A Love Letter: Paul Mitchell Sculpting Foam

Paul Mitchell Sculpting Foam has been on the market as long as I can remember, and I'm sure even longer than that. It's not anything new, and I've never seen it advertised. Yet, without this product, I don't know how I would do my hair.

In high school, I finally learned how to care for and style curly hair. I was told I needed to use mousse. I don't remember if the Paul Mitchell Sculpting Foam was already on hand or if my mom just bought for me, but it was the first type I tried. It worked like magic.

Over the years the packaging has changed, but the product has remained the same. It somehow doesn't bother my terribly sensitive skin. It's lighter than most mousses so it doesn't weigh down curls. It has the right amount of hold that allows me to sleep in my curls and wear them for several days in a row, but it never makes my hair crispy or crunchy. Since it's not specially formulated for curly hair it works no matter how I style my hair. It even smells really good.

For some reason, I spent most of high school and early college trying every mousse on the market looking for a cheaper alternative. None worked as well, and when I finally did the math, I realized that I only saved a little money on tiny bottle of drug store mousse. The Paul Mitchell stuff comes in a 16.9 oz bottle for around $16 to $19 rather than a 6 oz bottle for $4 to $7. That small savings wasn't worth the drop in quality. Plus, I need to use less of the Paul Mitchell foam.

Price tip: JC Penny salon runs sales all the time. I often stock up on my Sculpting Foam for buy one, get one for a $1 so I really only pay about $10 a bottle.