Is mousse bad for your hair?

In this blog, we highlight whether mousse is bad for your hair. We know that products like hair dye, shampoo and conditioner sometimes contain substances that are better to avoid. These substances include ammonia, parabens, PPD, sulphates and silicones. But what about styling your hair? For example, could the firming mousse you always use also affect the condition of your hair or your health? We also discuss the history of hair mousse and give tips on how best to use mousse.

INCI

When choosing new products for our hair, we often catch ourselves being led by terms like 'natural' or pretty packaging. It's even nicer if the products smell good too! Then it must be excellent for the hair and not harmful. We think. Because, of course, the best thing you can do is look at the list of ingredients. But that list is always very long and printed in tiny print on the packaging. And contain long synthetic names. How can you make a good choice without having to analyse the list of ingredients and without having chemistry in your curriculum? We will help you on your way and put your mind at rest.

Manufacturers of cosmetic products are obliged to state an ingredient list on the packaging of their products. They must do this according to INCI. INCI stands for: International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient, or International Nomenclature for Cosmetic Ingredients. This is because people with allergies can check whether they tolerate a particular product by looking at the packaging according to INCI because the names are standardised.

Ingredients are always listed in order of percentage. So the first ingredient (usually aqua) has the most in the product. Of a substance listed only at the end of the list, only a minimal percentage is in the product. So when in doubt about a substance, you can factor in which position of the ingredient list it is at. If you have an allergy, it is of course always necessary to check whether the substances you are allergic to are not mentioned on the packaging. Do you not know exactly what you are allergic to? Then have this determined via a dermatological examination. You can always test a bit of a product on your skin to see if it is safe for you to use.

Of course, the degree of contact with your skin is also important. Skin products are applied to your skin and stay there for a long time. With hair products, there is little contact with the skin and if there is, for instance with hair dye, shampoo or Dark Bamboo, you rinse it out fairly quickly.

Natural is not always better

Not all substances that sound synthetic are, make no mistake about that. And besides, natural does not always mean better, unfortunately. You can also be allergic to natural ingredients, and this is often the case in practice. Many people are allergic to natural plant extracts, for instance. Here, the most common are citrus extracts, chamomile, extracts of coriander, roses and avocado. You can also be allergic to olive oil or aloe vera. The reality is: whether a substance is man-made, imitated from nature or extracted directly from nature says nothing about its degree of safety. Whether a substance is safe or harmful depends purely on the dose in which it is used. Natural or non-natural ingredients: they are tested in the same way as cosmetics and assessed for safety according to the same strict standards. If in doubt whether a substance is safe for use in hair products and thus also hair mousse, then it is not used.

Volume Mousse: safe for hair and colour

Hair products on sale in Europe and the United States are safe. In addition, modern styling products such as mousse are nowadays - unlike the former mousse - carefully formulated. In fact, they often contain caring ingredients and protectants to make styling not only safer, but also better for your hair health. And as mentioned, they are tested. This does, of course, apply to products intended for the European and US markets. In other parts of the world, there are no or less stringent checks on whether a product is safe to use. Keep this in mind when buying something abroad or ordering online from foreign sites.

If in doubt whether you tolerate a product, you can always do an allergy test with the product on your skin in the elbow crease. If you are allergic, always check the ingredients list. It is wise in any case to keep checking the list of ingredients, even of products you already use. This is because the composition of products changes quite often.

Although hair mousse is safe for your hair - unless you are allergic - cheaper mousses unfortunately do not take good care of your hair and therefore your dyed colour. Using mousse can then cause the colour to disappear from your hair faster. At WECOLOUR, we have made sure that the ingredients are geared towards use in dyed hair as much as possible. The mousse conditions your hair, contains nourishing ingredients, UV protection and protects moisture levels. So the colour is not stripped from the hair by WECOLOUR Volume Mousse. The Volume Mousse is Curly Girl proof and very suitable to use as a mousse as well for your curls.

History of hair mousse

Hair mousse was introduced in the United States in the mid-1980s. This is light, whipped creamy substance combined with its good hold offered the perfect hold for the spiky and big hairstyles of those days. Like gel, most hair mousses coat the hair with a synthetic layer to give body, hold and hold. But the most considerable difference is that where gel really weighs hair down, mousse is actually light and gives body, lift and creates volume.

When the airy hairstyles of the 1980s went unfashionable, so did mousse. Now mousse is back in the spotlight as curls and volumised hairstyles are back in fashion. However, hair mousse has since changed its composition so that it now often improves the condition of your hair instead of worsening it. For instance, the mousse from the 1980s dried out your hair considerably because it used a lot of alcohol for durability and the firming effect.

Tips for better use of hair mousse

Using hair mousse is not very complicated. Nevertheless, we have some tips and tricks for you to use mousse most effectively.

1. Apply mousse to damp hair. Apply mousse to damp hair. Preferably, on washed and towel-dried hair. Do not use mousse on wet or dry hair.
2. Do not use too much. Don't get too enthusiastic in using mousse. A common mistake is applying far too much, making it sticky and too hard. For short to medium-length hair, you need a golf-ball-sized amount of mousse. For longer locks, go for just a bit more, about the size of an egg. Also, pay close attention to the fact that mousse continues to expand for a few seconds after you spray it on your hand.
3. Do not apply mousse directly to your hair. Spray mousse into your hands, rub them together and work your hands evenly through your hair, making sure to touch the roots/start of your hair. Applying mousse directly to your hair makes it harder to distribute it evenly.
4. Style your hair as desired. You can sweep it forwards or backwards, lift at the roots for more volume, knead into shape or gently lift curls.
5. Pinch gently for a natural result. Let your hair air dry after applying mousse and styling. Your hair will feel a little hard, but that's okay. Once your hair is dry, gently pinch it slightly to remove the crunch while keeping your hair in shape.
6. Style with a blow-dryer. If you still want to style your hair with the blow-dryer, use a blow-dryer with a round brush, or use a diffuser for drying shorter hairstyles.
7. Renew the mousse without washing. If you would like to activate the mousse in your hair, i.e. without washing your hair, do not apply new product. Instead, wet your hands and run them through your hair. You will then reactivate the mousse, and you can then style your hair again. If necessary, you can apply some new extra mousse if needed.

We have now told you enough about hair mousse, we think. If you still have questions, we will, of course, be happy to answer them. Hopefully, you are now also convinced that hair mousse, especially that from WECOLOUR, is completely safe to use!

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