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Friday, February 18, 2011

Review: New Suave Captivating Curls Whipped Cream Mousse

Remember a little while ago when I told you about all of the new 2011 products from Suave that are headed our way? Well I was fortunate enough to receive a few of them for review, and today I'd like to tell you about my experience with the brand new Captivating Curls Whipped Cream Mousse.

Suave Captivating Curls Whipped Cream Mousse
(retail: around $2.69, 7 oz)

From Suave:

NEW! Suave Professionals® Captivating Curls Whipped Cream Mousse
Helps define and hold natural curl patterns for 24-hour touchable curls.
• Salon proven to define curls as well as Redken® Fresh CurlsTM Spring Mousse3
• Alcohol-free formula with anti-frizz complex
• For best results, use with Suave Professionals® Captivating Curls Shampoo and Conditioner
$2.69 – $2.99 (7 oz.)
3Redken and Matrix are registered trademarks of L’Oreal USA Creative
Before I get into the this review, I want to tell you a tiny bit about my hair. I always feel like haircare product reviews don't really amount to a hill of beans for you, the reader, if you don't understand the reviewer's particular hair. How can you possibly get an idea for how a product is going to work for YOU, if you don't know about MY hair first, right?

In a nutshell, I've got long hair that's fine in texture but I have a lot of it. My hair is wavy, and on my BEST day, I can achieve loose, beachy-type ringlets. On my WORST day, my hair can look poufy and frizzy with inconsistent waves. I rarely straighten my hair, and I usually use a blow-dryer on my roots and then let the rest of my hair dry naturally. I normally use shampoo, conditioner, and some type of leave-in conditioner. My hair is oily at the roots, dry at the ends and it's color-treated. I hope this gives you enough background information!

On to the review:


It's difficult for me to photograph aluminum cans because of the glare, so I hope you can read the above images. The stylist recommendation for application is interesting and different from how I usually apply mousse. I should also tell you right now that I used to use mousse A LOT back in the 90s when I had a spiral perm (remember those?) but I honestly haven't used mousse on a consistent basis since that era. I usually associate mousse with crunchy hair, so I've pretty much stayed away from it for years.

Back to the stylist recommendation: it says to emulsify this product in your palms, and then SQUEEZE the mousse into wet hair. After that, you're supposed to gently blot the excess water out of your hair with a squeezing motion and the help of a thin towel.

The first time that I applied this product to my freshly-washed, wet hair, I tried my best to follow these directions, but I didn't have a thin towel on hand so I skipped that step. But since I did not apply this to soaking wet hair (I'd say my hair was about 10% dry at the time--it had been in a towel for about 5 minutes) I didn't find I had a ton of excess water to be squeezed out.

And let me tell you, the texture of this product makes it SO much fun to "squeeze" your hair! I honestly have never used a mousse that feels quite like this one (although I've never used Redken Fresh Curls Spring Mousse, which is what this product can be compared to, so it may feel exactly like that product).

This product is just so creamy, yet it's springy at the same time. I can't explain it, but it feels like it's enveloping your hair as you work it in, rather than just sitting on top of your hair (the way most mousses feel on my wet hair).

It really does look like whipped cream!

So after I applied it, I used my blow-dryer on just my roots (like I always do), then gave my hair one final round of scrunching. After that, I just let my hair air-dry as usual.


Now let's take a look at some pictures!

OK, so this is my hair on a normal day. This picture was taken after washing my hair, and then running a bit of leave-in conditioner through the middle portion of my hair, down to the roots. Then I simply let it air-dry. No additional styling products were used in this photo:

And this is my hair on a day when I used Suave Captivating Curls Whipped Cream Mousse:


It was difficult to capture in photos exactly how my hair looked that day, but I hope you can see that I've got a TON of well-defined, loose ringlets going on! I was absolutely stunned at how curly my hair looked after using this product. I applied this mousse to my wet hair right after my shower and I "squeezed" it into my hair. Then I used a blow-dryer on just my roots, and I let the rest of my hair air-dry.

The most amazing thing that I've discovered after using this product several times now is that it honestly never, ever gets crunchy. One day I accidentally used way too much, and if this were a regular mousse it would have been a 10 on the crunchiness scale. I've overdone it with mousse so many times in my life, and I've paid the price by having to walk around all day looking like I'm wearing a wig made out of curly fries.

So when I overdid it with this mousse, I was so pleasantly surprised to see that my hair did NOT have that extreme crunchy look I was expecting. When Suave says "softly defines curls with natural movement" they are NOT lying. Every time I use this mousse my curls are so well-defined, but they are still so soft and touchable it's almost hard for me to believe I've used a mousse.

The fragrance of this mousse is sweet and fruity, but I get a hint of floral and also a bit of a clean note. To my nose, it's very pleasant, but then again I love sweet and fruity scents. Also, I didn't find it overpowering, but I could smell it on my hair by the end of the day (although I did have to put my hair right up to my nose in order to smell it).

FINAL VERDICT: The new Suave Captivating Curls Whipped Cream Mousse has taken away the shudder that used to run up my spine whenever I'd hear the word "mousse". If you haven't used a mousse in a long time due to the "crunchiness factor", please get those preconceived notions out of your head and open your mind to this one. If you've got wavy or curly hair and you're looking for a new styling product to enhance your curls, you might want to consider giving this product a try. It certainly won't break the bank (I cannot believe it's under $3!) and I think you might be very pleasantly surprised by the results. You might experience a bit of a learning curve as you figure out exactly how much product to use in your hair during application (it took me about three uses to figure it out) but even if you over-apply, I don't think you'll experience crunchy hair. I have officially said my final goodbye to my "wig of curly fries."

Do you have wavy or curly hair? If so, do you think you might give this product a try? Have you spotted it in your area yet? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.
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35 comments

  1. OMG your hair looks AMAZING! My hair is sort of wavy but also sort of straight; not as wavy as yours. Still, I am going to try this out because I am in love with the results! Your hair looks fantastic! I am actually heading out in a few minutes, and I will try to stop by a few stores to see if it is in stock. Thanks for the review!

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  2. oh wow! I love trying mousses (is that the plural of mousse?) so this is now definitely at the top of the list. Thanks so much for this!

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  3. This looks AWESOME! I always had curly hair, but lost a lot of the curl after having kids. Now my hair is in this weird in-between state, and I'm forever looking for the right product for me. I'll have to get this soon!

    Oh, and "wig made of curly fries"? I DIE. too funny!

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  4. I never tried mousse products before but this is very appealing even though my hair is pin straight! I think I want to go ahead and try this when it's out. I mean less than $3 it definitely won't break the bank!

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  5. I love what it did to your hair in the after! It looks amazing. I am definitly going to get thise. Way to go Suave!

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  6. I have loose curly hair, I hope I can find this! Your hair looks amazing!

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  7. WOW!!! i might just have to run to the store NOW and try it, since I'm sad that my favotite cream for curly hair got discontinued (sunsilk hydra tlc and curls line). I hope it works as well because i hate mousse bc it makes my hair crunchy and dry :(

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  8. This looks fantastic, especially for my hair! I really like this new style of pictures, its much more helpful! I don't understand what you mean by "squeeze" though!!! Do you squeeze it to mimic curls (horizontal) or do you squeeze it like a vertical hose?

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  9. I think we have the same hair and after seeing your results I cannot wait to try this out!

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  10. I swear Gianna, we are complete beauty twins! Same skintone, skin type, hair type.. this is one of the many reasons why I love your blog, I know I can trust your reviews on products to work for me! I'm really impressed by your results because my hair is also fine (but full/thick?) and wavy, minus the color-treated part, and I'm always looking for lightweight curl products to define the curls. My only problem is that my waves are very easily weighed down (this wasn't such a problem when my hair WAS color treated and so a bit rougher/drier in texture) so I'm a little concerned about the 'cones I can spot in the ingredients list on the can. Did you experience any weighing down of your waves over the course of the day?

    I also thought I'd mention that this product reminds me a lot of the discontinued Suave Healthy Curls line, which also had a mousse that was fantastic for wavy hair - I bought a can when they were on clearance at Walmart and I wished I had bought backups because I use it very sparingly now. I'm crossing my fingers that this is essentially the same product, reformulated a bit and repackaged!

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  11. Your hair looks amazing after the mousse! I have just about the exact same hair type as you, but I usually straighten it so it's fried. You've actually made me curious to what it would do to my hair if I let it air-dry with mousse...usually it looks like a poofy wavy whatever but if this mousse makes my hair looks as good as yours, it'd definitely be kinder to my poor hair.
    Thank you so much for your review, I'll definitely be trying this the next time I go out! :)

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  12. WHOA G...I'm gonna need your hair! Kthx! :)

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  13. I just cut my shoulder length bob into a short layered style so that I could use my hair's natural waves instead of straigtening it every day. This product looks like just what I need right now! Look forward to checking it out. Thanks G!

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  14. Oooh, the directions are the way you're supposed to style curly hair. I guess I don't mean "supposed to", but like the way that's supposed to work best for curly hair. XD And you can just use an old t-shirt to get the excess water out of your hair if you don't have a microfiber towel or something. And yes, curly products do seem to work best if you apply them to sopping wet hair, but I hate the feeling of water running down my back when I do that. -_-

    Your hair looks great, by the way! And I will definitely have to grab this mousse as soon as I see it!

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  15. HMM This looks very interesting! I have curly hair and am always up to trying new products! I generally follow the "curly girl" way for styling my hair (no cones or sulfates), but I'm going to check it out for sure!

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  16. WOW. What a beautiful job this mousse does with your hair!!! My hair is EXACTLY as you describe yours and, I too, avoid mousses like the plague. I hate the cruntchy factor. I also avoid anything with -cones in them but I will give this a try for special occasions. Thanks SO much for the head's up! I would have NEVER considered it otherwise. :)

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  17. Nice review, Too bad Suave test on animals or I would buy this mousse ASAP. Nothing works better for curly hair than mousse, but I guess I will have to look for another brand.

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  18. Awesome results. If only it was cone free.... grrr

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  19. Wow! I have curly hair that I blow dry with a curl cream to make it just wavy. But left to it's own devices or using mousse will give me ringlets. But I stopped using mousse because of that crunch factor you were talking about. I'd rather have soft wavy hair than crunchy curly. But soft curly? I would LOVE that! How was it for controlling frizz? Or did you use a frizz product along with this? Frizz is the bane of my existence.

    LOL, I'm glad I previewed this one! I was about to tell you about the mouse I put in my hair!

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  20. Your hair looks GREAT! I have to find this stuff! You sound like my hair twin. I'm constantly buying new hair products trying to find something to rid the frizz, give some definition, and make my hair look somewhat uniform.

    P.S. I LOVE your blog!!! You've quickly become my favorite blogger!

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  21. I'd love to know: How was your hair the next day, after sleeping on it? Did you need to spray it with water and refresh it, or were the waves still there?

    With summer coming I wear my hair curly and this looks so interesting! Thank you for the review!

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  22. Your hair is beautiful! I'm going to be on the lookout for this as I have wavy hair & hate products that make it crunchy!!

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  23. gonna have to remember this for summer when i try to let my hair stay wavy! your hair looks beautiful! Hope you took that look and went out and partied!! :)

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  24. I managed to snag the last can of this stuff at Walgreens today after reading your post. I'm excited to try it!

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  25. I have hair between wavy and curly and was in love with Suave's Healthy Curls Scrunching Mousse, which I just recently discovered. I bought two cans, and it's a good thing because they've since discontinued it, and now I know why! I am so happy Suave's making another mousse for curly hair! The last one was perfect and I'm sure this one will be too =] Thanks for letting us know!

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  26. My hair is identical to yous, I must give this a try!!

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  27. Ladies, you are TOO KIND! I always get so scared showing my hair on this blog because it opens me up to a lot of criticism (look at her split ends! look at her roots!) so I cannot tell you how nice it was to see your compliments. I really appreciate that. :)

    To those of you who are thinking about trying this: I would absolutely LOVE if you'd come back here and let me know how it went. I am hoping you love this mousse as much as I do. It's my far my favorite new hair product of the year!

    I noticed that some of you fellow curly-haired girls avoid products with 'cones, which I totally understand. I did this for several years and tried very hard to stick to the "curly hair method" of styling my hair. But then I realized that, for my particular hair, 'cones can often work wonders, so I brought them back into my routine and I've been happy with the results--especially with this product in particular.

    Jamie: That was so incredibly sweet of you to say! Thank you!

    Sheryl: It really helped with frizz--in fact I'd say it pretty much eliminated the frizz completely for me. :)

    Barbara: I definitely need to spray it with water the next day after using this product, but I did find that it made the waves more consistent and it didn't look bad at all (although not as good as the first day--which is standard for me).

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  28. Your hair is beautiful! :-) Thank you sooooo much x100 for posting about this product! I have super thick,naturally curly hair, and am always looking for the perfect curl products. Well, I think I might have just found it! I picked this up the other day, after reading your review. I used it last night and I kid you not, my hair looks awesome today! Huge difference! I LOVE this stuff. Not only does it work wonderfully, but it smells great too! Thank you!!! :-)

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  29. Your hair is super pretty! When hubby went to Walmart I had him pick this up for me (I was at home with the baby. :))

    Awesome-ness! Truly fabulous product and the smell isn't overwhelming either. And the squishyness of it is very neat. So glad you posted this so I would want to try it. I don't even remember the last time I was able to actually spend time shopping myself, so you are the only way I find out about these cool new products now. :) Keep on!

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  30. After reading your review,I was totally excited to try the new mousse out. Unfortunately I can't reccomend it. It made my hair frizzy. It has an odd heavy feel to it. You need to be sure and scrunch it in well because it doesnt disappear into your hair. Think in this case I'll spend a little more to get what works best for me.

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  32. I am very happy with this mousse. I have very thick, curly, long hair and "wimpy" products are often just too weak to tame my curls. This mousse is very thick and feels great from the moment I put it in. I have had problems with mousse drying my hair in the past--not a problem with this product. My hair is still a bit more frizzy than I'd like, but the results are great and last for a second day! Thanks for the tip. I don't think I would have used a mousse without your recommendation.

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    Replies
    1. Your comment just made my day! I'm soooo glad this worked for you, sweetie! :)

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  33. I have been using this product on my curly hair ever since it came out! I have tried everything on my hair and nothing does it! I'm actually really bummed because I just moved to Canada about a month ago and they don't carry suave :( Ive been struggling to find something just like it but nothing works!!:(

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  34. I LOVED this product, never had my waves/curls look so good....and they discontinued it! Any chance you have a recommendation for a replacement?!

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