One of beauty journalism's longest-standing debates - surpassing whether Botox is inherently unfeminist or if French pedicures are chic or freaky - is the spelling of zhush. Or should that be zhoosh, or jeuje?
Hershesons, when naming one of the best hair thickening products around, have gone with zhoosh, which, according to Merriam-Webster is an acceptable variation - no matter how strongly my eyes disagree (come on, surely it's zhush.)
But let's not get stuck in the dictionary for too long. Either way, this natty little verb perfectly evokes the act of magicking things up a bit, beauty-wise. An ideal title then, for an easy-peasy foam that's given my 'do a decent helping of va-va-voom volume.
Why Hershesons Zhoosh Foam is my beauty buy of the week
If you're aware of Hershesons hair products, I suspect that might be because of Almost Everything Cream - a much-feted, multi-award-winning styler beloved by Victoria Beckham, Kiera Knightley and Naomi Campbell, no less.
But this affordable, modern mousse deserves its fanfare too. If, like me, you have fine, flat hair and struggle to make any volume you create stick around, its airy feel and bulking powers will be right up your street.
So many volumising products talk the talk, but this walks the walk. As in, it tangibly bulks up your hair, but unlike the old-school mousse you remember, it does not go all crispy and heavy as the hours pass. I apply a fairly generous amount to damp hair - at least three golf balls worth - concentrating on the top third, then tip my head upside down and blow dry. The result? Instant height and heft that I can get a full day out of.
The lasting power is a crucial selling point, because it's no fun labouring away on a bouncy blow-dry at 8am, only to have it fall flat by the time you truly need it - lunch with the girls, say, or an evening party. Zhoosh Foam won't let you down like that; a quick tickle of your roots with your fingertips, at any time, will effectively reactivate and, well, re-jeuje the root-raising properties (I find that spelling worst of all, don't you?)
This product isn't new, but I was prompted to revisit it after a fairly comprehensive hair zhush last weekend (shout out to India at Stil Salon for the creamiest, classiest colour and introducing me to the concept of 'Alice band hair' - a far lovelier term for the bold blonde face-framing streaks I'd previously dubbed grey spotlighting.)
Whenever I'm in a salon, stylists invariably put mousse in my hair before drying it - because the pros know it's the very best thing for volume - and yet I don't see many mousses launching to industry fanfare, or hear fellow journos or friends talking about them much.
I guess like it's old mucker hairspray, mousse is more of an unsung workhorse of the hair styling world. But we'd miss it if it were gone, and it's fun to see brands sexing things up with modern formulas and cute, appealing product names, however they choose to spell them. Sounds good? Great! Let's chat next Sunday.
