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Even though I work in the beauty industry, I’m a little averse to haircuts. I may still be holding on to the trauma of accidentally getting micro bangs when I was 14, and I’ve had too many bad haircuts over the years when all I really wanted was a cut. That just means that if I’m going to treat myself to a haircut, it has to be worth it.

For the past few months, I’ve been letting my hair grow as much as possible, without layers or face-framing strands. I just wanted to let it do what it was meant to do. After a while, however, it looked lifeless; no matter how I styled it, it looked flat and boring. I came to the conclusion that a single layer was not good for my fine hair. So I decided to venture into the salon chair and try out the latest hair trend: the mermaid haircut.

I headed over to Benjamin Salon to schedule an appointment with titular owner Benjamin Mohapi. Read on to get his take on the mermaid cut and see how he transformed my lifeless hair into a hairstyle worthy of Ariel.

Experts featured in this article

Benjamin Mohapi is a celebrity hairdresser and owner of Benjamin Salon in Los Angeles.

What is a mermaid cut?

The mermaid haircut is a version of long layers that involves adding a lot of movement to the hair. “The goal of the mermaid cut is to maximize flow,” says Mohapi. “You want it to feel full and retain volume, but you want to move while giving a sense of seamlessness. Just like the waves of the ocean, this is a style that should never be static. It should always be in motion, swelling and breaking with each step.”

The mermaid cut is different from a butterfly cut because it needs to be a little longer to make it work. Mohapi says anything above the shoulders is OK, but the ideal length for the mermaid cut is mid-back.

If you want the mermaid cut, it’s important that your hairdresser understands how it differs from a classic haircut with long layers—the layers should flow from the face back, not frame the face. “With a classic long cut, the weight would stay in the baseline in the front, but with the mermaid cut, that’s not the case,” says Mohapi. “The perimeter flows continuously from front to back and contains no horizontal shape. It’s all flowing.” He says if your hairdresser isn’t familiar with the cut (and doesn’t want to Google the trend), just ask for “a nice, flowing long layer with no weight in the front.”

My mermaid cut results

I couldn’t be happier with my mermaid cut – I finally feel like I have a “real” haircut and not just a lifeless pile on my head. I love that Mohapi was able to keep so much of my length and still bring out those flowing layers. I’m in my sea creature era and I’m not mad about it.

How to style the mermaid cut

For a haircut like this, Mohapi says there’s nothing better than a great blow-dry. “I mean blow-dry, not just blow-drying with a curling iron,” he says. “You need to add bounce to it.” He also says that products like dry texturizing sprays or dry shampoos aren’t good for this style. “We need the hair to look smooth, healthy and full of life. It’s not about fluff, it’s about bounce.”

Mohapi’s most popular products are the Sachajuan Volume Cream ($32) and the Milbon Wave Enhancing Mousse ($49).

When styling at home, I vacillate between heat styling and air drying. When heat styling, I love the Djerf Avenue Breezy Styling Mist ($27) paired with the new T3 Aire 360 ​​Ceramic Styler Blowout Kit ($300) for tons of bounce. When air styling, I find the Crown Affair Texturizing Air Dry Hair Mousse ($38) maintains the movement in my air-dried curls rather than weighing them down.

Aviel Kanter is Director of Branded Content at Vox Media, overseeing lifestyle content across the brand portfolio. She leads a team of editors who write articles in the wellness, fitness, beauty, fashion, health, entertainment, pets and finance categories.