If I had to describe my hair in one word it would definitely be: complicated. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve come to love my natural type 4, coily texture, but it honestly took years before I got to that place because it isn’t the easiest to manage. In addition to being super thick and curly, my hair is also low porosity and doesn’t like very many products out there—even ones designed for curls. That’s also why I’m constantly on the hunt for a brand that does all the right things for my hair without leaving it brittle or dry over time. Easier said than done, but I recently revisited an old favorite product and was excited to see how much the brand had expanded since I last used it.
I discovered Rōz years ago when the brand launched with its first product the Santa Lucia Styling Oil ($45), a hydrating staple I couldn’t get enough of. I was immediately excited by the brand because the mastermind behind it is celebrity stylist Mara Roszak. Her long list of celebrity clientele includes Zoe Saldaña, Emm Stone, Sandra Bullock, and Riley Keough (basically, every single one of my celeb hair muses). Rōz was born out of 20 years spent behind the chair working on the tresses of said celebs and in high-end salons. “I started to notice that so many styling products were becoming overly complicated, heavy, and disconnected from the way I actually wanted hair to feel,” Roszak told me. “I wanted to create something that supported the hair rather than fighting it—products that enhance natural texture, feel beautiful in the hair, and make styling feel effortless. Rōz was born from that philosophy: high-performance haircare and styling that gives you beautiful results while still allowing your hair to feel like your hair.”
Her “why” alone was enough for me to trust Roszak with my hair. Naturally, I’m always scrolling through her Instagram page for new hair inspo and recently, I saw that she used a new addition to her brand’s styling lineup to create gorgeous, relaxed waves for Saldaña. They were what I can only describe as ethereal. Think soft and textured, but not so much that they looked stiff or natural—in fact, they were just right! I knew then that I had to get my hands on Roszak’s secret weapon for creating these, the Milk Styling Mousse ($39). I’ve never been huge on mousses, but this master styler is a total game-changer. I took it for a test drive on my curly hair and spoiler alert: I’m in love. For all my thoughts on this product and what else I’m using from Rōz keep on scrolling.
Confession time: I was never a mousse girlie until I tried this product. It’s not that I have anything against mousses, I was just never able to find the right one for my super dry and very particular curly hair. Most mousses left my hair feeling sticky, crunchy, or like straw after, but this one took everything I hated about this type of product and turned it on its head. It’s hydrating and softening, but adds so much definition to my curls. Even as a professional stylist, Roszak shared my sentiments about mousse. “I’ve tried every kind of mousse, and so many of them leave the hair feeling crunchy, stiff, or weighed down,” she tells me. “I wanted to completely rethink what a mousse could be. Rōz Milk Styling Mousse is incredibly lightweight and hydrating, while still giving you the strength, volume, and hold you need. The difference is that it has a soft strength, your hair has shape and memory, but it can still move.”
While I don’t use this every day, I love using it when I need to style my hair for a dinner or other events. Roszak also says it’s become an essential in her celebrity styling kit. “Especially for red carpets and long days of press when the hair needs to hold its shape for hours,” she shares. “It’s my quiet workhorse—the product I reach for when I need volume, longevity, and movement without making the hair feel overworked.”
Lately, Roszak has been using it on her celebrity clients like Saldaña and Emma Stone. Stone’s 2026 Oscars look was a particular favorite. “We wanted that beautiful, soft blowout to feel effortless, but it also needed to last through the entire night,” she says. “The Milk Styling Mousse was the foundation for that look. It gave us the volume and hold while keeping the hair soft and touchable.”
If you’re like me and have a coilier hair type, Roszak has a few tips for using this. “For wavy or curly hair, I love working the mousse through wet hair and gently scrunching it in. It gives you beautiful definition and shape without that crunchy feeling. From there, you can diffuse it, round-brush it, or simply let it air-dry. It really works with whatever your natural texture wants to do.”
My Rōz Haircare Routine
I’m always a little skeptical when I try something new on my coarse, dry, low porosity curls, but this shampoo proved that I had nothing to fear from this line. It’s so gentle and hydrating but still gives my hair a good deep cleanse when I need to get rid of any product buildup.
This conditioner is probably my favorite product from the line. It’s alway been a real struggle to find a conditioner that hydrates my super dry hair enough without weighing it down or causing buildup on my scalp. This one strikes the perfect balance. I use this conditioner every day and it makes my curls incredibly soft and frizz-free.
What also keeps me coming back for more is the incredible smell that I can only describe as Laurel Canyon girl cool. It’s fresh, slightly earthy, and honestly, exactly what I imagine Roszak herself smells like because she gives off this type of cool girl energy. My only wish is that it came in a bigger bottle because I go through it pretty fast.
I use this hydrating leave-in serum every day and couldn’t be more obsessed. It adds the perfect amount of lightweight hydration without weighing down my low porosity hair. Star ingredients include hyaluronic acid, red algae extract to smooth and strengthen the hair, and other hydrating oils to seal it all in.
Unsurprisingly, this styling cream from the brand is another hit. I love how easily this smooths flyaways and frizz I have at the top of my head and it adds a lot of definition when paired with the mousse. I love that I can layer so many different Rōz products without making my hair greasy so I do just that—layer this with the Milk Hair Serum and Milk Mousse for the perfect styling cocktail.
This was the brand’s very first release and I remember loving it immediately when I tried it. The only thing I should note is that unlike the rest of the line, this product is *not* silicone-free so keep that in mind if silicones don’t work well for your hair. Usually, my hair hates them, but for some reason, this is the one product with a silicone that my curls seem to love—go figure! It probably has to do with the deeply hydrating oils in it like jojoba and argan oil. But, it also seals in the rest of my Rōz routine beautifully, keeping my hair hydrated for days on end.
I have to admit, I want to try this mask since I love everything else from this line, but I’m low-key scared because it contains coconut oil (my hair usually hates that). If your hair thrives on coconut oil, however, I know this will be just as good as Roszak’s other offerings. I will also say, though, that I’m getting to the point where I wholeheartedly trust Roszak to deliver a top tier product so I should just take the plunge—I’ll probably end up loving it! It’s designed to help dry, damaged hair with ingredients like vitamin E and rice extract which strengthens the hair and boosts shine.
