When to apply mousse?

[Jules]

What's the best time to apply mousse to your hair? Should you apply it first to your hair when it's wet and then blow dry it out or should you blow dry your hair a little bit and then apply mousse? I've seen it done both ways at the salon and was curious about which is better.

[classyhair]

I wrap my hair in a towel as soon as I step out of the shower. If I don't, I can't get my body dry. After I get all my lotions on then I spray my detangler on, comb through, mousse, comb through. My stylist puts mousse in while still wet too.

[Shorty]

Even though my hair is not very long I find that if I put mousse on right before I dry it my hair it seems like it takes for ever to dry. So lately I have been drying it with nothing on it then when it is dry I throw some mousse in it and then style it that way. Seems to go so much faster. I have no patience standing there drying my hair. Or sometimes if I am not in a hurry after the shower I let it air dry and then put mousse in it and then take the blow dryer to it. That takes like a whole 3 minutes which I can handle.

[Toni]

Originally Posted by Shorty

Even though my hair is not very long I find that if I put mousse on right before I dry it my hair it seems like it takes for ever to dry. So lately I have been drying it with nothing on it then when it is dry I throw some mousse in it and then style it that way. Seems to go so much faster. I have no patience standing there drying my hair. Or sometimes if I am not in a hurry after the shower I let it air dry and then put mousse in it and then take the blow dryer to it. That takes like a whole 3 minutes which I can handle.

Hi Shorty and Welcome to the Hairstyles Watch forum!

Sounds like you have very porous hair. This means you can have fine, short hair and it would still take a while to dry. This also means that when you get any chemicals, (color or perms), the stylist has to be careful as your hair is going to drink those up like it does the water and will process faster. This is why some people end up overprocessed while others who do chemicals for the same amount of time are fine.

Trick with the mousse is not to apply it when hair is soaking wet. I like to apply when hair is damp so it won't get watered down and therefore breaks down. No sense putting product in if it's going to evaporate or soak into a towel.

[hunkoflove]

That's an interesting point about the type of hair in relation to how long it takes to dry. I have hair that can take a while depending.

I actually can put mousse on freshly washed hair and it feels like it doesn't do much but if i go out later and try to play with it, then it's more "crunchy" and not too bedheady to keep a style.

[streetcred]

Try one of those air absorbing towels. Its like porous and somehow dries the hair naturally but with less heat and damage to the shaft. I use mousse to get hair to stick together when it is all clean and ew and shiny slipper.

Mousse allows "weighting" and control. So how much control do you want? For a little, into day old hair that's dry is ok.

But if you want to be able to finger comb where you want it without applying hair spray or gel (both too drying) fluff mousse through the back of your crown and under the layers just to the right and left of your temples.

This hair gets stressed a lot mousse can put back a little elasticity.

[opheliarose]

Those microfiber towels really do help. In a pinch, I've also used paper towels to absorb excess water- they really get the dampness that a regular towel can't reach.

I feel like my hair dries faster with mousse than, say, spray gel.