Hair here

Sebastian Sydney launch. Photo / Supplied

If mousse equates to muck in your mind, then probably it's been well over a decade since you used it. Fashions change and hair has been either ironed straight or left to flow freely since the mercifully distant days when it was teased and tortured into shape. We're now more used to smoothing serums and a focus on hair health.

But it's a good time to look again at what styling products can achieve for longer locks. Along with the introduction of treatment masques and heat activated conditioning and styling agents, some old faithful products have been getting a major makeover.

Sebastian, a leader in the 1980s hair styling revolution, is relaunching the brand and reinventing some of the staples of the industry (see their Whipped Creme mousse on our Upfront pages and old favourite Potion 9 below). L'Oreal Professionel have just added Texture Expert, a whole new line for soft-look styling.

To herald the new era of styling agents, both companies staged industry shows - Sebastian's in Sydney, and L'Oreal's New Zealand roadshow with Sydney-based lock star Brad Ngata touring Texture Expert through the main centres. These brands are not alone in putting renewed effort into styling products so consumers can achieve salon styles at home. Tonight Wella Professional launches Personalised Trends.

Hair shows are all about the improbably possible rather than the everyday achievable, so they really put styling products through their paces. You won't have hours to spend defying gravity, but to get the most out of your take-home product, quiz your hairdresser about what best suits your hair and how to use it. If you're wedded to the blowdyer or styling irons, use a good thermal protective agent. There's a host of styling weights and textures to choose from.

If you prefer to scrunch product into towel-dried hair, the new mousses are worth exploring. For shorter looks, clays, gels and cremes have become much less gluggy, but still offer strong hold.

For blowdrying I'm taken with Kerastase Nutritive Nectar Thermique, but we've found some other options for silky smoothness. Because I'm lazily often a wash-and-wear girl I enlisted the help of long-haired Herald entertainment writer Joanna Hunkin, an ardent fan of heat tools. Here's her thoughts on just a few of the newer products available.

1. Via Ultra Grip Control Clip $8.99

These are great for clipping back sectioned hair while blowdrying. The long, curved clips come in packs of six, just like salons use. (From pharmacies.)

2. Matrix Design Pulse Loosely Defined Texture Creme $22.50

Halfway between a cream and gel, Matrix's latest offering promises medium hold but beware a nasty tendency to become crunchy if used in excess. It doesn't offer specific heat protection, but works well as an anti-frizz agent before blow-drying.

3. Sebastian Potion 9 Wearable-Styling Treatment $49

It smells delicious and helps control frizz, but Potion 9 doesn't quite cut it on its own - an added spritz of hairspray may be required to keep things in place. Its concentrated formula means a little goes a long way.

4. TRESemme Thermal Creations Straightening Balm $8.90

One of a host of new gel-like straightening serums, this balm is one of the best products out. It may feel like smearing glue in your hair and not smell as salon fresh as most hair products, but it keeps your hair sleek in the most trying of conditions and offers heat protection as well as anti-frizz and hold. And it doesn't weigh your hair down. Highly recommended.

5. L'Oreal Professionel Texture Expert Smooth Velours $44

For those who really can't stand the glue-like consistency of gel straightening products, this thermo blow-dry milk is the next best thing. The creamy formula leaves hair smooth and glossy, even when faced with gale-force winds and drizzle. But don't expect to skip a day's wash with this product as the gloss turns greasy within 24 hours.

Stockists: Professional salons and shampoo shops. TRESemme from supermarkets and pharmacies.