L’ange Thinning Therapy System for Hair Loss and Thinning Hair Review: Can It Really Make a Difference?

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The Lowdown

If you go into using the L’ange Thinning Therapy System with realistic expectations, I don’t think that you’ll be disappointed. This system will not fill in bald spots or make you look like you are wearing hair extensions; that would be unrealistic. But with regular use, it will make your hair look shiny, clean, and healthy. If you have a similar experience as mine, you’ll also notice that you shed less hair that you did before, noticeable new hairs will be coming in, and your hair will look denser. I am very satisfied with that.

Overall
4.5

Pros

  • The system includes many ingredients that can improve the condition of your scalp and promote healthy hair growth
  • Leaves hair shiny, clean, and in better shape than when you started
  • I noticed significantly less hair shedding in my comb, brush, and shower after about the second week of using the products
  • This system is non-medicinal, so there are no prescriptions require, and there are no weird side effects
  • I am noticing new hair growth in an area that had been progressively getting thinner before
  • A little of the products goes a long way — I’m in my third month and still have over a third left of each bottle

Cons

  • It’s expensive; The initial month can be time-intensive if you aren’t in the habit of washing your hair daily

A variation in the EDAR gene1 determines the thickness of individual hairs growing on our heads; how densely hair grows is determined by our race2, age2, and hair color3. It’s normal to shed 50-100 hairs4 each day, and as we age, it’s normal for even the thickest hair to grow thinner and less dense5. Combatting genetics, natural hair shedding, and aging can seem impossible when your goal is a thicker, denser head of hair. The L’ange Thinning Therapy System says it can help correct hair loss and thinning hair, but does it work?

L'ange Thinning Therapy Set

(1source, 2source, 3source,4source5source)

On top of genetics and aging, factors like stress, illness, medications, hormones, metabolism, diet, color, bleach, and hot-tool styling can all affect the condition, thickness, and density of the hair growing out of your scalp. Another issue, especially when you have longer hair, is that you’ll regularly notice routine hair shedding when you brush it, comb it, sweep your home, or clean out the drain in your shower or tub.

While hair shedding doesn’t seem as obvious when your hair is shorter, those with longer hair will definitely notice when it occurs, especially when the hair shedding seems heavier than usual.

With all of these distinct things working against us, I have to admit that it boggles my mind to imagine that any non-medicinal shampoo or topical treatment could really make that much of a difference.

I had no idea I would wind up taking so much time to write this article beyond what it took to use the system and see how it did for me. I have truly gone down some seemingly never-ending rabbit holes to educate myself on this topic, so bear with me, okay?

Let’s talk about some of the available medicinal hair growth treatments, including Minoxidil and Finasteride. Unlike Minoxidil (commonly sold as Rogaine) or Finasteride (commonly sold as Propecia), there are no FDA-regulated medications in the L’ange Thinning Therapy System.

Here’s a little bit more information about each of those medicinal options.

  • Minoxidil was initially used to treat high blood pressure. As a non-prescription topical solution, Minoxidil slows hair loss and increases the scalp’s blood flow to stimulate new hair growth by stimulating the hair follicles. Known side effects of using Minoxidil can include burning or irritation of the eyes as well as itching, redness, or irritation of the area of use. Less common side effects can include weight gain, “dizziness, fainting, or a rapid heart rate.” Further, “doctors do not fully understand how it slows hair loss and encourages hair regrowth, but increased blood flow may play an important role.” (source)
  • Finasteride was initially used to shrink enlarged prostates; it is a prescription-only oral hormone-inhibiting medicine that works to prevent hair loss and baldness by stopping testosterone from converting to DHT, ultimately lowering the levels of DHT produced. “This stops the hormone from attacking the hair follicles, slowing or eliminating hair loss. Because it targets DHT, it will not work for other forms of hair loss, such as hair loss due to chemotherapy, stress, medication, or hypothyroidism (source).” Known side effects of using Finestrade include erectile dysfunction, ejaculation disorder, and decreased libido. Less common side effects include “nipple discharge, enlarged breasts or breast pain, testicle pain, or trouble urinating.”

Even though the side effects aren’t usual, they can happen. But if you are a person who is experiencing severe hair loss, especially if it’s tied to hereditary baldness, using Minoxidil or Finasteride might be a better option for you and something to consider speaking to your doctor about — side effects notwithstanding.

Okay.

So let’s say that you are just someone who has noticed that your hair has started to seem a bit less thick and full; maybe you see more shed hair than usual when you wash or brush your locks. Maybe like me, you are starting to notice your scalp showing through your hair at the top of your forehead more than usual, or your hair just seems to be less dense overall than it’s been in the past. That’s the type of person that L’ange is targeting with their Thinning Therapy System.

Here is what L’ange has to say about the system:

This two step system is designed to help correct hair loss and thinning hair. Step one is our deep-cleansing shampoo that helps reduce clogged follicles that can lead to hair loss. Step two is our nutrient-dense serum that has been shown to increase the hair’s active growth phase and longevity. When used together, they work to help strengthen follicles and encourage hair growth.

I have fine hair that has become noticeably thinner and less dense as I’ve gotten older, on top of that, I’ve hit menopause, and I lead a stressful life; I regularly shed loose hairs to the point where I’ve had a running (bad) joke that I could never commit a crime because I would be leaving DNA evidence in the form of shed hair everywhere. Gotta laugh about it, right?

Probably the most concerning thing is that as I’ve hit my graying years, I’ve noticed that the hair on the front of my scalp looks less dense. The clincher came when my daughter Sarah (a licensed cosmetologist) told me that my overall hair felt thinner than usual as she washed it this summer. Bear in mind that my hair is longer than it’s been in years, and there should be more of it so that completely freaked me out.

It seemed like kismet when I received an email in early August asking if I would like to try the L’ange Thinning Therapy System; I immediately agreed. I should mention that I have purchased and regularly used L’ange hair products and styling tools over the years, and I’ve had better than average results with everything that I’ve bought from them so far.

I’d like to be able to tell you that I took a ton of photos along the way, but I didn’t. However, I have a photo that Sarah took of me in June; it will give you an idea of what I was dealing with. You’ll notice that my hair looks almost see-through at the center top of my forehead; it’s there, but it’s not as dense as it used to be, which is so aggravating.

June 24, 2021

The vain part of me is not happy about calling even more attention to it, but here’s a close-up of my hairline so that you can see it even better. Yikes.

Close-up of the author's hairline on June 24, 2021

L’ange says these are the perks of their Thinning Therapy System:

Perk #1 – Prevent + Correct

Meant to be used as a set, the deep-cleansing shampoo is designed to help reduce microscopic buildup and clogged follicles in preparation for Thinning Therapy Serum. The serum contains a proprietary blend of 99% plant extracts and peptides that nourishes and helps strengthen hair.

Perk #2 – Easy to Use

The system is highly effective because it’s so easy to incorporate into your daily routine and works while you sleep. There are no restrictions on heat-styling or color-treating hair while using Thinning Therapy.

Perk #3 – Results You Can See

Thinning Therapy offers noticeable results after the first 30 days of use. The system has been shown to increase hair growth by 20% and reduce hair shedding by 7%.

The ingredients of the L’ange Thinning Therapy System shampoo and serum include:

Thinning Therapy Shampoo: Deionized Water, TEA Lauryl Sulfate, Lauramide DEA, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Panthenol, Dimethicone, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe) Leaf Juice, Azadirachta Indica (Neem) Seed Oil, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Extract, Eclipta Prostrata (False Daisy) Extract, Simmondsia (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hexylene Glycol, Fragrance, Peptide Act-5, Colloidal Sulphur.

Thinning Therapy Serum: Deionized Water, Algae Extract, Glycerin, Hydrolyzed Milk Protein, Silanediol Salicylate, Butylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol, Sulphured Amino Acid, Triethanolamine, Sulfo Mucopolysaccharide Extract, Celastrus Paniculata Extract, Colloidal Sulphur, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Trichomonas Japonica Maxim, Spondias Amara Fruit Extract, Rubus Parvifolius Fruit Extract, Artemisia Carvifolia (aka Artemesia annua, sweet wormwood, and qing hao) Extract, Adiantum Extract, Azadirachta Indica (Neem) Extract, Solanum Tuberosum Extract, Lawsonia Inermis Extract, Homotaurine, Barosma Betulina, Phenoxyethanol, Capryl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hexylene Glycol, Peptide Act-5, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3, Trifolium Pratense Flower Extract, Dextran.

Noticeably missing in the shampoo or serum’s ingredients are any FDA-regulated medicines that might alter your body’s hormones or medically stimulate the follicles on your head to provide denser hair growth. But after looking at the list of side effects for the medical solutions I listed earlier in this review, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Even so, there are some very beneficial ingredients in the shampoo, including hydrolyzed wheat protein (a natural hair thickener), Panthenol (a humectant), Dimethicone (gives silky-smooth texture and retains moisture), aloe leaf juice (helps with moisture), neem oil (conditions your scalp, promotes healthy hair growth, and temporarily seals hair follicles, among other things), evening primrose extract (helps with hair loss), false daisy extract (a hair growth promoter), and jojoba seed oil (promotes strong, silky, and shiny hair). Most of the other ingredients listed stabilize the shampoo, create bubbles, or add additional moisture.

It might give you pause that the L’ange Thinning Therapy Shampoo contains TEA Lauryl Sulfate, but maybe it shouldn’t. TEA Lauryl Sulfate bubbles nicely and cleans the scalp and hair from any residues very well. Although there’s a lot of argument online that any type of sulfate in shampoos can also strip natural moisture from your hair, leading to hair dryness, brittleness, or even scalp irritation, there are quite a few moisturizers included in the L’ange Thinning Therapy System. If you are using a good conditioner after shampooing, that should add enough moisture to counter any dryness issues.

In the L’ange Thinning Therapy Serum, some of the beneficial ingredients include algae extract (promotes hair growth, makes it shine with lots of volume), glycerin (a humectant), Trichomonas Japonica Maxim (used in Oriental folk remedies for improving and stimulating the circulation of the scalp and for hair regeneration), Artemisia Carvifolia aka qing hao (which has also been used for centuries to induce hair growth), Azadirachta Indica Extract (conditions your scalp, promotes healthy hair growth, and temporarily seals hair follicles, among other things), and Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3 (combats hair loss); other ingredients are included that help to stabilize the serum, add antioxidants and moisture to the hair, and to aid the serum in penetration to the hair follicle below your skin.

Okay, now let’s step back and take a look at the anatomy of a single strand of hair; a lot is going on under the skin beyond what you can see growing out of someone’s scalp.

Everything above the scalp is actually a dead tube of keratin being pushed out by a live follicle. That’s right, the glorious mane you’re aiming for or trying to preserve is just the dead by-product of a living and, hopefully, somewhat healthy hair follicle.

A single hair shaft is made up of several keratin layers that include:

  • The Cuticle, which is a transparent outer covering that makes your hair look smooth and shiny when it hasn’t been damaged
  • The Cortex, which is where your hair’s pigment is stored
  • The Medulla, which is an inner core that is usually not found in blonde or finer hair

Hair structure

Hair growth occurs in three stages which happen simultaneously amongst the hairs on your head:

  • Anagen: The active phase of hair; in anagen, the cells in the hair’s root are dividing rapidly. New hair is formed, pushing the hair that has stopped growing (club hair) up the follicle and eventually out. During this phase, hair grows about a half-inch per month, so you can expect your hair to grow about 6″ every year. Your hair can be in the Anagen phase for two to six years; if you have difficulty growing your hair past a certain length, it may be because your anagen phase is on the shorter end of the range. Conversely, people who have very long hair have a more prolonged anagen phase.
  • Catagen: The transitional hair growth stage; approximately 3% of the hairs on your head are in the catagen phase at any time, and it lasts for two to three weeks. In the catagen phase, growth stops, and the outer root sheath shrinks and attaches to the hair’s root; this is how club hair forms.
  • Telogen: 6 to 8% of the hair on your head is in telogen, which is the resting phase. Telogen lasts for about 100 days, and during it, the hair follicle is completely at rest, and the club hair is completely formed. You’ll shed around 25 to 100 telogen hairs every day; this is completely normal.

The condition of the hair growing from your follicles can start at a disadvantage due to all of the factors I mentioned earlier (i.e., stress, illness, medications, hormones, metabolism, and diet); any of those factors can shorten your anagen phase.

But you can add additional damage to your hair by using heat tools at too high of a temperature, bleaching it, using chemical dyes, aggressively brushing your hair when it is wet or dry, or by not getting regular trims to stop split ends in their tracks. Your hair isn’t a living organism that can heal; the damage you do to it is permanent, and once it’s done, all you can do at that point is try to mitigate any further damage and salvage what you are left with.

If you’re rocking your natural hair color and texture, and you’re usually able to let your hair dry without using any heat tools to style it, then your hair is likely in what’s called a virgin state; your hair cuticles are nice and flat, and your hair looks shiny and smooth.

Even so, aging and stress can cause the anagen cycle of hair growth to shorten; the telogen phase then takes over, particularly on the top of our scalp. That’s why men and women, even those who had fuller heads of hair when younger, will notice their hair thinning as they age.

If you bleach or color your hair, regularly use heat tools, or if you aggressively brush your hair (especially when it’s wet), your hair’s cuticles can become damaged. When this happens, your hair’s cuticle layers will no longer lie down properly, which is bad. The cuticle helps to keep your hair shaft moisturized, as, without that moisture, your hair will dry out. Dry hair with damaged cuticles can appear frizzy and break more easily; it is also prone to getting split ends.

Many of the issues that people have with dry hair have to do with a lack of moisture because once the hair’s cuticle has been damaged, the hair can no longer retain the moisture it needs properly. As a result, the dry hair can look frizzy, lifeless, and dull. That’s where a good conditioner comes in. A good conditioner will form a protective coating on your cuticle, but it will also protect the cortex where your cuticle has been damaged, smoothing out the hair shaft and sealing in moisture.

But there’s a balance; conditioner, especially if you are using too much or applying it directly to your scalp, can weigh your hair down and make it so heavy that it appears limp, greasy, and lifeless.

What you are aiming for when washing and conditioning your hair is to use a shampoo that will remove all of the products that have been deposited on your hair without making your hair too dry. Then, you can follow with a conditioner that will give just enough protection so that your hair can look its best without weighing it down.

So, where does the L’ange Thinning Therapy System fit in?

If you clicked the links that I added to every ingredient in the shampoo and serum, you likely noted that quite a few of them were there to provide protein as well as moisture to the hair. Moisture provides strength, suppleness, and softness to the hair; protein helps reconstruct the hair’s cuticle to be stronger and healthier. Quite a few of the ingredients are also herbal remedies that promote hair growth and scalp stimulation.

Since your hair follicles rely on blood flow through their capillaries to keep them alive, it has long been known that better blood circulation in the scalp help stimulate hair growth. That’s why scalp massage is such a big topic in the hair-loss community (and why I’ve started using a scalp brush in the shower). It also explains why Minoxidil has become such an important hair-loss treatment, seeing how it increases the scalp’s blood flow to stimulate new hair growth by stimulating the hair follicles.

I’m throwing a lot out there, I know; stay with me.

So we’ve been through what’s actually in the L’ange Thinning Therapy System, and there are many beneficial ingredients included that may make a difference with regular use. So, let’s talk about actually using the system …

For the first 30 days, you’ll be using the shampoo and serum for five days on, and then you’ll take two days off; after 30 days, you’ll use the system every other day. I have to admit that since my hair and scalp aren’t oily, now that my hair is longer, I don’t usually wash it more than three to five times a week unless I’ve been actively sweating. But for this experiment, I would change my habits.

On the days you use the L’ange Thinning Therapy System, you’ll shampoo your wet hair, taking a minute to massage the shampoo into your scalp (I use the previously mentioned scalp brush to do this) and then rinse it all out. If you use many products on your hair, you might want to shampoo and rinse twice. The L’ange Thinning Therapy Shampoo has a slightly botanical smell; it makes me think of dandelions for some reason.

If you are applying conditioner, do so sparingly to the hair shafts and ends, keeping the conditioner off your scalp, and then rinse it off. This is good advice, by the way, even when you aren’t using these particular products. L’ange doesn’t list a recommended conditioner to use, and there isn’t one included in the Thinning Therapy System, so you can use whichever brand you prefer.

L’ange doesn’t mention this, but I find that I get the best results by using warm water to wet my hair before applying the shampoo and then following with lukewarm water to rinse out the shampoo. After applying the conditioner and letting it sit for a bit, I use cooler water to rinse it out. Using hot water will clean your hair, but it is also very drying, so I don’t use it; cooler water after conditioning helps the hair cuticles lay back down more smoothly.

Then you can style your hair however you’d like, although L’ange recommends that you not apply styling products directly to your scalp; this is good advice, as well.

The Thinning Therapy Shampoo seems to clean my scalp and hair well, and I follow it with L’ange Slické blowout conditioner on some days and Olaplex No.5 bond maintenance conditioner on others. Whichever conditioner I’m using, I’ll leave it on my hair for at least three or four minutes while I scrub the rest of my body, then I rinse off with cool to warm water. After exiting the shower, I wrap my hair in a hair wrap towel.

After leaving the wrap on my hair for about 10 minutes, giving it a chance to soak up most of the excess moisture, I’ll shake my hair out and then run a wide-tooth comb through it. While I’ll usually notice some shed hair left on the comb, it hasn’t been very much since about a week or two after I started using the L’ange Thinning Therapy System — maybe 10 or 15 hairs. This amount of shedding is a lot less than I’ve observed in the past when I could easily see as many as 40 – 50 strands snarled in my comb’s teeth; that’s not even counting the hair that would fall out in the shower.

We use a Shower Shroom in our shower; I highly recommend them if you have long hair as it keeps the shed hair from getting into your drain and causing issues. The Shower Shroom also makes it very easy to see exactly how much hair you’re actually shedding. I hate to admit it, but I’ve gone through periods where I knew to check and clean the Shower Shroom after every single shower because it seemed like so much hair was accumulating there.

Since about a week or two after starting the L’ange Thinning Therapy System, I’ve found that I can go for a week or longer before I think to check the Shower Shroom, at which point I’ll have accumulated as much in it as I used to from a single hair washing. I am still shedding some hair — which, again, is a natural part of the hair growth cycle — but there is noticeably less of it accumulating. That seems like a win.

Before you go to bed, it’s time to apply a small amount of the L’ange Thinning Therapy Serum directly to your scalp, through your dry hair. The serum bottle has a needle-nose tip; I usually squeeze out a little line of serum at the center of my head from where my hairline starts to just below my occipital bone.

I’ll then squeeze another thin line of serum across the top of my head from ear tip to ear tip, effectively quartering my head. I’ll do this two more times from the opposite corners of my forehead at the hairline to just below my occipital bone and once more across the back of my head just above the occipital bone.

The goal here isn’t to use a lot of serum, but just to give yourself enough to work with as you now have to massage it all in for a couple of minutes, making sure that you’ve worked it into your entire scalp. I find that the scalp brush is handy for this, but you can also do it with your fingers.

You can wrap your hair in a shower cap if you are worried about getting anything on your pillowcases, but the serum seems to absorb pretty quickly, and I haven’t had any issues with that. The serum has a light scent, which is also vaguely botanical.

The following morning, you’ll notice that the serum has dried stiff in some spots; it feels kind of gross, and it’s not something you’ll be able to work with or ignore if you’re in a hurry. Just rewash your hair, following the same steps that I listed previously.

I’m a full three months in, as I started using the L’ange Thinning Therapy System in August. I don’t notice as much shed hair accumulating when I shower, comb or brush my hair. That’s a plus because I feel like I’m now firmly in the lower-end of the shed-hair norm. But more importantly, my hair feels clean, smooth, shiny … and while it’s not what I would ever call thick, it looks a lot healthier. What’s even crazier is that I have new growth in the center top of my forehead; it varies in length from half and inch to an inch and a half, which correlates with the three months I’ve been on the system.

The best part is that when my daughter Sarah recently did my hair, she said it didn’t feel as thin; it felt thicker and healthier. As for my scalp? It doesn’t seem as noticeable.

November 10, 2021

November 10, 2021

Here’s a close-up of my hairline from the November 10th photo. You can really see all of the short, newer hairs here and how much denser the hair in this area looks. Consider me happy.

If you go into using the L’ange Thinning Therapy System with realistic expectations, I don’t think that you’ll be disappointed. This system will not fill in bald spots or make you look like you got hair extensions; that would be unrealistic. But with regular use, it will make your hair look shiny, clean, and healthy. If you have a similar experience as mine, you’ll also notice that you shed less hair than before, noticeable new hairs will be coming in, and your hair will look denser. I am very satisfied with that.

At $150, the L’ange Thinning Therapy System is expensive. Even so, I can tell you that I’m still on the original bottles of shampoo and serum that I was sent in August, with about a third left in each, so it does last for quite some time if you have short to medium length hair like me.

The L’ange Thinning Therapy System retails for $150; it is available directly from the manufacturer. At the time of this writing, L’ange is offering 60% off their hair care products with code “festive” which makes this set of products just $60.

Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample

What I Like: The system includes many ingredients that can improve the condition of your scalp and promote healthy hair growth; Leaves hair shiny, clean, and in better shape than when you started; I noticed significantly less hair shedding in my comb, brush, and shower after about the second week of using the products; This system is non-medicinal, so there are no prescriptions required, and there are no weird side effects; I am noticing new hair growth in an area that had been progressively getting thinner before; A little of the products goes a long way — I’m in my third month and still have over a third left of each bottle

What Needs Improvement: It’s expensive; The initial month can be time-intensive if you aren’t in the habit of washing your hair daily

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About the Author

Judie Lipsett Stanford
Judie is the co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Gear Diary, which she founded in September 2006. She got her start in 1999 writing software reviews at the now-defunct smaller.com; from mid-2000 through 2006, she wrote hardware reviews for and co-edited at The Gadgeteer. A recipient of the Sigma Kappa Colby Award for Technology, Judie has written for or been profiled by nationally known sites and magazines, and she has served on multiple industry hardware and software award panels. She is best known for her device-agnostic approach, enjoyment of exploring tech, gadgets, and gear, and her deep-diving, jargon-free reviews.