Merbellas Thread

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though I am a bit worried about the hearts when it comes to donning the tail. What lubricant did you use on your legs to minimize friction, if I may ask?

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The hearts are an experiment, I wouldn't be worried about them. As someone who owns a tail I think it's a great addition as those areas have a lot of stress, but they're still being tested out with various mers. ;) if they concern you too much you can always ask her not to add them. She's actually mailing me some so I can add them myself to my tail.

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Ha ha, I really love all your tail pictures to show me similar colors!!! But, seriously: everything is okay, I can clearly see now that the tails are colored differently. Raven is in fact a genius to do even blue tails unique!

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Sorry if I overdid it in my replies :p I was talking to Iona about my posts and said I was trying not to be defensive and she said "you might of sounded a bit defensive" LOL. <3 I think I'm too used to people needing a mountain of evidence in order to see my view point

also I always call people with merbellas tail or the same coloured tail as me tail sisters haha XD

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Originally Posted by MermaidMichelle

Yes, indeed; both your tail and you yourself are cute and lovely! :mermaid kiss: I am also quite pleased with how the fins and the glitter came out; it should be impressive in the water too!

Once again a customer is rewarded by relying on Raven's creativity and artistic advice! The Dragonskin silicone is very fleshy in appearance and texture, though I am a bit worried about the hearts when it comes to donning the tail. What lubricant did you use on your legs to minimize friction, if I may ask?

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I use mineral oil or baby oil. In a huge pinch, I'll use conditioner, but only when I'm desperate, which has been once.

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Originally Posted by Kailani

Side note: My fluke is getting some love! :-) I wonder what people call it. Hm... Like what do they ask for when they want it for their tail?

(Also, I think that fluke is only available cut down like that. She and I are the only ones with the straight edge. ...I think.)

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I just call it the Kailani Fluke... though I suppose that wouldn't apply to someone who's not on the network.

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Originally Posted by nirix5

I use mineral oil or baby oil. In a huge pinch, I'll use conditioner, but only when I'm desperate, which has been once.

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Also I heard mineral oil and baby oil are not good for your tail. So if I'm wrong someone please correct me, if not then maybe it's something you should think about changing in the future <3

I'm not a fan of using mineral oil or baby oil -- I've also heard it could possibly damage the tail. I know people use personal lubricants, and I've done that for some shoots too and it works quite well haha, though it does leave a strange peeling residue when you're washing off. I personally like coconut oil, it's gentle and leaves you smooth and smelling nice ;)

O my word those hearts are genius, I always try to slide it up instead of pull, but it always invariably happens. I use waterbased lube and a water bottle of water to get mine on, and put water in the tail and on my legs, and then lube up one leg, put it in, lube up the other put it in, and then put more water and lube on my thighs and backs of top legs and waist, and then roll it all the way up. Works like a charm.

I'm going to be honest about the lubricant here, it is wildly debated. the lubricant usually gets washed off my legs when I swim so I don't worry too much about what I use when I swim. If I'm going to be sitting in the tail on dry land for a while I try to use something that will evaporate quickly because of sweat issues. As long as you clean your tail out effectively I think you're fine. I have a super thin tail. It only become an issue when you leave ANYTHING organic sitting in your tail for a long period of time. it'll cause mold and loads of issue.

Hm didn't I read somewhere thy Vaseline is a no-go with silicone?


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I think anything petroleum is probably bad in general for everything lol

Raven also tied straps on the foot pocket straps to help me pull the straps up over my heels. The straps come up to my knees, I just tuck them infront/behind my legs and I don't really notice it.
I only ever successfully put neoprene socks on with my basic tail ONCE. I was never able to get it on with socks after that. I have barely any issues pulling the straps up over my heels with socks on now that its a hybrid tail.

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Originally Posted by MerEmma

The glitter looks SO good on your tail! I love your voice; and your tail's color scheme is so pretty. <3 There's no powermesh backing on your tail though is there?

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Thank you MerEmma. There's some sort of mesh on the inside, it does have a layer of silicone over it though I think.

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Originally Posted by MermaidMichelle

Yes, indeed; both your tail and you yourself are cute and lovely! :mermaid kiss: I am also quite pleased with how the fins and the glitter came out; it should be impressive in the water too!

Once again a customer is rewarded by relying on Raven's creativity and artistic advice! The Dragonskin silicone is very fleshy in appearance and texture, though I am a bit worried about the hearts when it comes to donning the tail. What lubricant did you use on your legs to minimize friction, if I may ask?

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Thank you MermaidMichelle! Rainas right, the hearts are only experimental. I pretty sure the only reason mine popped is because I spent an hour and a half fighting with it the first time I put it on. And about 45minutes fighting with it the 2nd time I put it on. (It took real beating from me and my friend as we tried getting it on me those 2 times)
By the 3rd time I put it on, I finally had everything figured out on how to put it on, and got it on in 20minutes with a lot less effort. I don't think they will pop anymore though. Plus Raven is always improving her ideas I'm sure the technique will be set in no time :)
I like the hearts and feel a little safer with them there for pulling. (also the hearts popping has caused no damage to any other part of the tail or scales(outside and inside.)


I use personal water-based lubricant from Target (target brand) and a water spray bottle. I can't get the tail on with just water. It seems to stick pretty good to my skin. I can't use just the lubricant because it is sticky and dried fast.
So I put lots of lube on my skin, spray it with a little water, and it gets really slippery. And once my skin is in the tail, it seems to stay slippery so I can easily push&pull wrinkles up and out of it. And it just kind of washes away as I swim in the water, and the tail sticks to me nicely. And that seems to work very well for me.

I plan on trying other lubes, this is just what was easy&quick for me to buy.

it does get easier. silicone tails are just such beasts to get on. I can get mine on i about 2 minutes now because I am so used to it.

Just wanted to share pics from my tail. I had requested royal blue, teal, purple, gold. I sent photos of bellydance veils and some of my dance costumes to match the color tones I wanted. Different photos show the colors differently, so I am excited to see what it looks like in person. I love it! It will arrive last next week and I am a bit worried that I won't have enough 'practice time' getting in and out of it for my big gig next weekend. Any tips? It will be a dry land event :)Attachment 20162
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it looks stunning I am so happy for you

The fins! I LOVE those fins.

What exactly are the hearts for? I always thought they were just like a cute little piece of scrap that came along with the tails, like a Merbellas signature thing. I didn't know they apparently had a(n experimental) purpose?

Sorry if this has been mentioned before somewhere, I don't remember if I ever went through all 182 pages on this thread or not. XD

That's a different heart. If you watch Phoenix's video there are little hearts stuck on the inside of the tail to reinforce some of it :)


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Wow both your tails look amazing <3 :D speaking of getting tails on i thought I read somewhere that you can use watered down conditioner for neoprene/silicone tail to get then on? Is this right?

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Originally Posted by Morticia Mermaid

Colors and fins on that tail are really pretty. Fluke texture kind of looks similar to this one

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Is it just a cut down version maybe?

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Does this look like piano keys to anyone else? XD

I found putting on the neoprene/silicone tail worked best dry. While wet it has a lot of friction against the skin. I always had to make sure the neoprene in my tail was dry before I could put it on again and use it. I think it's still different for each person. Sometimes I would have to at least lube up my feet (I normally just used lotion.)

yeah I've always found neoprene works best dry

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Originally Posted by shimmygoddess

Just wanted to share pics from my tail. I had requested royal blue, teal, purple, gold. I sent photos of bellydance veils and some of my dance costumes to match the color tones I wanted. Different photos show the colors differently, so I am excited to see what it looks like in person. I love it! It will arrive last next week and I am a bit worried that I won't have enough 'practice time' getting in and out of it for my big gig next weekend. Any tips? It will be a dry land event :)Attachment 20162
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I'm not sure why but the images aren't showing up for me :-/ I'm sure it looks gorgeous! :)