Can professional mermaids have skin imperfections?

[Sakutama]

Hi everyone,

I'm really embarrassed asking this, but... can you be a professional mermaid if you have skin imperfections? I have A LOT of stretch marks everywhere, and loose skin from weight loss. I think that might work against me if I wanted to become a professional mermaid. What do you think?

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Kids won't notice your imperfections. They will be more distracted by your tail!

I know they are, at my pool. And I'm fat on the bottom, small on top, my face is not perfect skin either. It has acne scars, chicken pox scars, dark patches, eye bags etc.

So don't be too worried by what you look like, as long as you are enjoying yourself and having fun.

[Sakutama]

Thank you!!! I was so worried. I'm glad I finally mustered up the courage to ask. All the professional mermaids I've seen so far have gorgeous skin, and i gave way to much to cover, even if there was water proof skin makeup. I was making a mental list of excuses for my stretch marks and extra skin if I was a professional mermaid entertaining kids. Stretch marks...em...shark attack?

[MermaidCelesteFL]

I second Jaffa. I have some nasty acne and scars from the acne, so I tend to wear some good waterproof cover up and foundation whenever I have gigs or shoots. I also have a little chub around the top of my tail, and as long as it's disguised, kids don't even think about it. Belts and sashes work wonders, trust me. Don't let little imperfections keep you from doing what you love. <3

[Sakutama]

I second Jaffa. I have some nasty acne and scars from the acne, so I tend to wear some good waterproof cover up and foundation whenever I have gigs or shoots. I also have a little chub around the top of my tail, and as long as it's disguised, kids don't even think about it. Belts and sashes work wonders, trust me. Don't let little imperfections keep you from doing what you love. <3

Thank you SO much too Mermaid Celeste! I actually didn't even consider being a professional mermaid because of all my skin imperfections, too much to hide and cover up. But I keep seeing these adorable videos of professional mermaids entertaining kids, and their bright happy smiles, and I can't help imagining bringing that same joy to children here in Japan.

[HamptonsMermaid]

My boyfriend has stretch marks on his back from a growth spurt as a child... Sometimes he tells ppl they're lion scratches and a few believe him!

There's an awesome mermaid I've seen somewhere here and it looks like she was born with a skin condition called venalaigo (sp?) where her skin has tan patches throughout her body. She made a beautiful sequin tail with patches that complimented her unique skin coloring.

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Like what HamptonsMermaid said, if you wanted to you could make it part of your character! You could go for similarly shaped stripes on your tail, and then it will look like those stripes continue on your body. Echoing everyone else, don't let anything stop you doing what you love to do!

[Spindrift]

My boyfriend has stretch marks on his back from a growth spurt as a child... Sometimes he tells ppl they're lion scratches and a few believe him!

Ugh my ex did the same thing lol.

Honestly I don't think there are any rules anywhere for what a professional mermaid can or cannot do. I mean, if clients have a problem with it, that's on them. They see you as you are on your social media/website and it's up to them if they want to contact you. :) If there are any questions I'd just come up with an awesome story - who knows you might end up really embracing it!

[HamptonsMermaid]

I love how supportive the community is of mermaids of all shapes and sizes, but I will take this opportunity to remind Mers to still be realistic with professional goals. Yes there's a whole side to pro mermaiding where it is very important how you look. But there's also many aspects to professional mermaiding that don't require model looks, such as working with kids and costume design. Of course any mer is welcome to try their hand at whatever they want, go for it! But when it comes to getting paid in any profession it helps to focus on your strengths. :)

[New York Mermaid]

Sweetie, speaking as a professional Mermaid myself I have my share of acne scars, and weight gain ( I yo-yo between 150 and 180lbs due to my thyroid issue) some stretchmarks and i have a 3 inch scar on my side due to a surgery where part of my right lung was removed. I put on Kat Von D make up (which is made for tattoos) to hide my acne scars and marks and I use Skindinavia for a strong sealed hold.

I agree with the ladies above, I use a belly dance skirt/sash to hide my stretch marks. But other than that its not about how you look, its about the confidence you have in tail. And in turn confidence shows everyone your true inner beauty, kids can really see it too when you're excited and playful.

Sometimes they will point out my scar on my side and i tell them its a "false gill" and they believe it. Don't be worried about imperfections, because you are beautiful, amazing and are a mermaid. What Matters is you are a happy mermaid and love yourself and the way you look in your tail.

[Sakutama]

Everyone I'm so sorry it took me so long to reply. I got a couple reply notices in my mailbox, but I was so surprised to see a full conversation has started! Truthfully after hearing everyone's options, I have to agree with everyone for different reasons.

I think that self acceptance, even though it can be a struggle, is so important. I work at it every day, and it's a slow road for me. I've always hidden my skin imperfections under my clothes, but as a mermaid, there's not much to hide. Now I think, maybe becoming a mermaid would be a fantastic road to more self acceptance for me. And now I think, it could be good for other mermaids, portental mermaids, and children too. Maybe they need to see someone with skin imperfections smiling and full of confidence, maybe I can try to be this person.

But on the other hands, I agree there's a business side to this. There's expectations, there's money. People expect a beautiful flawless mermaid most of the time, and usually no one wants to see the imperfections because you are supposed to be this fantasy person who is above mortal imperfections. Again it boils down to expectations and getting money, it's just the reality of business, sadly.

So I guess I can conclude from this that nothing is stopping me from becoming a professional mermaid, and in fact, it could be empowering for my road to better self acceptance. But on the other hand, I have to face facts that my imperfections (and my age) could work against me on the business side of things. But I also believe they won't stop me either.

I think what I would be happiest doing is just keeping my professional mermaid goals small and fun. More like a hobby than a full business. If I'm popular and in demand, great! If not, if I'm having fun, that's what matters. I have a few other mermaid projects I'd really like to try too, maybe my professional mermaid adventures could be a bit eclectic. A bit of this, a bit of that. As long as I'm having fun, I think that's most important.

But it from the bottom of my heart, ladies, THANK YOU for encouraging me to not let me body imperfections stop me! Your words mean SO much to me! I should probably print this conversation out and save it for a rainy day.

[Mermaid Jaffa]

I don't even wear makeup, so I go raw or au naturelle! I've gone swimming with a snorkel mask and the ankle biters still thought I was real!

[Dancing Fish]

I haven't tried to make a living as a fat mermaid... But I did just fine as a fat belly dancer ten years ago, despite well-meaning people saying dancers had to look a certain way to fulfill the fantasies of their clients. As with any performance art, appearance counts...but so does personality and talent and character. I'd say ignore any of your perceived imperfections and go for it!

[Sakutama]

Mermaid Jaffa and Dancing Fish, thank you! I'm feeling so much more confident now. Quite nervous naturally imagining that first swim with kids someday, but I'm going to stay positive!

[Lili]

My boyfriend has stretch marks on his back from a growth spurt as a child... Sometimes he tells ppl they're lion scratches and a few believe him!

There's an awesome mermaid I've seen somewhere here and it looks like she was born with a skin condition called venalaigo (sp?) where her skin has tan patches throughout her body. She made a beautiful sequin tail with patches that complimented her unique skin coloring.
Mu boyfriend has the same problem heh, also I have acne and redness on my face, I'm not afraid to show it anymore I used to be very self conscious about it, I think you should do the same, accept imperfections it's a part of what makes you special, kids especially aren't going to notice things like that, they'll be fascinated by your tail

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[PearlieMae]

I'm a heavy, and older, mermaid and I make it part of my mersona! It helps if you include a message of tolerance in your pro act, too, I think.

Mermaid Enora is a pro mer with vitiligo - a type of mottled skin pigmentation - and she designed her sequin tail to go along with her coloring. http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?10235-another-sequin-tail

[merwandering]

Just saw this and love what Pearlie had to say- I haaaaaaate that the media sometimes portrays such a narrow definition of beauty, and would hope anyone everyone who wants to is out there rocking their merself and showing kids (who will consider you SOOOOO AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL, and you are) that beauty is in your unique individual magic as a person and not what they are fed by mainstream makeup and swimsuit and what ever other ads benefit from telling us we have something that we *really* need to change about ourselves (and we can buy it from them for only $19.99, lol)
Kids are...smarter about beauty than a lot of adults:) and anyway, they more often see with their heart. Shouldn't we all?
My advise to you as a photographer is that the most effective way to look great is to be confident, and connect with people. Confidence draws people in and connecting reveals your most authentic beauty.
But in the end, I bet that what you think is bigger issue, a lot of people would never notice

p.s. sorry for the rant, lol.....

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Yes, you can be big, you can have skin marks, scars, lines, etc. and no one will mind. Those who mind, don't matter.

To be completely honest, my biggest compliments are from those telling me thank you for being so confident and for being a mermaid that doesn't fit the stereotypes. Don't let anyone tell you that you don't deserve to be a mermaid because of something like skin marks. Your happiness is not worth their pettiness.

[Sakutama]

Mu boyfriend has the same problem heh, also I have acne and redness on my face, I'm not afraid to show it anymore I used to be very self conscious about it, I think you should do the same, accept imperfections it's a part of what makes you special, kids especially aren't going to notice things like that, they'll be fascinated by your tail

Thank you Lili! That's a great way to look at it! I used to have a lot of redness and acne on my face, I'm really thankful it's gotten better recently with some diet changes I made. But I still have the stretch marks, and extra skin, which will probably get worse when I lose more weight. It's really hard to not be self conscious.


I'm a heavy, and older, mermaid and I make it part of my mersona! It helps if you include a message of tolerance in your pro act, too, I think.

Mermaid Enora is a pro mer with vitiligo - a type of mottled skin pigmentation - and she designed her sequin tail to go along with her coloring. http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?10235-another-sequin-tail

That's a beautiful idea PearlieMae. I truly believe that the message of accepting yourself and accepting others as they are is really important. I feel it's most important for children, especially here in Japan. Since Japan is such a homogenous country, I think often that messege gets lost. It's getting better, but still has a long way to go. I don't know if I can help, I'm so shy and introverted usually. But if I feel I made a difference in the world, even a little, that would make me so happy.


Just saw this and love what Pearlie had to say- I haaaaaaate that the media sometimes portrays such a narrow definition of beauty, and would hope anyone everyone who wants to is out there rocking their merself and showing kids (who will consider you SOOOOO AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL, and you are) that beauty is in your unique individual magic as a person and not what they are fed by mainstream makeup and swimsuit and what ever other ads benefit from telling us we have something that we *really* need to change about ourselves (and we can buy it from them for only $19.99, lol)
Kids are...smarter about beauty than a lot of adults:) and anyway, they more often see with their heart. Shouldn't we all?
My advise to you as a photographer is that the most effective way to look great is to be confident, and connect with people. Confidence draws people in and connecting reveals your most authentic beauty.
But in the end, I bet that what you think is bigger issue, a lot of people would never notice

p.s. sorry for the rant, lol.....

I don't mind the rant at all, I'm so happy to hear all these words of encouragement! And it's wonderful heating it from a photographer, because one thing I've always felt was completely out of reach was having my own photo session. Now I have some hope that I might be able to have one, someday. ^^


Yes, you can be big, you can have skin marks, scars, lines, etc. and no one will mind. Those who mind, don't matter.

To be completely honest, my biggest compliments are from those telling me thank you for being so confident and for being a mermaid that doesn't fit the stereotypes. Don't let anyone tell you that you don't deserve to be a mermaid because of something like skin marks. Your happiness is not worth their pettiness.

That's wonderful Lorelei! I hope I'll have the same reaction here in Japan. The culture around acceptance of different body types is a little different here, and not in a good way unfortunately. But I think there's a good message to send, I just wonder if I'm the right person to do it. I'm so shy, but I believe in it strongly.