Mermaid Hair

When I was a girl, I used to love braiding my wet hair into lots of thin strands at night, and then un-braiding them in the morning to see what beautiful waves had formed while I was sleeping. Plus, how nice is it to wake-up with already-done hair?! I decided to continue the tradition with my daughter. Read below for instructions on how to achieve this easy hairstyle.

To create these waves on my daughter and myself, I did about 8-10 braids in damp, combed, towel-dried hair before bed. Sometimes, especially on thin areas, such as the sides of my daughter's head (see photo above showing braids), I find it easier to start out with three braids near the scalp, and then join those three braids into one super braid, as the hair thins out as you work your way down the braid. 

You should braid as close to the ends of the hair as possible, because the unbraided ends won't be wavy when dry. In the photo above, I used small elastic hair ties to secure the braids, but barrettes can also work well, as long as they won't unclip easily at night while you are sleeping.

In the morning when you take the braids out, you don't need to brush your hair. If you want, you can run a pick or wide tooth comb through your hair, but make sure you don't over do it. Combing too much will cause you to lose the definition in the waves.

In addition to making the mornings easier, my other favorite part of this method is that it requires no products and no heat! This style won't damage your hair or leave product residue behind.

Disclaimer: My daughter and I both have naturally wavy hair. If you have naturally very curly or very straight hair, your results may very. If you try this, or have a question, please leave me a note in the comments! I love to hear from readers.