Locking + Coconut Curls
This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.
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Can’t be confirmed from label.
Styler / Mousse, medium-hold
Add it to your products. We’ll tell you if it’s ever recalled.
Scent:
The ingredient list declares fragrance. What it smells of is not stated, and we do not guess.
Listing used for research: ulta.com
Personal fit
Complete the consultation to see how well this product fits your hair and your goals. With 6,000+ products in our library, we can match you to the right ones.
$49 with 60 days of follow-up questions and plan updates
$99 with 12 months. Pay once; the year renews only if you choose.
The rest of what your plan weighs on this product.
The consultation builds your hair profile, checks every factor in this table against it, and tells you where this product fits or what to use instead.
Start your consultation$49 once, with 60 days of follow-up questions and plan updates. Nothing renews, and you never have to buy a product.
Your avoid-list
Lower cost than most mousses
$1.27/oz at 7.9 oz, less than 84% of the 201 mousses , which mostly run $1.54–4.14/oz.
Great for
Maybe skip if
What the formula actually does
Each row says where it comes from: F means we derived it from this product’s own ingredient list, S means it is a claim the brand makes that the formula neither confirms nor contradicts.
A medium hold, as stated by the brand.
Synthetic hold polymers, the firmest kind of hold.
Softening ingredients sit alongside the film formers, so a hard shell is unlikely.
Middle of the range: noticeable on fine hair, light on coarse hair.
No absorbent powders or starches.
Butters near the top: a heavy, softening formula.
No fast-drying alcohol in the list.
The silicones here are the water-soluble kind.
Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients.
Ingredients that matter
The workhorse ingredients, plus anything lower down that changes a decision. The chips name what an ingredient does. They are not safety scores, and no ingredient here is rated good or bad on its own.
| Ingredient | What it does | Why it matters | Chip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | solvent | The base everything else is dissolved in | Neutral |
| Isobutane | propellant | Pushes the product out of the can | Neutral |
| Propylene Glycol | humectant | Pulls water into the hair | Moisturizes |
| Polyimide-1 | film former | Lays down the film that holds a shape | Holds |
| Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil | oil | Softens the film so it does not set hard | Softens |
| Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter | butter | The heavy softener that makes it rich | Heavy |
| Panthenol | humectant | Pulls water into the hair | Detangles |
| PEG-12 Dimethicone | emollient | Softens and smooths the strand | Shine |
| Fragrance | fragrance | The scent | Fragrance |
In the US, ingredients above 1% are listed from most to least. Below 1% they can appear in any order. Each note keeps three things apart: what the ingredient generally does, its role in this type of product, and what its position can tell you.
The base of almost every rinse-off and cream hair product. It carries everything else and is normally the first ingredient on the label.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
A pressurised gas that pushes an aerosol out of the can and evaporates on contact.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
A small humectant and solvent that keeps formulas stable and helps active ingredients spread.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
Light and water-binding rather than oily, so it adds less weight than oils or butters do.
A small water-binding solvent. It holds moisture and helps the rest of the formula spread evenly over the strand.
A humectant follows the air: it holds water in humid conditions and can give it up in very dry ones. Climate decides what it does more than the label does.
A flexible hold polymer used for touchable styling and humidity resistance.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
A set polymer film is a physical barrier to humidity, so a style keeps its shape longer in damp conditions.
Synthetic film formers dry into a continuous film, which is what holds a shape against movement and against humid air.
Some acrylate copolymers rinse with water and some need a detergent; the label alone does not say which one a formula used.
One of the few oils small enough to move into the strand, which is why it is used for pre-wash treatments. It can feel heavy or stiff on protein-sensitive hair.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
Because it penetrates rather than sits on top, it works on hair that loses water through a worn cuticle instead of only slowing evaporation from the surface the way a non-penetrating oil does.
A thin oil layer lowers friction between strands and flattens the raised cuticle that scatters light and catches on its neighbours.
The exception to the class read: lauric acid is small and linear enough to enter the shaft rather than only coat it, and in comparison testing coconut oil was the one that reduced protein loss from washing on both undamaged and damaged hair.
A rich, solid plant butter used for heavy conditioning on coarse or dry hair. High in the list it makes a product decidedly heavy.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
Coarse, porous hair loses water quickly and can carry the weight; a butter slows that loss more than a thin oil does.
Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.
A solid fat melts onto the strand at body temperature and stays there, which is the heaviest surface moisture-holding a formula can offer.
Provitamin B5. It draws in water and penetrates the strand a little, which is why it is the standard ingredient for softness and shine claims.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
It hydrates without adding oil or a film, which is the combination fine hair usually needs.
Deposits a lubricating layer that makes combing easier, which is most of what stops mechanical damage adding to frizz.
A humectant that also penetrates the cuticle, so it holds water inside the strand rather than only on the surface.
A water-soluble silicone that smooths without the build-up concern of standard silicones.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
The PEG- and PPG-modified silicones disperse in water, so ordinary washing carries them off instead of leaving a film to accumulate.
A surface film slows how quickly humidity reaches the cortex, which is what limits swelling-driven frizz in damp air.
Delivers the slip and surface smoothing of a silicone without needing a detergent wash to remove it afterwards.
A classic hairspray polymer. It gives firm hold but attracts moisture, so humidity can soften the set.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
Synthetic film formers dry into a continuous film, which is what holds a shape against movement and against humid air.
Some acrylate copolymers rinse with water and some need a detergent; the label alone does not say which one a formula used.
The film takes up water from the air. The patent work that produced the VP/VA copolymers describes a PVP film turning sticky after time in a humid atmosphere, and being dependable only where humidity is low — so hold and feel both move with the weather.
A cellulose-based hold polymer used in gels and sprays for flexible set.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
Cationic polymers hold a curl loosely and stay soft, which is why they turn up in definition products rather than firm-hold ones.
A cationic polymer stays on the hair through rinsing, which is what keeps static and combing friction down after the wash.
Film formers are what hold a style: they dry into a connected film across the strands so the shape resists movement.
An undisclosed blend of scent ingredients. Regulations let it stay unlisted, so a fragrance-free product is the only way to be certain what is not in it.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Declared fragrance. On a fragrance-sensitive routine this is the line that decides it, wherever it sits on the label.
Ingredient list captured 2026-08-27. Formulas change, so check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.
Price · 7.9 oz
Usually a good value. Most stores sell it under the $17 line, and products that do this job typically go for about $23 at this size.
7.9 ozusual store sizeBest per ounce
Sorted by price per ounce. Dated observations from our research, not live prices. Direct store pages, no affiliate links. We don’t sell this product. and 1 listing we don’t count, from grey-market or unverified sellers.
Formula
This formula covers the systems a mouss is built around, and it costs less per ounce than most of the mousses we have researched.
The formula score measures completeness for the job: a weighted share of the systems this product type is usually built around that we find in this list. It does not rate how well the product works or its quality, and it never compares across product types.
Does the same job
Formulas that do the same things (cleanse, condition, coat or hold) for less per ounce. Scent, texture and where you buy them can still differ.
See more alternatives in the product library
These products do a similar job. We haven’t matched them to you. Find the one that fits your hair, routine and budget

Final decision
Hair that stiffens on protein, for a protein-free formula and moisture that stays in
Worth skipping for anyone sensitive to fragrance, very dry or very humid climates, or silicone-free routines
Nothing in our library matches it closely at a lower price.
We do not sell products or take placement fees. This page states what the formula and the prices show; the consultation is what matches it to a person.
Claims check
Claims are quoted from the brand. We mark a claim supported, partly supported or conflicting only when the ingredient list speaks to it. Everything else stays "stated by the brand". That isn’t a criticism: most claims can’t be checked from a label.
Locking + Coconut Curls
This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.
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Can’t be confirmed from label.
Decadent creamy formula
This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.
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Can’t be confirmed from label.
Frizz control
Silicones or film formers smooth the cuticle, which is the usual mechanism.
Smoother strands, less frizz.
Curl definition
Film formers or natural gums are present, which is what holds a clump together.
Holds a clump together.
We look at the first 10–15 ingredients and what they do in a formula, not at the marketing. If the list doesn't speak to a claim, we don't assume.
Reviewers
Themes that come up again and again in sourced reviews, written by our researchers in their own words. We don’t store or scrape star ratings.
Produces well-defined curls with much less frizz, leaving hair bouncy and soft
curly-hair Ulta reviewerGreat value for the price compared to pricier curl mousses, calling it a fraction of the cost of alternatives
budget-conscious Ulta reviewerScent is pleasant and leaves hair smelling good
Ulta reviewerCan leave hair feeling stringy and dry with visible buildup after repeated use
Ulta reviewer reporting buildupHold doesn't persist past one day; by the next day hair can feel greasy and dry
Ulta reviewer on multi-day wear