What To Know Before Diving Into Mermaid Hair

Diving into mermaid hair. Get it? Anyways, for about one glorious month in the spring of 2017 I had super pretty rainbow hair. Or unicorn hair, depending on your preference.

I stumbled upon a stylist about an hour outside of Sacramento who had a really lovely profile. She was looking for hair models and I always wanted to go pastel so I figure, why not? I work in radio, I’m young-ish, I really enjoyed her work—it’s now or never! So I set up the appointment.

It Takes A Pretty Long Time

Obviously it depends what color(s) you are putting in your hair. And what color your hair is at the time of mermadizing it. I had “virgin hair” i.e. not colored and it took about six hours to go from medium brunette to colorful mermaid hair. But, there was also another gal there getting a mermaid makeover as well so I am sure that kind of slowed the process down.

Bleach Is Required

Unless you  have light blonde hair, you’re probably going to have to get your whole head bleached. And we all know that bleach isn’t good for your hair. Like I said before, I decided it was now or never so I was willing to take on some damage. I can’t remember how long the bleach was on, but I want to say about a half hour plus the time it took to put it all on and wash it out.

Some Colors Fade Fast

My transformation included a lot of different colors. We’re talking pink, purple, green and a ton of different blues.

Day one mermaid hair.

I’d say the pink was pretty much gone after the first wash and definitely disappeared by the second.

The pink is pretty much gone four days later.

The dark purple and blue made it the longest, and I was able to help them along with a few products.

Right before going back to brown.

Color Conditioners Are Your Friend

If you’re going to get on the mermaid hair train, you’re going to want to pick up something like Overtone. This can be a lifesaver when your hair starts to fade. After you wash your hair, you put the conditioner on the parts of your hair you want that color then leave it there for 15 minutes.

I found that the darker the color, the better the result. Extreme Teal and Extreme Silver were my faves. I also tried Manic Panic which worked, but took more time and wasn’t the shade I really wanted.

Manic Panic Color On Roots

Extreme Silver Overtone

Extreme Teal Overtone

Upkeep Is A Pain

Sure, putting conditioner on is easy enough, but I didn’t always have the 15 minutes to wait. And that’s not counting how long it takes to get it on your head. Sometimes I’d put two different colors on at the same time or only want to do certain strands.

Plus, if you get the product on a surface, it’ll turn it that color so you have to get it off of the sink or tub (or wall if you’re a hot mess like me) fairly quick. And it’s not super cheap—$17 a bottle adds up. You’ll also want to get a sulfate-free shampoo so it doesn’t strip the color.

It Is Pricey

I was lucky enough to be a hair model for my stylist, so I paid a nominal fee for the actual hair color and tipped on top of that. But, if you know how much a regular color job is or a balayage, you have an idea of what to expect with mermaid hair. Then there’s the hair care products, maintenance and the cost to get back to a more natural shade. With all that said, it’s definitely an investment.

Getting Back To Natural Can Be Hard

Naive—that’s what I was when it came to this one. I expected one trip to the salon and one color correction to get the job done. I just had my third visit to get closer to my natural color. I can’t say for sure that this is going to be the case with everyone. I had a lot of different colors in my hair and it didn’t hold the brown well the first two times.

Hopefully the third time’s a charm! Thanks to Heather Grabin at Evergreen Salon & Spa for making my head pretty.

It’s Fun!

When it comes down to it, I don’t regret my month + of mermaid hair. It was fun and I got a lot of  compliments. Plus I think it actually suited my face, skin tone and personality. My stylist was cool, so it didn’t actually feel like six hours when I got it done. Using conditioners was annoying but I’d do it every four days when I washed my hair so it wasn’t that bad for short-term.

The Bottom Line

It was just personally too much work. Everything combined was more upkeep and time than I was willing to commit to and more money than I anticipated or wanted to spend.

But if you read all this and still want to take the plunge, I say go for it! Even if the color doesn’t last forever, the pictures and memories of your mermaid hair will.

Healthier 3-Ingredient Cookie Dough Dip

Like a lot of people, I gained a few LBs over the holidays. So, I am still all about the “New Year, New You” mantra. But, I kind of HAVE to end my night with something sweet. Which my BFF and beautiful meal planner, Zoe, knows all too well.

This week she gave me a dip to eat with bananas for my evening snack. I honestly wasn’t too pumped about it, but since it was only three ingredients I gave it a go. Let me just say…I could eat the whole container in one sitting. Obviously that would defeat the purpose so I won’t. But I could.

I call it cookie dough dip, but clearly it’s not as rich as the real thing. That’s just too good to be true. But if you mix everything together and let it cool in the refrigerator for a few hours, you get the same texture. Plus, it’s peanut butter and chocolate chips so I don’t really know what else you could ask for in a healthier dessert/snack.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I prefer unsweetened, all natural)
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Mix that ish together and let it chill for at least a few hours. Unless you want more of a fluffy texture, then just eat it right away!

The actual recipe is from Listotic, but instead of adding honey, I used plain yogurt and added mini chocolate chips. I also adjusted the amount I used since I bought two plain yogurt cups. It’s pretty easy to eyeball—just add peanut butter to the yogurt until you get the consistency you want.

 

Revisiting My Bucket List From 2012—Did I Check Anything Off The Past Five Years?

Way back in grad school—not sure how it’s already been five years since I packed up everything I owned and moved to Portland—I made a list of goals. I didn’t exactly label it as a bucket list, just more like some cool things I wanted to do that year.

Riding a horse, fostering a dog, and being in a pie eating contest were NOT on said list, but all three are things I’ve always wanted to do. And I got to check them all off my list in 2017. I’ll eventually make post dedicated to each of those. But for now, I thought it would be fun for 31-year-old Jenna to check in on that list she made back in December of  2012 at the tender age of 26.

So, here we go!

Jenna’s Sort of Bucket List from 2012

1. Get Nick Lopez to Dropbox me Mumford and Sons Road to Red Rocks. 

I am pretty sure I made this happen. It was a pretty easy one. But, I only ever listen(ed) to like four songs from it.

2. Go see a show at Red Rocks. (This has been a goal of mine since Live at Red Rocks came out my senior year of high school. If the show could be Incubus, that would be even better. In fact, I would count that as TWO goals accomplished.) 

ACTUALLY DID THIS! And it WAS Incubus and it WAS memorable. But, I also went to Sasquatch in 2013 and 2014 and I have to say the Gorge slays Red Rocks. I’d happily catch another show at either though.

3. Go to a new country. Again, poor and pressed for time so Canada it is! Might as well mark it off the list while I live relatively close to Vancouver. 

Canada is STILL on my list. And I think we might make this one happen in 2018. However, I did go to Thailand last spring, so that’s another one checked off!

4. Get a part time job. Hopefully this one is accomplished in January. Momma needs money. Dave Ramsey would NOT be proud of the fact that I spend more money than I make. Jenna’s bank account is not happy about this either. 

This one didn’t take very long. I actually got hired at Entercom in sales. I was planning to weasel my way into programming but Alpha Media actually picked me up a week after I accepted the first job and it was straight to the airwaves. Then I moved to LA and it was a slew of temp and part time work for the better part of a year.

5. Learn to sew. This one can happen after I get a part time job. No money, no hobbies. 

Welp, we are at the first one that I didn’t accomplish. My mom got me a sewing machine in 2016 and it’s still in the box. But, I did take a sewing class before that. I just need to find one a little slower-paced for my exceptional skills of whatever is below beginner.

6. Don’t get fat. Yes, not lose weight, just don’t gain any. I like where I am now but I also really like cheese and chocolate so I must learn to balance this.

I’d say I kind of stuck to this one. I hover in a 10-pound range that I find healthy. I am a little outside of it right now but that’s what January is for, right?

7. Camp at a national park. 

Thanks to Jesse and Archana this one happened in 2016. We only got to camp for one day due to the weather at Yosemite, but it counts. It was a very interesting trip…in more ways than one. Maybe someday I will share that story here. But probably not.

I’d say this is a pretty good showing for never checking back in on my list. I still need to learn to sew, and I have a few other items to add to my updated 2018 list. So, expect to see an updated bucket list post from me soon.