Wash-and-gos are a quick way to get your curls ready for the day. But, after a couple of days – and nights sleeping in your bonnet – your hair could use a definition boost. That’s where a lightweight mousse comes in. A lightweight mousse is a styling product that isn’t as stiff as a gel but gives you enough shine and separation to get your curls to last until your next wash day. And, it won’t weigh your hair down. Some lightweight mousses even add volume to droopy curls, too.

The Doux Mousse Def Texture Foam

$15
Photo Courtesy of Target

The Doux’s Mousse Def Texture Foam is a high-control mousse without the crunch. Made with blue agave, green tea, and silk amino acids, it defines curls and adds shine. This mousse protects your hair from humidity, too. With all of those benefits, you’d think it would turn your curls crunchy. Fortunately, there’s no crunch to this product. So, you get to let your hair bounce in the breeze with ease. 

For the best results, pump this into your hands and work it through your hair in sections – instead of the whole head at once – that way each curl can drink in the hair-loving formula. 

Motions Style And Create Versatile Foam Styling Lotion

Motions’ Style And Create Versatile Foam Styling Lotion feels like a foamy serum for your hair. In the hands it’s a smooth, almost slick, product that adds ample shine to wash-and-gos and day-old styles.

The ingredient list on this mousse includes a number of moisturizers – including shea butter, argan oil, coconut oil, and aloe leaf extract. Plus, when it’s time to refresh your curls, a little product goes a long way. So, pump this into your hands, work it through your curls with a few shakes, and you’ll be refreshed until your next wash day.

Not Your Mothers Curl Talk Curl Activating Mousse

Not Your Mothers Curl Talk Curl Activating Mousse refreshes your curls without a number of drying ingredients. This aerosol can is free of sulfate surfactants, silicones, parabens, phthalates, drying alcohols, proteins, gluten, dyes, and animal cruelty. 

Instead, its formula is made to add shine, definition, and volume while taming frizz. Plus, this mousse is safe for color-treated hair. For the best results, make sure to give the can a good shake before dispensing the foam into your hand. That way, you’ll get a soft foam that transfers its smooth texture to your curls. 

Pardon My Fro Hair-Mousse

$15
Photo Courtesy of Walmart

Pardon My Fro’s Hair-Mousse is a multi-purpose product for far beyond wash day. When you first style your wash-and-go, you’ll notice the instant definition, shine, and volume of your hair after you’ve slept on it for a few nights. All you have to do is give your curls a fluff with a few pumps of this mousse to bring your curls back to life. More importantly, this mousse combats frizz. That way, you have defined curls instead of feeling like a puffball.


As for the formula, you’ll feel the silky smoothness of the argan and jojoba oil as you run this through your hair. Plus, once it’s dry, there’s no stickiness, stiffness, or crunchiness.

Function of Beauty Zero Gravity Styling Hair Mousse

Function of Beauty’s Zero Gravity Styling Hair Mousse is for the curls on the go. When you pump this hair mousse into your hands, it feels like a fluffy cloud. That light-as-air feeling continues when you run the product through your hair. It delivers a defined hold that doesn’t turn your hair into a helmet. And it adds shine to curls. But it does even more than that.

Formulated with a Tara pod and sunflower sprout extract blend, this mousse protects your hair from urban pollution, UV stress, and color fading. The vegan mousse is also free of silicones, alcohol, gluten, and parabens.

Pattern Curl Mousse

$20
Photo Courtesy of Pattern

Pattern’s Curl Mousse uses a silicone-free formula to define and add shine to your natural curls. Usually, silicone is added to a hair product to enhance shine. Instead, Pattern’s mousse blends marshmallow root with castor and argan oil to keep your curls separated and moisturized with a natural shine. Plus, this flake-free styling product doesn’t weigh your hair down – even after you reapply it for a refresh.

Rizos Curls Curl Defining Hair Mousse

Rizos Curls’ Curl Defining Hair Mousse is an ultra lightweight mousse that delivers body and definition. This curl-defining mousse dries down to a non-sticky, flexible hold. So you won’t feel any crunchy curls as you move. The vegan and cruelty-free formula won’t dry out your hair, either. Familiar ingredients like aloe vera, cactus flower extract, and maracuja seed oil moisturize your curls. That natural moisture helps your curls reflect a natural shine.


Speaking of ingredients, this non-aerosol mousse is silicone-, sulfate-, and paraben-free.

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