Setting foam is the styling product curly hair people forget about. It is lighter than gel, holds better than cream, and it goes through soaking wet hair without dragging the roots down. Below are the seven foams and mousses we stock and would actually put a name to, with the price, who each one suits, and the thing about it that annoys people.
How we chose these
No controlled trial sits behind this page. Nobody at Zenvy ran a matched comparison across testers, and we are not going to dress one up. What the shortlist is built on:
- The full ingredient list, where the brand publishes one. That is the part that tells you how a foam will behave. A film forming polymer holds a curl. A foam built on humectants alone stays soft and answers to the weather instead.
- The hold each brand claims, read against what is actually in the formula rather than taken at face value.
- The curl types the brand itself lists, treated as a ceiling rather than a promise.
- The complaints that recur in customer reviews. Those are more useful than the praise, because a real irritation gets repeated and a compliment rarely does.
- What sells and what comes back at Zenvy. A foam that people rebuy is telling you something a spec sheet cannot.
Every product listed here was in stock when this page was last updated, and every one is linked. If something sells out we would rather say so than leave you clicking through to nothing.
The seven setting foams we stock
| Foam | Price | Hold | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Doux CrazySexyCurl Honey Setting Foam | £12.99 | Flexible | 2A to 4B, wash and gos, twist outs |
| The Doux MOUSSE DEF Texture Foam | £13.99 | Medium to firm | 2A to 4A, hold that has to last |
| TGIN Rose Water Curl Defining Mousse | £11.99 | Soft | 2A to 3B, fine hair that goes flat |
| Camille Rose Spiked Honey Mousse | £8.20 | Soft | 2A to 3B, dry hair that a cream would flatten |
| Cantu Wave Whip Curling Mousse | £8.99 | Soft | 2A to 3B, waves that want movement |
| As I Am Rosemary Styling Mousse | £11.99 | Flexible | 2A to 3B, root volume without a cast |
| ORS Olive Oil Curlshow Curl Style Mousse | £5.99 | Soft | 2A to 3B, the cheapest way in |
The picks
1. The Doux CrazySexyCurl Honey Setting Foam, £12.99
Best for: 2A right through to 4B, and the widest curl range of anything on this page.
This is the one that does four jobs in a single pass. It conditions, detangles, defines and sets, which is why it suits anyone whose wash day has crept past three hours. Honey, aloe, bamboo extract and silk amino acids are the named ingredients, and the silk protein is what keeps the finish soft rather than crisp. It sets wash and gos, twist outs, braids and TWAs, and it dries faster than most foams.
The drawback: honey is a humectant, so what it does depends on the weather outside. On a muggy day it can pull moisture in and soften a set you wanted to keep, and if you overdo the amount it goes faintly tacky before it dries down. Long dense hair will also get through a can quickly.
Shop CrazySexyCurl Honey Setting Foam.
2. The Doux MOUSSE DEF Texture Foam, £13.99
Best for: 2A to 4A, and anyone who needs the hold to still be there at the end of the day.
The firmest hold on the list, and the only one here that does a second job properly. On curls it gives definition, volume and a medium to firm hold. On blow dried or straightened hair, a small amount worked in before drying adds control and keeps damp air from undoing the work. Aloe and silk amino acids are the named ingredients, and the formula is vegan. Read the full guide to The Doux range if you are choosing between their stylers.
The drawback: it is the most expensive can on this page and the firmest, which is a bad combination on fine 2A hair. Use a normal amount and it can read stiff rather than defined, and you will be scrunching the cast out afterwards. Start with less than you think and build.
3. TGIN Rose Water Curl Defining Mousse, £11.99
Best for: 2A to 3B, and fine hair that collapses under anything heavier.
The lightest foam we stock. Rose water is what the formula is built around, and it hydrates without adding weight, so the foam breaks down on wet hair, shapes the curl as it dries and leaves nothing to rinse or scrunch out. No crunch, no residue, no sticky finish. If creams have ever left your roots looking flat, this is the format that fixes it.
The drawback: there is no firm film former behind it, which is exactly the point on fine hair and exactly the problem on dense 3C or type 4 hair. It shapes the curl, then gives up by mid afternoon, and you get through the can trying to make up the difference. It also carries protein, so if your hair turns stiff and straw like after a protein treatment, read the can before you commit.
4. Camille Rose Spiked Honey Mousse, £8.20
Best for: 2A to 3B, particularly hair that feels dry but flattens under a cream.
Camille Rose call this a four in one because it defines, hydrates, controls frizz and holds, and honey is the thread running through all of it. Being a humectant, the hold it gives is soft rather than set, and the hair stays touchable once it dries. At £8.20 it is the best value of the honey based foams.
The drawback: application is fussier than the rest. The hair has to be soaking wet, sectioned, and the product raked through before you scrunch. Put it on merely damp hair and you get half the definition and twice the frizz. It is also the softest hold here, because there is no film forming polymer in it at all, which makes it the first of the seven to swell and go frizzy on a warm damp day. It carries protein as well.
Shop Camille Rose Spiked Honey Mousse.
5. Cantu Wave Whip Curling Mousse, £8.99
Best for: 2A to 3B, waves and looser curls that want shape without being set in place.
Mousse is the right format for waves and it is the one people forget. This goes on light, does not weigh the pattern down and dries without the shell a firm gel leaves. Shea butter is the named conditioning ingredient. You get shape and separation rather than a fixed style, and nothing crunches when you touch it.
The drawback: the hold is genuinely soft, so in damp weather the shape drops through the afternoon and you are refreshing by evening. Cantu are explicit that it is built for 2A to 3B, and on anything tighter or denser than that it will not carry a wash and go on its own. It is fragranced, with no unscented version.
6. As I Am Rosemary Styling Mousse, £11.99
Best for: 2A to 3B, and curls that lose their lift at the root rather than their shape.
This one sets curls into their own pattern and stays flexible as it dries, so you get bounce instead of a helmet. Rosemary leaf extract, pomegranate extract, panthenol and vitamin E are the named ingredients. The texture is light enough that finer curls keep their volume at the root, which is the whole reason to reach for it.
The drawback: the rosemary scent is strong and it stays in the hair for hours. The can also declares fragrance allergens, so check the label first if you react to those. The light texture means it will not hold a wash and go on coarse, dense hair without a gel over the top.
Shop As I Am Rosemary Styling Mousse.
7. ORS Olive Oil Curlshow Curl Style Mousse, £5.99
Best for: 2A to 3B, and anyone who wants to find out whether foam suits them before spending properly.
The cheapest way onto this list, and it aims at volume and definition together. It adds lift at the root while the curl pattern tightens up, and the hold it leaves is soft and touchable with no flaking. Sweet almond oil, olive oil and honey are the named ingredients, so the styling polymers are not left to dry the hair out on their own.
The drawback: a 7oz can does not last long once you are dispensing enough foam to cover a full head, so the low price is less of a bargain than it looks across a few months. The hold is soft rather than structured. Two things worth knowing that are easy to miss: the formula carries hydrolysed wheat protein and hydrolysed collagen, so skip it if protein leaves your hair stiff, and a recurring complaint is that it feels tacky in the hands and on the hair. Its review pool is also heavily promotional, so read the star rating with that in mind.
Foam, mousse or custard
- Foam: the lightest air whipped format. Best on fine 2A to 3B hair that goes flat under anything else.
- Mousse: a little denser. Best on 3B to 4A hair that needs volume and hold at the same time.
- Custard: thick and gel like. Best on type 4 hair with high moisture needs, where a foam alone will not carry the set.
If you are still weighing formats up, the curl cream, gel and mousse comparison covers the trade offs in more detail.
Diffusing or air drying
The foam sets as the water leaves the hair, so how you dry it changes the result more than most people expect.
- Diffusing on low heat gives you the most volume, because you are drying the hair while it sits in the shape you cupped it into. Low heat and low speed. High speed blows the clumps apart and you get frizz.
- Air drying gives the cleanest definition, because nothing disturbs the curl while it sets. It takes hours, and in a cold British house that can mean going to bed with damp hair, which undoes the whole thing.
- Pixie diffusing, where you cup sections into the bowl and hold them there, gives the most root lift of the three. It is slow and your arms will complain.
How much foam to use
Foam expands as it leaves the can, so the amounts look absurd next to a cream. Use more than feels reasonable, on hair that is genuinely soaking rather than towel damp.
- Bob length: an apple sized handful.
- Shoulder length: an orange sized handful.
- Mid back: a grapefruit sized handful.
- Waist length: two grapefruits, applied in sections.
Which foam for your curl pattern
| Pattern | Pick |
|---|---|
| 2A to 2B, loose waves | TGIN Rose Water or Cantu Wave Whip |
| 2C to 3A, defined waves to loose curls | As I Am Rosemary or ORS Curlshow |
| 3B to 3C, springy ringlets | CrazySexyCurl or Camille Rose Spiked Honey |
| 4A to 4C, coils | CrazySexyCurl or MOUSSE DEF, with a Design Essentials Almond & Avocado Twist & Set Setting Lotion (£11.99) if you are setting twists |
Of the seven picks, only the two Doux foams are rated for type 4 hair. The rest top out around 3B, and pretending otherwise would just waste your money.
How to apply setting foam
- Start on soaking wet hair, straight after your leave in.
- Shake the can hard, then dispense a generous amount into your palm.
- Spread the foam between both hands first, then smooth, rake and scrunch upward in sections.
- Plop into a microfibre towel for fifteen or twenty minutes.
- Air dry or diffuse on low, and do not touch it until it is bone dry.
Day two and day three
- Day two: spray a section properly damp, work a small amount of foam through it, scrunch, leave it alone.
- Day three: sleep in a pineapple, then refresh the ends only. Roots rarely need it and adding product there is what makes hair look greasy by day four.
The heatless curls guide covers overnight sets in more depth.
Fine, thick and coily hair
- Fine hair: TGIN Rose Water Curl Defining Mousse (£11.99). Lightest hold, no residue at the root. There is more on this in the fine curly hair guide.
- Thick hair: The Doux CrazySexyCurl Honey Setting Foam (£12.99). Enough slip to get through dense sections without a fight.
- Coily hair: The Doux MOUSSE DEF Texture Foam (£13.99), or Cantu Avocado Mousse (£6.99) if you want a lighter, cheaper option with avocado oil in it.
- Dry hair that still needs a light styler: Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Frizz-Free Curl Mousse (£11.99), with coconut oil, shea butter and hibiscus extract.
Foam in damp British weather
Three of the seven picks list honey, and honey is a humectant, which means it does whatever the air tells it to. In dry indoor heat it pulls water into the hair and the curl stays soft. On a wet, warm day it pulls water in from outside, and a set you were pleased with at nine in the morning has swelled and gone frizzy by lunch.
If that describes most of your year, pick the foam with the firmer film rather than the sweeter ingredient list. MOUSSE DEF is the one on this page built that way, and it is the only pick here with no honey in it at all. The humidity guide goes further into why.
FAQs
Foam or mousse, what is the difference?
The two words are used interchangeably and no standard separates them. Foam tends to be lighter and more air whipped, mousse a little denser. Compare the net weight on the can rather than the word on the front.
Will setting foam leave my hair crunchy?
Most curl foams dry to a soft, flexible finish rather than a hard cast. A firmer hold such as MOUSSE DEF can feel stiff if you use too much, and scrunching once the hair is bone dry breaks it up.
Can I use setting foam on day two hair?
Yes, as long as you wet the hair first. Spray a section damp, work a small amount of foam through it and scrunch. Foam applied to dry hair without water tends to sit on the surface and flake.
Which setting foam suits fine curly hair?
TGIN Rose Water Curl Defining Mousse is the lightest foam we stock, so it shapes fine curls without dragging the roots flat. Cantu Wave Whip is the other option if your hair is fine and wavy rather than fine and curly.
How long does setting foam hold?
It depends on the hold level and on the weather. A flexible foam gives you a day and refreshes well with water. A firmer hold carries a twist out or a set for longer. Damp British air shortens all of them, whatever the can says.
Browse the full setting foam collection or the wider curl mousse range.
Author: Emma Rusby, Founder of Zenvy Beauty.
