Can one still be a pro mer without blocking nose and opening eyes underwater?

[Katieloo]

(I'm not sure if this is where this post would go, re-direct me if I'm in the wrong place!)


I've been wanting to learn to be a mer for a few months now, and my interest in it has only grow! I want to be able to perform at birthday parties, but I've never been able to open my eyes underwater or go under without blocking my nose. I don't know if those are things I'll be able to learn, so it seems hopeless to be a pro mer. Does anyone have any experience with those issues? Is there a way to work around it? It would be a let down for kids to see a mermaid who blocks her nose and closes her eyes! :/


I have a fabric tail to learn with, and I'm getting the hang of swimming, but it's the eyes and nose issues that make me worried about having to let go of performing at parties.

[TheSaltySiren]

Hey Hey! So there are a few things you can do. I also cannot open my eyes underwater at all, so I wear eye goggles, But it is also part my mermaid persona and business. For the nose issue, there are these wonderful little things called sinus savers. They go inside your nose and are pretty much invisible underwater so yo can swim around with no issues. They have a website and you can order them off Amazon if you are US based.

I know that opening your eyes underwater is extremely uncomfortable to begin with, especially in salt and chlorine filled water.

[Katieloo]

I just got my sinus saver in the mail today, actually! Thank you for your reply about how the goggle are part of the persona, I really like that twist!

[theMerFanc]

I also have goggles that will be encorperated into my Sona. Honestly, I could probably learn to open my eyes underwater (I used to be able to when I was a kid) but I am a lazy mofo and all my time is going toward training breath hold. I hate taking out my contacts and really don't want to take them out to swim. Plus, outside of the water I would need glasses which I neither want nor can afford.

there are some cool threads around that talk about disguising goggles into masks that would be worth checking out and there are others still about reasons and excuses to tell children about why you need them.

[A_Koi_Mermaid]

Agreed, lots of mers have amazing ways to get around this problem. Sinus savers are great, some people decorate goggles to make them look more mermaid friendly (I have seen sparkles, pearls, and full on metal masquerade mask goggles) but some people just explain to kids that some people need glasses, some mermaids need goggles. You're used to swimming/seeing in salt water you see, takes a mermaids eyes a while to adjust.

[J.Nigma]

For the goggles idea you could also say that the chemicals in the water hurt your mermaid eyes, so you need to protect them.

[The_MermaidBrianna]

With the sinus saver, what kinds of things would you tell kids about the clear bar sticking out of your nose?

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[TheSaltySiren]

Well i wil only wear it when in the water, so I would just tell them it's because the water hurts my nose from the chemicals, same kinda deal with the eye mask.

[KateyMermaid]

With the sinus saver, what kinds of things would you tell kids about the clear bar sticking out of your nose?

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I use sinus savers from time to time, and kids don't really ask about it tbh. But I only use them at events where I know there will a lot of underwater time with swimming at depth. I don't use them for tank jobs or pool parties where I'm not underwater the whole time.

As far as disguising them, I know some mermaids decorate the center piece to look like a nose ring or jewelry. Idk if that's your thing, but it looks kinda cool.
You could also put a tinted powder makeup or water resistant foundation on the visible part to help it blend in with your natural skin.



Ignore the bubble ring fail

I have a small nose, and these are the XS size. Not very noticeable.

[TheSaltySiren]

So I just got mine in the mail, and I have a question! How far up do I put them in, all the way up?

[KateyMermaid]

So I just got mine in the mail, and I have a question! How far up do I put them in, all the way up?

I would say far enough that the "cup" part is fully in your nostril.

Really depends on the shape of your nose and where you get the best seal. The XS small ones where slightly too small so I had to put them far as u could to get a decent seal. Your experience might be different

[Katieloo]

So I just got mine in the mail, and I have a question! How far up do I put them in, all the way up?

I got the medium size and I found the best way to put it in, is both sides in at once. I kept trying to put one side in at a time, but each side would pop out once the other side was in. I just put it up as far as it'll go, since it can't get stuck!