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The Shortlist

  • Best OverallJohn Frieda Frizz Ease Curl Reviver MousseShop
  • Best ValueHerbal Essences Totally Twisted Curl Boosting MousseShop
  • Best for WavesNot Your Mother's Curl Talk Curl Activating MousseShop
  • Best Salon MousseMoroccanoil Curl Control MousseShop
  • Best for CoilsThe Doux Mousse Def Texture FoamShop
  • Best for Dry HairCantu Wave Whip Curling MousseShop
  • Best for VolumeInnersense I Create Lift Volumizing FoamShop

Mousse spent a couple of decades out of fashion, remembered mostly for the stiff, wet-look curls of the 1980s. The formulas have changed. A modern mousse is the lightest way to give a curl hold: mostly air, quick to dry, and very difficult to overapply.

That makes it the natural styler for wavy hair, which gel can weigh down and cream can straighten altogether. It is also useful on finer curls, and at the root of any hair that falls flat.

What we looked for

  • Hold that scrunches out soft. A mousse should form a light cast and then break down to nothing.
  • A formula that is not drying. Older mousses relied heavily on drying alcohols. The better current ones use little or none.
  • Honest weight. We have noted where a mousse suits waves, curls or coils. Very few suit all three.

The picks

How to apply mousse

  1. Start with soaking wet hair. Mousse spreads on water.
  2. Use more than you expect: a generous handful for shoulder-length hair, in two or three portions.
  3. Smooth it over the surface with flat palms first, then scrunch upward toward the scalp.
  4. For lift, press a small amount directly into the roots.
  5. Diffuse or air dry without touching, then scrunch out the cast.