricky at first for someone who never does anything to their hair, but creates a great wave once you get the hang of how thick the strands should be,” one woman said about the tool in a review.

“This takes a little practice but it works so well and quick and easy to use,” another wrote, while a third said, “Although it can be a little tricky to use, I do love the waves I get using this.”

The other thing is that to get that perfect mermaid look, you really need to have long hair like Alana’s, and while you can certainly use it on shorter cuts, the effect isn’t quite the same.

“I find the curls a little too 'structured' for my liking. I think it would work better on hair that is a big longer,” one person who bought the waver said, and another agreed, “My hair is just a bit too short to quite get the desired look I’m after”.

There are a couple options on the market, the Aussie created Mermade Pro is $89 and comes in the regular 32mm and mini 25mm models, while on Amazon Australia you can find wavers closer to the $35 mark, the highest rated of which is the Alure Three Barrel Curling Iron Wand.

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