How To Use Hair Mousse For Curls

How To Use Hair Mousse For Curls:

When doing the Curly Girl Method, there are many ways you can style your curls, whether it is with a mousse of gel; knowing how to use it on your hair can transform your curls.

The best thing about mousse is that it offers weightless hold, so it can be used on fine hair and thick hair to define curls. Unlike gel, it doesn’t weigh down the hair.

This soft, effortless hold creates more definition and helps tame frizz; you can use it as both a styler and a refresher making it the ideal product for all curly hair styling.

But how do you style curly hair with mousse, and what does mousse do for your hair?

To make things easier for you, I’m here to break down everything you need to know about styling coily hair, wavy hair, and curly hair using hair mousse and why you need it in your routine!

Here’s a pro tip before we get started: if you use mousse finer hair, this can help add a little more volume and body to your curls to make them appear thicker; plus, since mousse is so lightweight, it offers a good level of hold without weighing your curls down!

But enough of me rambling, let’s jump in.

What Is Hair Mousse Used For?

Hair mousse is a versatile foam that offers both hold and definition to hair strands; it also helps protect and tame hair, giving curls some control and help tame frizz.

It can be used on any hair type but is most commonly used on wavy and curly hair. It is often the most overlooked product you’ll find in hairstyling, but it has some crazy benefits on curly hair.

It has a much lighter consistency than gels, but it gives curls a much bouncier feel than creams. It can also give hair twice the amount of volume over the other two options.

Hair mousse gives hair a much more natural feel; it gives curls definition without leaving you with crunchy hair. As long as you know how to apply the mousse correctly…

Mousse helps keep frizz in check and helps curls look and feel bouncier. It can be used on fine or coarse hair, and with the right amount of mousse, it can really make a difference to the finish of your curls.

What Does Mousse Do To Curly Hair?

Hair Mousses are brilliant for keeping frizz at bay, defining curls, and adding volume to your hair– win, win, win!

Since curly hair is most prone to frizz because of the naturally curved structure of the strands, it makes it much harder for moisture to travel from the root to the tip of your hair. Dry hair is the top culprit for frizz; it is like a frizz magnet, so mousses help retain moisture as you blow-dry your hair.

Mousse can act as a frizz barrier, but I would recommend going for one that is deeply moisturizing along with maintaining a hydrating cleansing routine to retain and maintain moisture and deeply hydrate curls.

You can apply frizz-prone curls a little bit of leave-in conditioner before applying your mousse; this will give your curls a more natural feel, leave strands feeling soft and hydrated while still offering the hold of the mousse.

If your hair is on the finer side and you find that using a gel to style your curls is too heavy and weighs down the natural curl shape, then using mousse is one of the best alternatives; it is the star curl styler.

It enhances the bounce and shape of fine or thin curls and has some serious volumizing benefits. It is a body-boosting formula that can add a bit of shape to curly or wavy hair.

If you have type two wavy hair, your hair texture will benefit most when you use mousse. This is because it helps define your waves without weighing them down.

All hair types benefit from using mousse, though, especially if you have fine hair and need a bit of a volume boost. So whether you have fine curly or fine coily hair, you can benefit from using a mousse.

How To Use Mousse For Curly Hair:

So it’s fairly easy to use mousse in your hair routine, especially when you pair mousse with another hair product like a leave-in conditioner and a heat protectant.

Never forget the heat protectant when blow-drying.

Step One: Wash Hair:

For the best results when using a mousse for curly hair, you’ll want to first start on a blank slate with a fresh and clean foundation, so you should wash and condition your hair before styling.

So you want clean hair with conditioner on the ends for that little extra moisture on the ends.

The first thing you need to do is fast forward to wash day and wash your curls like usual. Remember to use a sulfate-free shampoo or co-wash to care for your curls. 

If it’s a shampoo wash day, grab your sulfate-free shampoo, drench your hair under the shower, rub the shampoo in your hands for like 10 seconds and then massage it into your scalp– this helps evenly distribute the product. 

Since most curly hair girls only wash their hair with shampoo once a week, it’s important to massage your scalp for a good minute or two to break down all the excess oils. Also, remember always to do two shampoos. 

For co-washing, massage your roots for a minute or two under the running water and then apply your cleansing conditioner; if your curls are quite fine and you’re prone to grease, then only apply the co-wash to the ends of your hair. 

Please don’t be shy with how much you apply, be very generous as co-washes are designed to cleanse your hair and a condition; they won’t leave a greasy residue. Once you’ve rinsed off your conditioner, apply your leave-in conditioner straight away and detangle.

It is important to have a bit of slip when detangling your hair; this will prevent your hair from snagging or pulling when detangling. Use a wide-tooth comb or detangling brush for this step; this will help ease tangles without causing breakage.

Hair is most fragile while wet, so be patient and gentle.

Step Two: Apply To Wet Hair:

This step is super important; you should only apply your styling products to soaking wet hair to get defined curls that are frizz-free. You can either apply in the shower or work in sections using a water spray for even coverage.

I use this method when using the gel as I have quite thick, porous hair, but this will work for fine hair using mousse– it will even help add volume to your hair.

So for this method, you’ll want to hop out of the shower, wrap yourself up in your robe, and sit in front of your chosen mirror with a towel underneath you. Section your hair and soak each section with water spray and then a generous amount of mousse.

For each section, I then brush and style using my Denman Brush; I will create tension as I brush down the section and gently twirl the brush as it goes down. This evenly distributes the product and defines each curl.

After each section, I will scrunch that curl until I am happy with the shape and then move on to the next section. I will repeat every section of curls, tip my head upside down, and do a final scrunch towel dry with my microfiber towel to remove excess water.

If you prefer, you can use a cotton t-shirt over a microfiber towel. If you prefer to, don’t use a regular cotton towel as this can be quite damaging to your hair, especially curls.

You can apply mousse to damp hair or towel-dried hair, but the best way to reduce frizz is to apply it to soaking wet hair.

Step Three: Plop, Air Dry, Or Diffuse:

You can dry your curls using three different methods after applying your mousse, but I prefer to diffuse after applying mousse– it will help lock in volume to your natural hair. Don’t forget to use a heat protectant along with your volumizing mousse, especially when using a blow dryer.

Gently diffuse your curls on a low speed and low heat, lifting the curls at the root. Start by cradling the curl using the bowl shape diffuser and leaving the ends out when drying the root.

You can also flip your head upside down and use the diffuser underneath to add more volume.

You only want to dry your curls 70-80% using the diffuser attachment and leave the ends still slightly damp; this will help retain moisture and keep the ends hydrated– this will also help when taming frizz.

If you have some time on your hands, you can let your hair air dry or even let your hair slightly dry before going in with the diffuser.

This will cut drying time in half and help prevent heat damage.

Alternatively, you can also plop your curls up in a t-shirt or microfiber towel for an hour or so; this will help retain volume as the curls are on top of the heat, rather than being weighed down by gravity.

Step Four: Scrunch The Crunch:

Fast forward to your hair being COMPLETELY dry, you’ll notice a cast has formed around your curls, and don’t worry; this isn’t the finished result; all you need to do is break that cast and scrunch out the crunch. 

Mousses tend to leave a slight cast but not a hard cast like gels; all you need to do is scrunch the crunch caused by the mousse products to release the curl underneath.

You can scrunch and then wrap around your finger for smaller curls to help reshape the curl underneath the slight cast caused by the mousse.

If you need a little extra volume, tip your head upside down and give your roots a little shake, this should help give your roots that little extra lift.

How To Use Mousse On Dry Hair

If your curls need a little refresher, you can apply mousse without having to wash your hair beforehand, don’t apply it to dry hair.

If you want to refresh your curls using mousse, I recommend that you damp down your hair with a water spray, apply your hair product and mousse, and then air dry your hair.

Sometimes all curls that need to be revived are a little bit of water; the mousse can also enhance the natural curl shape and add a little more volume to lifeless curls on second or third-day hair.

How To Scrunch Hair With Mousse

Instead of working in sections, especially if you have thinner hair, you can apply mousse using a scrunching method.

With your head bent down, apply a generous amount of styling mousse in one palm and press your palms together to mix it in.

Start with the roots, gather your hair in your hands and scrunch it upwards using the praying hands method or if you prefer, you can scrunch up your hair like you’re scrunching up a piece of paper.

Summary:

 So there you have it how to apply mousse to curly hair; styling mousse is a super versatile product that can be used on any curl type to add moisture, add lift and define the natural curl.

It gives curls that touchable hold and texture that everyone loves, without that hard cast or greasy residue like some gels leave. Just make sure you scrunch your hair when it’s 100% dry to remove that cast.

It works wonders for both wavy and curly hair; give it a go today!