The 12 best hair mousses we reviewed in 2024

Table Of Content

• Best edge gel for curly hair
• Best Luxury Shampoo & Conditioner for Coils: Ouidad Unbreakable Bonds BondBuilding Shampoo + Conditioner
• Best smoothing product for curly hair
• Best Affordable Shampoo & Conditioner for Curls: Saltair Curl Control Defining Shampoo & Conditioner
• Aquage SeaExtend Silkening Oil Treatment
• Best for 3A Curls
• Drybar The Double Shot Blow-Dryer Brush

"Keeping hair moisturized by using sulfate-free shampoos or cleansers that do not strip any natural moisture away from the hair is important," she says. "You should also use a moisture treatment such as Imbue Restoring Intensive Mask, which has a really even base of protein and moisture, and also helps to define the curl pattern." This taming cream is a must for getting naturally polished curls without the heat.

60 Best Hair Products of 2024 - The Harper's Bazaar Hair Awards 2024 - Harper's BAZAAR

60 Best Hair Products of 2024 - The Harper's Bazaar Hair Awards 2024.

Posted: Thu, 15 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Best edge gel for curly hair

Not only that, but the botanical ingredients—like castor oil, shea butter, coconut oil, and sea moss—provide free radical protection for your delicate curls. Technically, sure, especially if your straight hair tends to be extra thick or moisture-deprived, or if you live in a particularly dry climate. But, using curly hair specific products on most standard straight hair textures can actually be too moisturizing, resulting in a greasy effect.

Best Luxury Shampoo & Conditioner for Coils: Ouidad Unbreakable Bonds BondBuilding Shampoo + Conditioner

Consider this a great starting-point list for shopping the best styling products for your curls. The fact of the matter is that people with curly hair do need a stockpile of products on hand. "Our curls are governed by the weather," explains Lorraine Massey, creator of The Curly Girl Method, founder of CurlyWorld, and owner of Spiral (x,y,z), a salon in NYC. "Water molecules that are ever-present in the atmosphere affect our hair like a mood ring," which means your curls change by the hour, with the weather. Much like its assortment of hair products, it has a luxurious scent that’s packed with argan oil to give your locks a bit of an antioxidant and vitamin E boost. With a name I can’t help but love (Southern Belle, for high-to-the-sky, Texas-style hair), the Drybar Southern Belle Volume-Boosting Mousse is an iconic formulation to add to your hair-styling collection.

Best smoothing product for curly hair

The argan oil infused in this light-as-air curl mousse helps to tame and define curls for hours on end with no sticky residue or thick, weighed-down feeling. The magical part of this curl-enhancing hair serum is how it mimics the natural oils of the hair to ensure optimal moisture from root to tip, making it perfect for restoring moisture to curly and coily strands. Simply shake this powerhouse spray to activate the powerful hydrating ingredients and crunch-free polymers within the formula that help to define curls and prevent frizz while giving hair a movie star-level shine and gloss.

Best Affordable Shampoo & Conditioner for Curls: Saltair Curl Control Defining Shampoo & Conditioner

Jessica (she/her) is a deputy editor at the Good Housekeeping Institute and a longtime product tester, reviewer, writer and editor of beauty and lifestyle content. You can usually find her sorting through piles of beauty products — and testing the best ones on camera. A past GH Beauty Awards winner, this budget-friendly conditioning treatment prevents breakage by strengthening hair with almond and protein. The brand also claims it can protect against heat up to 450º which further prevents breakage. Mousse can be used as often as you style your hair and works best on damp hair. It has even distribution down the hair strands when it’s wet and clean, too.

Aquage SeaExtend Silkening Oil Treatment

After washing, apply a leave-in conditioner or curl cream to moisturize and define your curls. You can also use a gel or mousse to provide hold and reduce frizz. And, when deciding on the best curly hair products like shampoos, leave-in-conditioners, and styling gels and masks, pay attention to what your hair needs and responds to – is it dehydrated and needs moisture?

To add hydration back into the hair, you can follow up with a moisturizing shampoo or conditioner. Generally speaking, hair pomades boast a thick yet pliable consistency that allows you to shape, set, and maintain your hairstyle, but there's lots of room for customization when it comes to these nifty formulas. They come in several different finishes and forms—matte, shiny, stick, and tub—and have varying flexibility and strength, ranging from light to firm hold. Plus, the best hair pomades are often chock-full of beneficial ingredients that help maintain overall hair health, like argan oil, castor seed oil, and aloe extract. With ingredients like jojoba milk and tsubaki seed oil, this gel-cream goes above and beyond just adding hold for hair. The unique formula is buildable but never flaky, and can be brushed through at the end of the day.

Sachajuan’s curl conditioner is great for keeping your hair moisturized in between your bigger wash days, and it smells delightful. Styling curly hair is all about having a good base and knowing which shampoos are dehydrating your curls versus actually cleaning them. This shampoo isn’t for everyone, but I’ve loved DevaCurl’s Build Up Buster, as it’s great for when I want to eliminate scalp buildup without stripping my hair of its nutrients. Aveda's curl cream boasts over 2,400 reviews on Nordstrom averaging almost five stars and is a great prep step for creating curls in straight hair. "I have very straight hair, but this product really helps when I want to add a bit of curl," a reviewer noted. "It's the best product I've found that makes my normally flat hair hold curl."

Comb through to detangle, hang your head upside down, and scrunch the product with your fingers. Then, flip your head over and use either a diffuser to blow-dry your hair or air-dry and go. "It's as much about the styling technique as it is about the formulation," says Valledor. Knowing how to apply your mousse properly and using the best one for your hair type will give you the best results.

It's extremely moisturizing and helps to control unwanted frizz and give hair a soft shine. But, when you have a day where your curls finally look good, feeling on top of the world is an understatement. While managing curly strands can be complicated, developing a routine that helps your curls stay hydrated and defined is possible with the right products. With the help of these hand-selected products, you can get your hair under curl-trol seven days out of the week. When rain clouds are imminent, or if our ringlets and waves are simply experiencing their general frizzy state, we’re lathering up the Bumble and bumble moisturizing shampoo to keep curls from misbehaving. Humectants like shea butter, avocado oil, and sodium hyaluronate (a hyaluronic acid derivative) helped our strands retain moisture, making it less likely to puff out on highly humid days.

"I think for those with wavy to loose curly hair types, this product is worth a try," says product tester Bianca Lambert. While all curls need attention, 3A types are a little more needy, and we love them all for it – especially if it means we get to reach for Oribe’s glinting, luxe green bottle on wash days. While we honestly believe the shampoo is a friend to all hair types, we recommend that those with finer strands use it more sparingly, otherwise, it could weigh down their waves. I never used to be a fan of hair oils — I thought they were just an extra step that made your hands hard to wash and turned the sink into a pile of grease — until I found Aquage Silkening Oil. This product is light and feels silky smooth on your fingers (and more importantly, hair).

Celebrity hairstylist Patrick Kyle, who has worked with celebrities like Zara Larson and Willa Fitzgerald, says this formula works on everything from waves to tight spirals. For under $10, Not Your Mother’s Curl Talk Activating Mousse provides definition and a soft, touchable hold while protecting against environmental aggressors for curls that are both gorgeous and healthy. Scalp health plays a role in hair health, and there are a few things to consider when picking your products. As for length goals, there are many things you can do to encourage healthy hair growth. Here's our guide to growing hair faster, as well as hair growth products you may want to consider as well. Full hair usually requires more product (due to the simple fact that there's more hair) but can also be more challenging to clean and may experience buildup more often.

The winner of the GH Beauty Lab’s flat irons test, CHI scored perfect with our expert evaluators for heating up fast and powerful straightening. Lab measurements showed that it warmed up to 96% of its maximum temperature of 450°F in 60 seconds. It also rated highest at fully smoothing strands and keeping them free of frizz throughout the day. “I loved the super sleek and straight, long-lasting look obtained with this flat iron,” an evaluator noted. The winner of the GH Beauty Lab’s hair dryer test, BaBylissPro’s model dried hair fastest of all those evaluated.

Plus, we easily washed out the shampoo and never experienced any lingering residue or film, only a luxury-level scent we’d attribute to a luxury hair salon. Unfortunately, it didn’t do much to repair our damaged split ends and broken strands, but that’s mostly because we’re long overdue for a good haircut. People with curly hair may avoid the hair dryer in fear of damaging or drying out curls, but the Shark HyperAir Hair Dryer won our hearts (and our heads) with its smart engineering. It blends heated air and ionized air to create a smooth, consistent finish without heat damage. Regulating the temperature is a breeze too, thanks to three heat and three airflow settings.