beauty

Mermade Hair Waver review: The $89 hair tool that promises Kim K 'mermaid hair'.

There’s a new Instagram famous beauty gadget on your feed and it’s called the Mermade Hair Waver.

It’s a hot pink, slightly scary looking hair tool that reckons it can give you the ‘mermaid hair’ style made trendy by Kim Kardashian in minutes.

Oh, and this curling contraption only costs $89.

It’s so easy, they say. Perfect waves with zero effort, they say.

But is it too good to be true? I put my safety on the line and road tested the Mermade Hair Waver to find out.

Here’s a look at the Mermade Hair Waver in action. Post continues after video.

Video via Mermade Hair

What is the Mermade Hair Waver?

The Mermade Hair Waver is an $89 hair styling tool launched by Aussie beauty entrepreneur Tara Simich in August.

The curling wand has three intimidating barrels to create half crimped, half sea salt-esque waves as if you’ve just emerged from the deep.

Marketed as the easiest way to achieve the wavy hair trend at home, the pink ceramic barrels are designed to distribute the heat evenly across the hair and reduce frizz and flyaways.

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It also comes with a heat protectant glove so you don’t burn your mits in the pursuit of Kim K waves.

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Here's the Mermade Hair Waver in real life. Yes, it's pink, but it's a tad... intimidating.Image: Supplied/Amy Clark.
mermade hair waver
See? Scary. Image: Supplied/Amy Clark.
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How to use the Mermade Hair Waver.

The Mermade Hair Waver is unlike any other curling tool I've tried.

Instead of twisting your wrist and pulling hair through like you would with a straightener or wrapping hair around a curling wand, it's all about clamping.

The product instructions say to 'simply clamp down hair, hold and release to create long lasting and defined waves in an instant'. In real life, I split my hair into fairly small sections, clamped the hair close to the root, holding for between five and 10 seconds before releasing and repeating the process down the length of the hair.

You can check out my before and after photos below.

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Before using the Mermade Hair Waver. Image: Supplied/Amy Clark.
mermade hair waver
Excuse my mug, but here's my straight hair on the side. Image: Supplied/Amy Clark.
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mermade hair waver
TADA! I now have mermaid hair like Kim Kardashian. I... am Kim Kardashian. Image: Supplied/Amy Clark.
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mermade hair waver
And another side view of these crimped waves. Image: Supplied/Amy Clark.
mermade hair waver
I'm kind of obsessed with the end result. Image: Supplied/Amy Clark.
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Mermade Hair Waver review.

I will say this: the result I got with the Mermade Hair Waver was exactly what I was promised. Shiny, glossy mermaid hair. But...

Yep. There are a few 'buts'.

Firstly, the tool is a bit bulky and heavy and I found the waving technique tricky to master on my own. If you've got someone who can help you, getting the mermaid hair look is super easy, but it will take a few goes to get the hang of the specific clamp and release technique you need to get the crimped waves. Silver lining: using this tool solo will chisel your biceps.

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I'd also say it takes just as much time to wave your hair with the Mermade Hair Waver than with any other curling tool. For what I'm calling a dishevelled cool girl wave, you can quickly clamp hair haphazardly, but for the full Kim K mermaid hair effect, you'll need at least 20 minutes.

Another important point - because you're clamping hair in stages, be sure to start each clamp at the same level on the hair so you don't end up with a wonky result at the back.

Just like with any curled hairstyle, your hair needs to have a bit of grit to it for the waves to hold. I'd suggest using this tool on second day hair or spritzing a texture spray prior to curling to avoid flat hair by midday.

Sure, the tool wasn't exactly zero effort, but it's a great option to have in your kit if you love curled and waved hairstyles and want to try this specific mermaid hair trend.

It's also just a bit of beauty fun for under $100, so why the heck not?

You can find out more about the Mermade Hair Waver on their website and on the Mermade Hair Instagram.

Have you tried the Mermade hair Waver? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

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