DIY Hair: 10 Ways to Dye Mermaid Hair
I love to dye my hair all colors of the rainbow. I love all things vintage, and I enjoy creating art, taking photos, and doing it myself.
This article will break down 10 different kinds of mermaid hair and how you can go about dying your hair to look like them.
Tips for Bleaching
Before we start, it's important to note that for most of these styles, you'll have to bleach your hair. If you're new to bleaching and dying and need some help, check out my article on How to Bleach Dark Hair!
Now, let's get on with the styles.
Teal Blue Ombre
1. Teal Blue Ombre
Dye(s): Manic Panic Enchanted Forest
Process: If you're looking to replicate this gorgeous ombre, you'll have to have very light ends. There's this thing with blue/green dye where if your hair isn't PERFECTLY platinum, it'll turn baby poop brown. If you have dark hair, you will definitely have to use some sort of bleach to lift the color from your ends.
As you can see from the photo, this lady's roots are quite dark. You could achieve this by using a dye brush to apply Manic Panic's Raven Black to your roots—or skip it, if your hair is already fairly dark.
If you are opting to dye your roots black, you can totally do it at the same time that you put in Manic Panic Enchanted Forest. The Enchanted Forest dye is closest to what you see in the photo. If you'd like the same effect but more of a blue tone, try out Manic Panic's Atomic Turquoise!
To achieve an ombre, you have to mix a few varying concentrations of dye—so that it'll have that nice fading effect. If your hair is boobs-length, you'll probably be good with one mixture. Using a bowl, mix equal amounts dye and conditioner. Set it aside for later!
After using your dye brush to apply black (or not) at your roots, wash it to get all of the black out. Then, use the brush to apply Enchanted Forest for the next several inches down your strands. Be sure to overlap it with the black to blend.
Using a clean dye brush, do the same with the dye/conditioner blend. Paint it down to about two inches away from the tips of your hair. Leave the tips dye-free—so they stay as light as possible! After about an hour, wash it all out. If the dye has bled too much into your white ends, use hot water and baking soda to lighten them back up!
Full Bright Teal
2. Full Bright Teal
Dye(s): Manic Panic Enchanted Forest
Process: If you read the "how-to" for the last section and it was like reading a foreign language, maybe you just need something easier. To achieve this mermaid hair, all you have to do is a simple bleach and dye.
You can do professional bleaching or at home—or, if you have super dark hair, lay the color on top for a dark tint. Be sure to wear gloves, and spread the color all throughout your hair like you would with a normal dye. Put on a shower cap and let it sit for at least an hour. You can leave this stuff in overnight if you want, Manic Panic is a safe dye! Rinse it out and BAM, you're a mermaid.
Purple, Blue, and Green Combo
3. Purple, Blue, and Green Combo
Dye(s): Manic Panic Electric Lizard
Manic Panic Violet Night
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Manic Panic Blue Moon
Process: This sort of dye job will be easiest to perform with the help of a professional, or an arty friend. Keeping dye from mixing will be difficult. You'll need lots of tin foil, some bowls, and separate dye brushes. It's also handy to have a removable shower head, for when it's time to wash out.
Separate the different dyes into bowls, with a dye brush designated for each color. Carefully take sections and paint them with the dye brush, root to tip, as desired. This is where the foil can come in handy. Line up the edge of the foil with your roots, and paint the strand of hair until it is fully saturated. Then, fold the tin foil over the hair and let it sit.
Work your way through all of your hair, being careful not to mix colors. Let it sit as long as your heart desires, at least a few hours. If you have friends, now is the time to call on them for help!
Starting from the top down, rinse out dyed strips one piece at a time in cold water (warm water causes the color to fade).
Pastel Rainbow
4. Pastel Rainbow
Dye(s): Manic Panic Electric Lizard
Manic Panic Blue Steel
Manic Panic Mystic Heather
Process: For a pastel look like this one, your hair will have to be as platinum as possible—which you can achieve with bleach and a good toner, like Wella Color Charm's White Lady. There are a few ways you can do this look: By dyeing as you would in #3 and letting the colors fade, by diluting already dark dyes, or by using specifically pastel dyes.
The Manic Panic colors I have listed above are already pastel, besides Electric Lizard—which will have to be toned down with conditioner. To do this, just mix it half and half with conditioner. Then, follow the same process as in style #3 above!
Bad Boy Blue
My hair was yellowey brown, but I put Bad Boy on top anyways. Bad idea.
author
5. Bad Boy Blue
Dye(s): Manic Panic Bad Boy Blue
Process: Now, when I say this is important, I mean it!! If you fall in love with this mermaid hair, make absolutely 100% sure your hair is as close to white as possible. If there are yellow and orange tones and you use Bad Boy Blue, your hair WILL turn baby poop brown. I have proof of my own experience.
When it's as light as possible, add the Bad Boy Blue on top and leave it in for a few hours. Wash it out with cold water and you'll be mermaidified!
Purple and Blue
6. Purple and Blue
Dye(s): Manic Panic Blue Moon
RAW Deep Purple
Process: You could do this on dark hair without bleaching, it won't be nearly as light as in the photo BUT it'll look killer in the sun. Whether or not you opt to bleach, the process is simple.
Using your two dyes, paint sections of hair blue and purple as you desire. In the photo, it looks to have no set pattern—just random bits of blue and purple. You may want to tin foil the sections as they set, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. The colors are similar enough that if they touch, it won't be such a big deal.
Pastel Double-Ombre
7. Pastel Double-Ombre
Dye(s): Manic Panic Lie Locks
Manic Panic Mystic Heather
Manic Panic Atomic Turquoise (Plus Conditioner)
Manic Panic Siren's Song
Process: This one involves a lot of dye, but it's a simple process. Hair must be bleached as light as possible. Split your hair down the middle and put one side up in a pigtail so they don't mix.
Beginning with the purple side, start off using Manic Panic Lie Locks. Paint along your part and your roots using your dye brush, and carry the dye down about halfway down the length of your hair. Wash your dye brush, and then apply Mystic Heather the rest of the way down.
When you're done, put that side up in a pigtail and let the other side of your hair down. Copy the same process as before, but fading from Atomic Turquoise to Siren's Song. REMEMBER to mix Atomic Turquoise with conditioner—I'd do about half and half or so. The turquoise is pretty dark, so you can choose how light you want it to be with conditioner.
Let it sit, and rinse with cold water after several hours!
Teal Tones
8. Teal Tones
Dye(s): Manic Panic Siren's Song
Manic Panic Bad Boy Blue
Process: This style looks to be a fair mix of the two dyes. Hair must be bleached as light as possible, with the lighter siren's song used around the face and Bad Boy Blue throughout lower layers.
Mixing is desirable, so don't worry about tin foiling to separate colors. I'd leave the colors in at least two hours, and wash out with cold water.
Violet Tones
9. Violet Tones
Dye(s): Manic Panic Lie Locks
Manic Panic Violet Night
Process: The photo above is a faded version of mixing Manic Panic purple dyes. I've listed a few dyes above that can help you achieve this look! Violet Night is a bit darker, so if you want to you can leave it as is for a darker look, or mix it with conditioner to lighten it up. Lie Locks is pretty light as is.
Don't be afraid to mix the two, you can use a similar process as the one for style #8!
Teal-Purple Ombre
10. Teal-Purple Ombre
Dye(s): Manic Panic Siren's Song
Manic Panic Violet Night
Manic Panic Mystic Heather
Process: Start at your roots with Siren's Song, making sure to fully saturate the roots. About halfway down the length of your hair, Begin painting on with Violet Night and Mystic Heather. It's okay to mix the colors, so have fun! Washing out in the shower will also help the colors blend a bit more on the ombre.
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
Comments
Alex Rose (author) from Virginia on July 30, 2020:
It could be difficult, if your hair is black it will likely still look black indoors. Outdoors in the sunshine is where you will see color. I'd recommend doing blue, I've heard that Argan Oil 2B Black Blue is a good one. Check out some black to blue hair dye videos on YouTube!
aimee on July 29, 2020:
um this is actually a question, my hair is super black and i dont want to bleach it and i just want it dyed for a few weeks a deep color, which product is adviced
