Bounce and shine: Besides providing body and volume, some mousses come with additional ingredients that make hair look bouncy and shiny. Based on your preference, choose the one that delivers the add-on benefits. The Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab tests hair mousses both on consumer testers and in the Lab using technical protocols. Testers evaluate the mousses at home for their ease of use and performance, and in the Lab, scientists test them on human hair samples, with half a head styled with no product and the other half with the hair mousse to gauge its effects. Essences of life Argan Oil shampoo & hair conditioner collection helps repair damaged hair to smoothness and makes it naturally shiny. Herbal Essences Totally Twisted. This is the mousse I see recommended to newbies most often. It has a shaving-cream like consistency, and I didn’t notice any scent at all. It dried a bit faster than some other mousses that I’ve tried. It only gave me a light cast, and did not have good frizz control, I had moderate frizz from day 1. The 2nd photo was the morning after washing (less than 24 hours) yet it had already dramatically lost its shape. It did have some waves to it, but the frizziness and general disheveled feeling made me not want to wear it even on day 2, making it the shortest lasting of the mousses I tried. I could really feel the product in my hair the whole time, too. This was my least-favorite mousse of them all, unfortunately.

If I didn’t get a cast the first time that I used the product, or didn’t get a cast over my whole head, I tested that mousse a second time and made adjustments to try to get better results. If I got results that felt like I used too much product, I would try again using less. So, some of these were tested multiple times but others worked well on the first try and then I only tested them once.

Dry Shampoo

So while this is not a water-soluable silicone and will need a good cleanser to fully remove, it is going to help smooth damaged areas without causing as much build up as other silicones.

Overall, I didn’t find this to be a very good performing mousse for me. I wonder if this works better on other hair types. Perhaps for those who don’t need a hard hold it works better, or for those who are prone to stringy hair? But, if it is recommended due to the low price, I’d recommend trying Aussie instant freeze mousse as it performed much better and for only about .60 more than this costs. Below you’ll see that I also had better results from another Herbel Essences mousse that is the exact same price at my store.Look for protection: There are various mousses that promise protection from color-fading, heat, or UV rays. Hence, choose the one that offers such protection, as needed. Pantene pro-v curl mousse. This mousse has a consistency similar to shaving cream. It has a mild, sweet smell. I used 3 handfuls of this product which is less than I need of most mousses. I had to microplop a bit more than usual after applying the mousse, as my hair really fell a lot just from adding the mousse.