The Return Of Hair Mousse

Do you use hair mousse? Or, if you do use it, do you admit to using it? Put it this way - a quick straw poll of the Vogue office found that most people cited Dolly Parton, Joan Collins and Shirley Bassey as "the sort of people that would use mousse," rather than the Alexas, Siennas and Caras that present the hair inspiration of today. But are they right? Or is mousse one of the great, unsung heroes of the modern hair-styling world? "I love a volume mousse because I don't have thick hair - I have a lot of it, but it's fine hair," Karlie Kloss told us, noting L'Oréal Paris's Studio Pro Boost It Volume Mousse as her product of choice. "For me it's just to get a little bit more texture and fullness. People don't really talk about it but actually it's the base for all hairstyles - sitting in the hair chair all these years I've seen it again and again, they all start with mousse." And it's true - if you find yourself on a photoshoot there's a very good chance there will be a canister of mousse within several feet, and any big red-carpet event is awash with the stuff. But why do we think of mousse as the preserve of our mums (every mum has mousse) and of Eighties cultural icons instead of recognising its excellent styling credentials for what they are? Firstly, there's no denying that the formulas have improved dramatically. Whilst once you would have been right to associate mousses with that crispy, crunchy finish, the latest launches offer weightless hold alongside conditioning properties and frizz-taming formulas. And whilst they remain the ultimate go-to if you want sky-high volume or big bouncy curls, they're just as adept as giving texture to beachy waves or roughing up the roots of poker-straight styles. "It's all about using the hair in a different way. Now it is about achieving a natural effect with air-drying, and encouraging your natural movement rather than just a big, set blow-dry," says Jake Davis, senior stylist at John Frieda Salons. "These days people want the application of product to be really easy, which is possible now because the formulations are not as sticky, they are lighter and have an anti-frizz component. I recommend gently applying mousse to damp hair by gently squeezing it into sections of the hair." As well as having Kloss as a fan, mousse's cool-girl hair credentials are reinforced by Glossier founder Emily Weiss, who recently proclaimed herself "in love" with new hair brand Ouai's Soft Mousse, which promises all of the volume without the stickiness. "Put in damp hair, air-dry, scrunch around, feel French," she posted on Instagram alongside a picture of the results. And that's not all - as well as boosting tousled waves, mousses are just as adept as giving invisible hold to tricky up-dos, or for adding life to the limp and lacklustre styles that texturising sprays can only do so much for. For those with very curly hair, it adds definition and control: "Twist sections of hair to help define your curl and either air-dry or diffuse-dry. Your hair will still feel like hair - unlike the stiff, crispy Eighties curl," suggests Kérastase ambassador James Galvin. For the modern way to wear mousse, it's all about finding the right formula and using it in the right way. Choose a product designed for your own hair type, start off small (remember, a single pump doubles in size in your hand), and get to grips with the only application technique you really need - scrunching. See the best new formulas and how to use them below.