3 Reasons Why We Use Foams/Mousses for Tight Curly + Natural Hair
Over the years, there’s been a growing popularity of styling foams/mousses in the hair space. While we cannot take credit for the invention of styling foams/mousses, we can without a doubt take full credit for introducing them to the tight curl + natural hair community.
Hair mousse, also referred to as styling foam, is a styling product that tends to have a lighter consistency than gels. The word “mousse” originates from a French term meaning foam/froth. Like the Marcel curling iron, mousse was originally introduced by the French (L'Oréal) in the early 1980’s.
It was later introduced to the US in the late 80’s by TRESemmé. The initial formulation of mousse included alcohol and over the years has later evolved into many alcohol-free formulations promising things like volume, body and shine. This blog post will outline 3 reasons why we use foams/mousses for tight curly + natural hair.
#1: Provides a Firm, Yet Flexible Hold
Depending on the specific product used, styling foams/mousses provide a firm, yet flexible hold. Foams/mousses are incredibly pliable and retain curl memory and formation through take down, sleeping, and restyling into ponytails, buns, and puffs without the heavy feeling of product.
For styles such as twist outs, braid outs, ponytails, and more, we like to use products such as The Doux’s Mousse Def Texture Foam.
“PRO TIP: We typically do not recommend the use of gels when doing styles such as twist outs, rod sets, bantu knots, etc. The cast from the gel provides the hold and when you take these styles down, you’re essentially breaking the cast, which can result in limited longevity and unwanted frizz.”
#2: Foams/Mousses Are Quick Drying
Ask any professional stylist out there, styling foams are an absolute must for a super defined twist outs and rod sets. For many stylists, time is money, which means quick drying is a huge plus.
Many styling foams/mousses are heat activated, meaning they dry fairly fast under a hood dryer and release more shine on the smoothed surface of the set.
Browse hood dryers on our Amazon Storefront
#3: Foams/Mousses Are Typically Non-Flaky
When using styling gels, you could experience flaking if you used multiple products that don’t pair well with one another, or it’s simply from the gel’s polymer molecules that are responsible for clumping the hair and offering the hold level—which is totally normal.
Fortunately, more foams/mousses that are hitting the market are non-flaky, no matter how much of it that you use.
According to The Doux’s CEO, Maya Smith, she says this about their Mousse Def Texture Foam, “We formulated our Mousse Def as an all-in-one solution for this problem. It creates the shine and definition of a mousse, yet leaves hair soft and touchable with no flaking.”
Want to learn more tips on how to best use the styling products in your arsenal? We cover basic product knowledge and more in our digital course community—The SeeSomeCurls Visual Library.
Our 1.2K+ course community of tight curl + naturals are shaving more than 50% of time off their wash day, being showered left and right with hair compliments, and are receiving direct support of a very encouraging community of tight curlies + naturals who have been exactly where you are.
