Who didn’t love strong-willed Ariel growing up? Seriously, she lived life under the sea and somehow still looked divine. Plus, her locks were long, luscious, and somehow never covered in seaweed. But hey, life isn’t a Disney movie! And some of us do not have a glam squad to recreate the latest trends for us. However, you do have access to us babe. And well, we like to think of ourselves as your very own personal beauty experts who are happy to give you the lowdown on any and every trend out there. In this one, we’ll dive into how to get wavy mermaid hair for summer – that even Ariel would envy.

First thing’s first: Get your hair looking healthy.

We have to be honest, girlfriend. If your hair isn’t healthy or hydrated, styling it will be a major pain. For real.

Brittle and uncared for hair is often unmanageable, making it a challenge to work with. So before we get into the technical instructions on how to get wavy mermaid hair for summer, here are some tips to make sure your hair is luscious and easy to work with first.

1. Sleep with a hair mask on, once a week (for extra dry hair) or once every 10 days (for oilier hair). We love using a natural mix like aloe vera gel and coconut oil. This will moisturize your locks and make split ends look less noticeable.
2. Use less heat on your hair whenever you can. That includes letting your hair air dry if you have the option. Minimizing heat styling will pay off in the long run, and you’ll be stressing out those strands *way* less.
3. Drink water, and then drink some more water. Ok, and eat right! We know this isn’t an instant results type of tip, but it is one you should consider for the health of your hair and skin. We wouldn’t be real friends if we didn’t let you in on this one, gorgeous.

Feeling like a luscious hair goddess, yet? Cool. You’re ready to move on to actually making those mermaid waves happen.

How to style your hair into wavy, mermaid-like locks.

Once your hair is moisturized and looking naturally luscious, you’re ready to style it up babe.

You’ll need a few key products to achieve this look, but don’t sweat it if you’re not a fan of heat styling. We’ve got options, girlfriend. Whether you choose to use a 3-barrel curler, or sleep with a few wet braids – you’ll get mermaid worthy results, we promise.

That’s because, the way in which you get your waves doesn’t matter as much as what you use to make them last, and to style them up. Check out below how you can easily switch from heat to no heat to get this wavy mermaid hair we keep gushing about for summer.

Mermaid waves (with heat)

1. On second day hair (that means, on hair you didn’t just freshly wash) apply a bit of BBE’s dry shampoo at your roots to create some volume. We have a dope color range of options, which means you can say goodbye to that white cast other dry shampoos leave behind.
2. Section out your hair to make styling easier, and go in with your 3-barrel curler to make those waves take shape. Need an in-depth tutorial? We’ve got you covered, click here.
3. Once you’re done doing the heavy lifting, a.k.a. when you’re done using your hair tool, apply some of BBE’s sea salt & texturizing spray. We’ll let you in on a little secret here: this is the *major key* product in any beachy, wavy, or mermaid-approved hairstyle.

And that’s it, babe. You’ve created a style that will likely hold for 2-3 days, depending on your hair texture. Just apply a bit more of our star sea salt & texturizing spray the next day to refresh your look, and to make your hairstyle look even beachier.

Mermaid waves (sans heat)

This method requires a little more planning, but is easy peasy – we swear! If you’re not a fan of using heat on your hair or simply don’t feel like it – we get that too! We have a heat-free method for achieving those Ariel waves, down below.

1. With clean wet hair, braid two sections before bed. We recommend doing it up pig-tail style, for the best results.
2. In the morning, if your hair is still damp, wait until it dries or use a blow dryer for a few seconds to ensure your braids are completely dried through.
3. Once your braids are certifiably dry, simply take them out (gently!). Then, apply your BBE sea salt & texturizing spray to spruce up the look. You can also add in some dry shampoo at the roots for extra volume. However, you can usually skip this step on clean hair and get away with only using our best-selling texturizing spray.

Show your locks some love after using any type of heat styling technique.

If you opted to use a hair wand or blow dryer, don’t stress. Heat styling once in a while is not going to ruin your hair. However, we recommend making a point to show your locks a little extra TLC on days following that heat styling.

Don’t worry, it’s seriously easy. If you heat styled your hair yesterday, consider applying some of that aloe and coconut hair mask we recommended at the beginning of this post. Aloe vera has a slew of benefits for your hair, and will minimize any damage that may have happened. Most of all though, it provides deep conditioning which is exactly what your strands are calling for after heavy heat styling. Oh and, it can also help your hair grow longer and stronger – and who doesn’t want that?

BBE’s aloe vera gel is 98% organic and mixes perfectly with a bit of coconut oil. Suffice it to say, it’s the perfect secret weapon to have on hand. Even when you haven’t heat styled in a minute!

Just mix a generous amount into your palms (with or without added coconut oil) and apply it to your strands. You don’t need to sleep with it on (you can let it sit for an hour or so if you're in a rush!), but we definitely recommend that you do.

Once you’ve washed out your hydrating hair mix in the morning, your mane will feel completely soft. On top of that, managing it until your next wash will be a cinch.

Consider these standout supplements for long, luscious hair even a mermaid would envy.

And if you’re feeling like your hair needs a miracle not a hair mask, babe don’t stress! We’ve all been there. Stressed out months, bad hair cuts – the works! We’ve all experienced wanting our hair to grow a little quicker, and a little thicker.

If that’s the case for you, consider incorporating some key hair health supplements into your diet. Taking biotin regularly, or mixing in some collagen peptides into your morning coffee can go a long way in strengthening your strands, and thickening up that mane of yours. What’s more, these options are also amazing for your nail and skin health.

Of course using these supplements won’t make you grow Ariel hair overnight. However, with consistent use you will see a difference in your hair, nail and skin health.

Loving those mermaid waves yet, babe?

Creating this hairstyle is way easy, and you can get as glam or as simple as you want with it! We love these waves paired with a no makeup look. And they're just as fab for date night when that winged liner is out to play.

Let us know down below if you’re into the mermaid wave look. Or, whether you were more of an Ursula fan than an Ariel girl. Either way, we love ya! And, we hope you enjoyed this guide on how to get wavy mermaid hair for summer!

BBE products & beaches,

Carey <3