When it comes to sourcing hair care products, we are generally inclined to want the best for our hair and therefore tend to stick with brands that are either recommended by trusted sources or stay with a brand/product that we’ve using for a while with positive results.

Bumble and Bumble is a brand that has been around for a long time, achieving both critical acclaim for their work as hairstylists as well as achieving a well positioned niche for themselves in the market as a whole.  I for one have been using this brand since I was in high school and have always enjoyed their products.

As a brand that firmly established themselves as top-prize competitors in the fashion and style scene, Bumble and Bumble is known for bringing their customers products that cater to the latest styles and trends. So if you like being up to date with what’s hot in hair care, keep your Bumble and Bumble catalogue close at hand.

So if you’re looking for a top-shelf brand that offers room for personal expression and stylistic adaptation at retail-friendly rates, look no further than Bumble and bumble.

Bumble and bumble Company Background and History Explained

Bumble and bumble Logo

Bumble and bumble is a brand that was forged in the high-pressure world that is the Californian hair scene and the lessons learned by Michael Gordon, an aspiring hair stylist in the mid to late 70’s give him a notable advantage in terms of understanding the needs of customers within the salon setting and in the demanding world that is fashion, style and everything vogue.

He formed his own hair salon in Johannesburg, South Africa but soon left to open a new salon in the heart of New York’s bustling metropolis. Within a year of starting his business, Gordon was well established as a go-to name for the latest trends in fashion after he managed to land a spot on Vogues Top-10 list of the best places to get a haircut.

Being the sensible businessman that he is, Gordon took to releasing his own range of personalized products to be released under the Bumble and bumble brand as a whole. In 1990, Brillantine hit the shelves and revolutionized the brand as a whole for years to come.

After releasing the product, the brand grew from strength to strength and as popularity found Gordon and his products, his market share increased well beyond what even he could have imagined.

Aiming to capitalize on his initial success with Brillantine, a styling creme with the added benefits of a moisturizer, toner and conditioner all-in-one, Gordon decided to expand the range to about 6-8 products in total which allowed him to increase the influence that his brand had in the market at the time, as not many salons had the opportunity to find success with their own range of private label products.

However, it’s important for me to stress that Bumble and bumble’s range isn’t just your everyday ‘slap a label on it’ brand; a lot of their products were actually highly innovative at the time of their creation and have really helped to shape the brand as an innovative force in the hair care industry.

Since then, Bumble and bumble has released 69 products in total, each of which have gone on to be quite successful in their own right. In 2000, Estee Lauder took an interest in the brand and subsequently purchased the majority of the companies holding. Bumble and bumble is still known for creating salon quality products at retail-friendly rates and has even gone on to become a household brand – rare for products in this category.

Bumble and bumble Products Overview

Bumble and bumble Products

Bumble and bumble is a brand that is designed to cater for style first and foremost. It is this unique approach to understanding mass-market principles and retaining a sense of individualism and the ability to understand what clients want with regards to specific looks or styles.

Their branding retains a unique sense of editorial avant gardism yet is both user-friendly and versatile. The product range is split up into a variety of different categories, each designed to give your hair a different set of attributes based on the style or look that you are going for – keeping in tune with the editorial approach of the brand i.e. classic styles with classic products.

From shampoos and conditioners to highly specialized hair styling products, Bumble and bumble have created a product range that can be utilized by anyone to achieve near-perfect salon results in the comfort of their own bathroom.

The range has also produced some very creative products, such as seaweed-based shampoos and color sticks, that have defined the brand as being at the forefront of market-friendly salon-style products. This is range that is perfect for both the runway and another day at the office.

Bumble and bumble Surf Spray Review

Bumble and bumble Surf Spray

By now, most of us know that salty, summery hair is both a style trend and something that happens quite naturally if we’re lucky enough to spend time at the beach.

The sun-kissed, golden-brown locks that we know and love can’t be generally cannot be achieved during winter, so Bumble and bumble came up with this amazing product to help tan our hair and give it that natural salty clumpiness that happens on the beach.

The products works by adding a gritty texture to your hair, something most of us would usually want to avoid when it comes to using hair care products – but helps to create the illusion of salted hair.

While some may find this product a great relief in areas that suffer from really cold winters (unbeach-friendly weather) others may find the high content of sulfates to be damaging to their hair and ultimately leave their hair feeling dry and brittle.

It may be wise to consider using a primer before using this product (such as the Bb Invisible Oil or good-old fashioned Argan oil) to treat and protect your hair before applying the product. If you have particularly dry hair, then you should ensure that you use the product directly after a shower on towel dried hair for the best coverage and protection.

Bumble and bumble Invisible Oil Review

Bumble and bumble Invisible Oil

If you enjoy experimenting with different textures and techniques when it comes to styling your hair, having a good primer is essential. You can’t expect hair to stay healthy and hydrated when it’s being treated with a variety of different chemical substances.

Because our hair shares many of the same properties as our skin, using harsh chemicals and styling techniques may cause the follicles to dry out over time or become brittle/undernourished. Due to the somewhat unconventional demands that some of the styles intended to be created by certain hair products, ensuring that your hair is protected and hydrated is important.

Taking into account that many of their original products were designed to achieve salon style in a matter of minutes, Bumble and bumble created a soothing primer, perfect for keeping hair smooth and healthy.

The primer is rich with natural antioxidants and proteins that our hair needs such as grapefruit, coconut oil, argan, macadamia and sweet almond to name a few. These help to coat the individual hair follicles and keep their moisture locked in, while promoting strong and healthy hair growth from within the hair follicles themselves.

The primer also acts as a UV protective agent, helping to prevent environmental damage from the sun’s rays. This is a great way to lock in color and can help to control the frizz in your curly locks.

By controlling the amount of oil in your hair, dry, combination or oily hair can feeling luscious and full of life, without the irritation of excess greasiness and the ‘clumpy’ that may occur when using product on a regular basis.

Bumble and bumble Pret-a-powder Dry Shampoo Review

Bumble and bumble Pret A Powder Review

This product is perfect for those who have naturally oily hair types or who make use of product on a regular basis, and may need something to help separate your hair follicles and keep your hair neat or balanced. I’d also recommend it for those who are regular travelers or don’t always have time for a full shampoo and condition.

A mixture of polysilicone, natural starches (corn, tapioca, avena and kernel flour), silica and montmorillonite, Pret-a-powder is designed to give your hair more body and lift.

The powder also helps to increase the grip of individual hair follicles, allowing you to style great braids, curls or even straight-brushed hair (without the need for heat styling like flat-irons or blow-dryers in some cases).

This powder is all about volume and was designed with exactly that in mind. In keeping with brands style-conscious approach to hair fashion, you can use a little to achieve quite a lot. This means that it’s easy for you to get straight, well-defined hair strands at home without too much effort.

Bumble and bumble Sumotech Review

Bumble and bumble Sumotech

Sumotech is a dense molding paste that is great for people looking for a thick coating of polish with strong hold and definition. The line comes in a range of three individual products, each catering to the specific needs of different hair types, including color-treated, dry and naturally oily hair.

It’s like a gel, only combined with a hair treatment at the same time. Sumotech is created with a combination of natural products like beeswax, kaolin white clay and a variety of different chemical polymers to help bind hair and help them stick, whilst moisturizing and protecting the hair at the same time.

This product works great on dry, damp or blow-dried hair and be used in small amounts to achieve long-lasting styles. It’s great value for money and comes in 5 different products  each designed for their own unique styles from sleek and wet, curly and damp or even extreme hold – there’s nothing too out of reach for Sumotech’s natural hold.  

Bumble and bumble Thickening Spray Review

Bumble and bumble Thickening Spray

For many of us, the term ‘mousse’ immediately makes us think of those 80′s fashion-trends like curly waves or high-volume luster that was popular at the time. This was largely due to the advent of the product and its original inception into the world of hair styles.

However, since then, people’s expectations have changed regarding what they expect from products like hair mousse and defining curls has taken precedence. The Bumble and bumble Thickening Spray helps to assist the hair in taking shape by adding volume and giving added hold.

Curly hair tends to lose its moisture a lot quicker than straighter hair, which means that you tend to suffer from overly frizzy hair more easily over the course of the day. The secret to the mousse’s success lies in its ingredients list.

With added wheat-proteins and hydroxypropyltrimonium honey, you can rest assured that you’re hair is going to hold and curl beautifully the whole day long. The mousse acts as a powerful resin that not only locks moisture in, but also helps to define your hair’s texture.

If you have naturally oily hair, I would recommend only using a small amount of the product as some have complained that it leaves their hair feeling greasy – but this differs from head to head. Like most of the products in this catalogue, a little goes a long way – so there’s no need to over do it, especially with sensitive scalps or skin types.

Is Bumble and bumble Cruelty Free? Does Bumble and bumble Test On Animals?

Is Bumble and bumble Cruelty Free?

The short answer to this question is no, they are not cruelty-free. While the brand may not claim to test their products on animals themselves, the truth is that they belong to L’Oreal – a company that is well known for selling products to the Chinese market.

Unfortunately, in China, the  law still states that all personal and cosmetics products being sold in the country must be tested on animals to determine whether they are safe or not for long-term mass market sales. This means that by default, their products cannot be considered 100% cruelty-free.

However, L’Oreal has been working on getting the policy changed in China, arguing that animal testing is both cruel and ultimately unnecessary, it may still take a while until this law is exacted.

Conclusion

When it comes to choosing hair and beauty products that suit both your style and your lifestyle, it can take a while for us to find a brand that really works for us. Bumble and bumble help to give you stylized hair quickly and in a way that’s cost-effective.

I love that each product is created with a specific intention or style in mind and that the brand have made an effort to focus on different products for different hair types.

While some may find that using them on a regular basis can cause irritation to their skin and hair (overly oily scalp, greasiness or clumpiness), it’s important to remember that a little goes a long way with this stuff and can actually last a considerable amount of time if you use them wisely.

So if you’re trying to get your hair ready for the beach this summer, or simply want well-defined curls and hold that doesn’t do damage to your hair follicles – Bumble and bumble may be for you.

Read about Joico, Short Hair Curling, Purple Shampoo and Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Shaping Cream while you’re here at EduMuch!