Mousse Is on the Loose

By J.D. Reed

A quick, slick hair groomer is the wave of the future

Customers at the Stardust Beauty Salon in Dubuque, Iowa, used to laugh at it, and Owner Carolyn Fandman called it "mouse." Now, she says, "they're coming in with no appointment at all just to buy it retail." What has Dubuquers, along with millions of people from Boston to Beverly Hills, so lathered up? Mousse, of course.

Not a rich dessert, but a hair-styling foam, mousse is the headiest new performer in the $3 billion American hair-care market. Since French cosmetics giant L'Oreal introduced Free Hold to U.S. stores only last December, several brands have been rushed into what could be a $100 million first-year market. Some Los Angeles distributors are having trouble meeting the demand. Says Dallas Stylist Paul Neinast: "Everybody from high school kids to women in their 60s and 70s is using it. Tons of men are using it."

The reason: mousse works as easy as pie. With a pleasant fizz, the shaving-cream-like stuff is squirted from a can and combed through wet or towel-dried hair. After curling, blow-drying or hand-styling, moussers say, their hairdos are fuller, sleeker and easier to change than with sprays, setting gels or lotions. "Mousse helps your hair do what you want it to, with ease," notes Vidal Sassoon Art Director Steven Docherty. "You can get several styles, from a slicked-back Valentino look to a full, loose, curly look."

Mousse came along in time for the shorter, sculpted styles of the 1980s, which require more control than did the straight cuts or frizzy perms of the past decade. Cropped shapes are the rage at New York City's Kenneth salon, where some 500 customers are moussed each week. Says Owner Kenneth Battelle: "It adds structure to that particular look." Mousse also spruces up older styles. Neinast did two mousse make-overs of Actress Susan (Dallas) Howard's long, flyaway tresses. The result: "a tousled and layered look that's fuller."

Chemistry is the key to mousse's effectiveness. In the late 1970s L'Oreal scientists were searching for a combination to hold hair firmly without the stiffness of sprays. They discovered a foam (mousse in French) that could deliver two substances--one for body, one for manageability--which textbooks described as incompatible in a mixture. Some doubters claim the breakthrough is just a lot of air to puff up the cosmetics market. A few users complain that mousse leaves a residue and makes hair pack down. Millions of fans, however, swear by it. Carol Alt, a top Elite model who poses for mousse ads, is a convert. The best part, she says, is that her husband likes its pleasant almond fragrance.

Most moussers have been won over by practicality. Commuters like it because they can foam, comb and catch the 8:09 without fuss. Everyone saves time: a moussing can take as little as three minutes. Says Good Housekeeping Beauty Editor Nancy Abrams: "Your hair does itself while you do other things." There are more than 30 brands on the market, and giants like Elizabeth Arden plan to introduce new ones within a few months. Prices range from $1.99 for 2 1/2 oz. of Free Hold, up to $13.95 for 15 oz. of Helene Curtis' brand. There are foams for normal and fine hair and ones that contain jojoba, vitamin E and even mink oil. Alberto-Culver has a mousse for black hair styles; Conair's Jheri Redding line offers "flavors," such as chocolate for brunets and strawberry for auburn heads.

In an industry noted for fast fads, mousse is holding on. Some projections say it may be a half-billion-dollar market in a few years and could sell as well as conditioners. Mousse is already heady stuff among the salon set, and, says Conair Advertising Director Alan Cohen, "if the young people get hold of it, it's going to go through the roof."

--By J.D. Reed. Reported by Rick Bowers/New York, with other bureaus

With reporting by Rick Bowers