This Five-Second Styling Hack Adds Texture to Pin-Straight Hair (2024)

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Best Hair Mousse Overall

Crown Affair The Texturizing Air Dry Hair Mousse

This mousse will single-handedly add texture to your stick-straight hair—no styling tools needed. "The weightless, texture-enhancing styling foam promotes effortless, tousled waves and soft, touchable volume without the crunch," Burnside says. The product combines texturizing Bolivian pink salt, hydrating Tsubaki meadows oils, and a strengthening plant protein blend. Run the mousse through your hair post-shower and watch as it air dries with beachy waves.

Size: 5.1 fl oz

Texture: Foam

Hold: Buildable

What We Love: Perfect for all hair types, quick and easy to use, lightweight, strengthens hair

What We Don't: Not super volumizing

Review for MC: “Left to its own devices, my straight, fine, highlighted hair will air-dry lifeless and flat, with no wave, volume, or texture. Then I discovered this miracle texturizing mousse. The word "mousse" makes me think crunchy, sticky, and stiff, but this is the anti-mousse mousse. It's a featherweight foam made with Bolivian pink salt to enhance texture (like a salt spray) and tsubaki oil to hydrate. It feels like next to nothing in my hair, but it makes a difference. After I shower, I lightly towel-dry and then generously apply two pumps from my roots to my ends. The result? Voluminous, touchably soft, tousled hair with a not-too-perfect vibe.” —Brianna Peters, Contributing Beauty Writer

Best Long-Lasting Hair Mousse

Briogeo Style + Treat Hair Styling Volume Foam

Flat hair? No problem. Briogeo's Style + Treat Hair Styling Volume Foam adds insane volume and ensures your curls last for not just hours, but days. This versatile, multitasking styling foam is perfect for bouncy blowouts and air-dried touchable definition. It even doubles as a heat protectant up to 450 degrees.

Size: 5 oz

Texture: Lightweight foam

Hold: Strong

What We Love: Holds hair for days, heat protectant, very volumizing

What We Don't: Can make hair feel stiff

Review for MC: "After spending hours meticulously blowing out and curling my hair, I'm constantly looking for products to make my hairstyle last as long as possible. This hair mousse truly changed the game. I apply from roots to tips (mainly focusing on my roots), and my hair stays perfectly curled for multiple days. Plus, the volume!! The product does make my hair feel slightly stiffer than usual, but with its heat protecting power, I think it's totally worth it." — Emma Aerin Becker, Freelance Beauty Writer

Best Multi-Use Hair Mousse

Redken Stay High Mousse

This product will impress all hair types—from thick to thin or straight to curly—with its 24-hour defined curl hold. The lightweight formula won't weigh your hair down, and the unique gel-to-mousse texture combines the benefits of a gel and a mousse. To use, emulsify the product in your hands until the clear gel transforms into a rich, cushiony foam. Apply in sections to damp hair and watch as your hair blows out beautifully and bouncy.

Size: 5.2 oz

Texture: Gel-to-mousse

Hold: 24-hour hold

What We Love: Unique texture, stronghold, long-lasting, for all hair types and textures

What We Don't: Some reviewers say their hair feels dry after use

Review for MC: "I know, I know—$30 for a mousse is steep. But trust me when I say the Redken Stay High Mousse is worth it. I have a lot of wavy/curly 2b hair, but my individual strands are pretty thin so my hair doesn’t really hold shape or volume on its own, especially when it gets to be as long as it is right now (see pic!). This mousse is two-in-one: it has the staying power of a gel and the volumizing power of a mousse without the crunchy look or feel of either. It adds so much volume not only to my roots but also throughout my strands, and the volume stays put until my next wash (of course, that’s when I care for my second-day hair by sleeping in a bonnet). Plus, the texture is unlike any mousse I’ve tried; it acts like an old-school shaving gel, in that it dispenses out of the bottle as a gel and puffs into an airy mousse as you work it through your hands. It’s fun to use, smells incredible, and, most importantly, works — what more would you want?" — Isabella Sarlija, Contributing Beauty Writer

Best Plant-Based Hair Mousse

Rahua Aloe Vera Hair Mousse

Packed with rainforest-grown ingredients, this plant-based, alcohol-free hair mousse provides lift and hold while maintaining ultimate shine. The liquid-to-lightweight foam formula is perfect for voluminous blowouts, long-lasting curls, and sleek ponytails. Rahua is impressively dedicated to protecting the Amazon Rainforest—so for every bottle sold, an acre is saved.

Size: 3.5 oz

Texture: Liquid-to-mousse

Hold: Medium

What We Love: Natural ingredients, enhances shine, perfect for both smooth blowouts and sleek hairstyles

What We Don't: Better for a more natural look

Review for MC: "Since I’ve entered my 30s, my hair is not quite as thick and voluminous as it used to be, so I’m always searching for that perfect product to give my hair something extra. Also, my hair tends to get slightly oily if I use the product anywhere near my roots. Rahua’s Aloe Vera Hair Mousse is the only product that is not only made with pure ingredients but adds quite a bit of volume to my hair and does not make my hair oily, even after a few days. It leaves my hair extremely smooth, voluminous, and weightless. I just apply on towel-dried hair at my roots, blow dry, and style." — Taryn Brooke, Contributing Beauty Writer

Best Hair Mousse for Thick Hair:

Virtue Hydrating Curl Defining Whip

Burnside's top pick for anyone with medium to thick straight hair is Virtues' Hydrating Curl Defining Whip, which is "a conditioning mousse that offers hold while adding volume, moisture, and shine." The product is excellent for enhancing curls while still reducing frizz and dryness. It's also great for adding smoothness and shine while staying silicone-free!

Size: 5.5 oz

Texture: Thick foam

Hold: Strong

What We Love: Works on straight, wavy, and curly hair, ultra-moisturizing, reduces frizz

What We Don't: Some reviewers say the pump packaging stops working after a few uses

Best Hair Mousse for Fine Hair

Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Multiplying Volume Styling Mousse

Instantly boost your hair's body with the Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Multiplying Volume Styling Mousse. This product is specifically designed for fine hair, made with a combination of caviar extract and marine plumping complex that ensures your ponytail appears and feels thicker. The lightweight foam adds volume and lift without that sticky, stiff feel, and is sure to hold your curls.

Size: 8.2 oz

Texture: Lightweight foam

Hold: Medium

What We Love: Adds thickness, volume, shine, and hold

What We Don't: Does not work well against humidity

Best Volumizing Hair Mousse

Moroccan Oil Root Boost

This spray-on mousse makes applying the product a breeze. Made for fine and medium hair, Moroccan Oil's Root Boost is infused with argan oil and adds lift by creating a strong texture at the roots before it gets locked in with heat. It’s designed to add volume for long-lasting texture, body, and movement. Shake the bottle, spray your wet roots, and style as you please.

Size: 8.5 oz

Texture: Spray

Hold: Strong

What We Love: Easy to use, strong style hold, argan oil adds moisture

What We Don't: Smell may be too strong for some

Best Drugstore Hair Mousse

Tresemme Plumping Hair Mousse Total Volume Hair Treatment

Hair mousses can be pricey—but they don't have to be. Tresemme has created this incredible product for under $10. Boasting 24-hour body and life, this mousse givesinstant volume for bouncy, fuller-looking hair that holds its style all day long.Start by shaking the can and dispensing 2-3 dollops of mousse into the palms of your hands. Spread evenly throughout your hair before styling for major volume.

Size: 10.5 oz

Texture: Creamy foam

Hold: 24-hour

What We Love: Budget-friendly, long-lasting, extra volume

What We Don't: Makes hair feel heavier

Best Smelling Hair Mousse

Oribe Grandiose Hair Plumping Mousse

This delicious-smelling hair mousse (it has a sweet, musky finish) has a unique, whipped texture that makes fine hair impressively big. Structure-forming starch polymers—the product's key ingredient—smooth, condition, and add hold while giving hair a thicker look. And it even protects against heat damage. Trust me when I say it's worth the splurge.

Size: 5.8 oz

Texture: thick, whipped mousse

Hold: Strong

What We Love: Scent, salon quality style and hold, heat protection

What We Don't: Too much product makes hair feel sticky

Best Moisturizing Hair Mousse

Bumble and bumble Thickening Full Form Soft Mousse

This hair mousse was made to not only volumize but also moisturize. "My ends can get pretty dry, so I have to be careful with the styling products I choose to use," says Beauty Editor Samantha Holender. "I find that this thickening mousse actually nourishes my hair while it works—and even makes my split ends look a little less crusty."

Size: 5 oz

Texture: Thick foam

Hold: Strong

What We Love: Moisturizing, heat protectant, smooth texture

What We Don't: Some reviewers dislike the smell

Jasmine Burnside is a celebrity hairstylist based in New York City, specializing in editorial, commercial, and wedding hair styling. Originally from Maryland, Jasmine attended a Paul Mitchell Cosmetology School. After graduating, she quickly developed her skill set and clientele, but knew she wanted to pursue her dream of moving and making a name for herself in New York.

Since her transition to New York City, she took a position as a stylist behind the chair at a top salon in the West Village. Jasmine refined and expanded her skill set, which landed her a role as a lead educator at the salon. Jasmine's passion for hair and eagerness to learn has propelled her to many great opportunities. Her clients include actresses Ashley Reyes, Nida Khurshid, Gus Birney, and Jessica Hecht. She’s worked on major runway shows and editorial campaigns including: Vogue, Marc Jacobs, ELLE, Ralph Lauren, Rebecca Minkoff, Alice and Olivia,Cosmopolitan, just to name a few.