Olaplex launched 12 years ago with what was then a niche concept: products that not just superficially smooth and soften your hair but actually repair broken bonds on a molecular level. As Amanda Baldwin, Olaplex’s CEO, tells Vogue, “We’ve been the authority on hair health through bond building with our patented technology, repairing the hair from the inside out.”
Fast-forward to today, and the brand’s shampoos, conditioners, hair oils, hair masks, and more are flying off the shelf—while the bond-repairing-product business is utterly booming. What better time to introduce its next big hit? Behold: The Olaplex Shape Set Hairspray is here, and Vogue readers get exclusive access to shop it 24 hours early.
A product three years in the making, Olaplex saw a major opportunity to modernize the hairspray category entirely. “What’s interesting about hairspray is that it’s a category everyone knows, but a lot of people (particularly younger consumers) have almost opted out of it,” Baldwin says. “There’s still this perception that hairspray means stiff, crunchy hair, or that you’re compromising the health of your hair to get the style you want.”
Olaplex Shape Set Hairspray
Shape Set Hairspray
- Why We Love It: Hairspray haters may just meet their match with Olaplex’s latest launch. Meet Shape Set—Olaplex’s answer to crunchy, stiff formulas of years past. “We didn’t want to make a hairspray just for the sake of entering the category,” says Baldwin. “We wanted to create something that could give you the performance and hold you need, while still treating hair with the level of care people expect from Olaplex.” With that in mind, the formula implements encapsulated peptides to repair broken hair bonds. Meanwhile, flexible polymers and skin-care-grade ingredients (like panthenol and glycerin) work together to hold styles, while still keeping hair hydrated and glossy.
- Key Ingredients: Flex-hold polymers, panthenol, sunflower seed extract, glycerin, orange essential oil
- More to Know: Free from sulfates, phthalates, phosphates, and parabens; color safe
- Size: 7.5 oz., 2.4 oz.
About Olaplex Shape Set Hairspray
Shape Set aims to be the opposite of everything hairspray skeptics despise—immovable, stiff, gritty, and crunchy hair. “Traditional hairspray is often like glue; it locks the hair in place, and that’s it,” explains Lavinia Popescu, Olaplex’s chief scientist and research officer. Rather than make consumers decide between hold performance and hair integrity, the brand sought to create a formula that supports hair rather than further stressing it. “Shape Set offers a strong hold while our proprietary technology works underneath to strengthen and create long-lasting results with a lightweight, non-damaging finish,” she adds. That’s thanks to the brand’s Bond Set Technology, which, as Popescu explains, is a “unique encapsulated peptide developed by Olaplex that works inside the hair to relink broken disulfide bonds.”
Another fancy phrase, Shape Preserve Complex (which is also in the formula) is really just a blend of flex-hold polymers and plant-based extracts—the cumulative benefits of which, Popescu says, include preserved styles with frizz control and secondary benefits of 450 degrees Fahrenheit heat and UV protection. Plus there are replenishing active ingredients like panthenol that add hydration and shine. The result is a natural, healthy-hair finish with adequate hold that doesn’t sacrifice movement or a touchable feel—with the added perk of bond building, of course.
My Experience With Olaplex Shape Set Hairspray
My mom has always been a hairspray enthusiast—it dates back to her ’80s metal years, when big hair was nonnegotiable. Despite it remaining an essential styling product for her (of course, megateased hair is long behind her now), I, on the other hand, have often found myself to be a hairspray hater. Perhaps it’s because I associate it with childhood recitals, bridal parties I desperately don’t want to be in, and the overdone updos that are associated with both.
As I’ve grown out my bob, though, I’ve begrudgingly come around to the product because of the style’s necessity for a bouncy blowout. To combat the crunch, I often brush out my hair once the product has had a moment to dry down.
In my trial of the mini sample Olaplex kindly gifted me a few weeks ago, I can confirm the brand’s claims are true—even with my heavy-handed spraying, my hair has never felt gritty, gross, or stiff. Surprisingly, I haven’t even felt a need to brush my hair out after spraying it.
It’s worth noting, though, that while I’m overall pleased with the product, I have been testing it over the summer—a record-high summer in terms of heat and humidity. My high-porosity hair absorbs moisture like a sponge, easily undoing my hard work to smooth it in the first place. I definitely think that Shape Set has reduced how humidity prone my lengths are, but it hasn’t entirely prevented it (which is a me problem). Even still, Olaplex’s Shape Set is my go-to hairspray now and will remain so.
How to Use Olaplex Shape Set Hairspray
Popescu recommends misting Shape Set onto hair in light layers, spritzing it as you style rather than as a finishing spray alone (something I, admittedly, made the mistake of doing). “What’s great about Shape Set is the soft-to-the-touch flexibility, so it’s easy to run a brush or your fingers through if needed, especially if you’re styling next-day hair,” she says. Just remember to give the can a good shake before using it.
A word to the wise, though: Don’t think the product’s secondary benefit of heat protection means it replaces a more traditional heat protectant in all styling settings. “While [Shape Set] can stand in for a traditional heat protectant, because it’s an aerosol, it should only be sprayed onto dry hair,” says Popescu. “Aerosols shouldn’t be applied to wet hair before heat styling.”
Shop More of Vogue’s Favorite Olaplex Products
No. 6 Bond Smoother
No. 7 Bonding Oil
Wash and Shine Hair Kit
No. 9 Bond Protector Nourishing Hair Serum
N°.3Plus Complete Repair Treatment
Nº. 4 Fine Bond Maintenance Shampoo
Everything You Need to Know
When we test and review a product, we take a holistic approach to deliver well-rounded product recommendations. First, we lean on Vogue’s vast network of experts—from board-certified dermatologists to celebrity hairstylists—to gain professional acumen on the industry’s standout products, ones these specialists would actually use on their clients. We pair their expertise with our editorial best practices to curate the thoughtful edits you read on our site.
As it relates to hairspray, we selected the best based on the following characteristics: ingredients, texture, hold, and the hair-care concerns they address. To do this, we paired our own personal tests of each formula with expert guidance and reviewer insights to determine which we would recommend to you.
- Amanda Baldwin, CEO of Olaplex
- Lavinia Popescu, chief scientist and research officer at Olaplex
Source: www.vogue.com
