Lange started in 2017 with Dalia Lange, a mother of two girls with very different hair types, and a name that means angel in French. Here are the L'ange dryers and brushes, the wands and straighteners, and the thermal sprays I use before any of them.
Why Lange Is Really a Family Story: The L'ange Brushes, Wands and Irons
L'ange was founded in 2017 by Dalia Lange, a mother of two girls with different hair types who wanted to learn how to care for their hair. I always start with that, because it explains the tone of the whole brand. It came out of a household with two daughters and two textures, not a boardroom.
The name is a small piece of family history. It plays on her maiden name, Lange, and it means angel in French, and she thinks of her late parents as her angels. By its second anniversary in early 2019, the Chatsworth, California brand said it had sold over 5,000,000 products worldwide. Its stated mission is to change the lives of 30 million people by 2030, which is a large sentence, and I like a brand that is willing to say it out loud.
The first grid is the blow-dry side. Le Volume is a 2-in-1 titanium brush dryer, which dries and shapes in one motion, and Le Volume Eleve sits alongside it. The Professional Hair Dryer Soleil is the classic handheld. The Axia HaloRing Hair Dryer is the one I would try if you like a dryer with a slightly different shape. The Multi-Volume Series in Blush, with a 43mm round brush, is for the roll-and-lift routine.
If you have never used a brush dryer, give yourself two attempts before deciding. It takes a moment to find the rhythm, and it helps to work in small sections, tension steady, brush turning slowly as the air passes through. Start at the roots and let the ends come last.
Wands, waves and a straightening brush
If the first grid is about drying, the second is about shape. The Le Vite Ceramic Straightening Brush is an easy way in for anyone who fears a flat iron. You comb through the way you would with a regular brush, and the heat does the smoothing as you go. It suits a rushed morning, and it feels familiar if you have never straightened at home.
The Le Céramique 1-Pass Flat Iron is exactly what the name promises: ceramic plates and the ambition to do the job in a single slow pass. The idea behind a one-pass iron is less time on the same strand, as long as you resist the urge to go over it again.
The GlamWave Curling Wand is for soft, moving waves, and the SculptWaver is a waving iron for texture that looks a little more deliberate. Between the two, I would pick the wand for polished waves and the waver for a beachy, undone shape.
A small tip I have learned: curl away from your face for a modern look, toward it for something more retro. Clamp for a few seconds only, let the curl cool in your palm, and only then shake it out. If you brush a curl while it is warm, it will fall in an hour, and you will blame the tool.
Thermal protection before the tool
Every one of these tools runs hot, and a thermal protectant is what stands between the heat and your hair. I look for one that matches my hair's mood on the day: oil for dry, mist for fine, cream for thick.
Bumble and bumble's Styling Oil is a lightweight hair oil with heat protection, and it is the one I use when ends look dry. UNITE's 7SECONDS is a detangling leave-in conditioner for frizz and heat protection, so it is the pick if your hair knots up after washing. IGK's Good Behavior is a 4-in-1 blow-dry prep spray, which packs heat protection and blow-dry prep into one bottle. dae's Agave is a dry heat protection spray, a good choice when you want to reapply between wears without wetting your hair. Drybar's Hot Toddy is a heat protectant mist, easy to apply in a hurry. Kérastase's Nutritive is a heat protecting leave-in spray made for dry hair, so it is my pick for the driest days.
What I would skip: applying a protectant, then immediately using a tool on hair that is still damp. Wait until hair is fully dry unless the tool is made for damp hair, and then check the manual. A tool that hisses at your hair is telling you to stop.
Layer lightly. Two pumps is usually plenty for shoulder-length hair.
Thermal protection
Styling Oil Lightweight Hair Oil with Heat Protectant
Bumble and bumble
$47
7SECONDS Detangling Leave-In Conditioner for Frizz & Heat Protection
UNITE
$42.5
Good Behavior 4-in-1 Heat Protection Blow Dry Prep Spray
IGK
$34
Agave Dry Heat Protection Spray
dae
$30
Hot Toddy Heat Protectant Mist
Drybar
$31
Nutritive Heat Protecting Leave-In Spray for Dry Hair
Kérastase
$52
Picking the tool for your hair
To pick a tool, think about your hair type and your patience. Fine hair likes lower heat and shorter passes. Thick hair likes wider sections and a bit more time. Curly hair often does best when you heat it as little as you can.
Start on the lowest setting, raise it only if the shape will not hold, and give your hair a rest day between sessions. If it starts to feel brittle or your scalp burns, talk to a stylist about a different routine.
One habit worth keeping: clean the brush barrel and the plates once the tool has cooled, and remove trapped hair from the vents of any dryer. A clogged filter makes a dryer run hotter and work harder, and a clean tool simply behaves better. Store everything fully cool, and give the cord a loose, gentle coil instead of wrapping it tightly around the handle. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together The Best Hair Straightener Is the One That Respects Your Hair and BaByliss Pro Dryers, Irons and Brushes.
