Bumble and bumble At-A-Glance
Strengths: Mostly good shampoos and conditioners; great selection of styling products, including several pomades and some hairsprays with unique qualities; couple of fragrance-free styling products; for the most part, the styling products perform as claimed, minus some of the more too-good-to-be-true claims.
Weaknesses: Unnecessarily expensive; some of the leave-in products contain irritants such as peppermint oil; many products contain fragrance chemicals that can cause scalp itching and irritation; the specialty conditioners have formulas that are a step below the line’s daily-use conditioners; no styling gels or mousses (including liquid-to-foam stylers).
This oddly named hair-care line was founded in 1977 by New York City hairstylist Michael Gordon whose salon was called Bumble and bumble. Before founding his line, the talented staff at Gordon’s establishment had made Bumble and bumble a New York place to be coiffed for the rich and famous (and for those who dared to splurge). As expected, the emphasis of the salon has always been on haircutting and ongoing stylist education, two critical elements of becoming (and remaining) a talented, in-demand hairstylist. As I said, the salon’s namesake products didn’t come out until years later, which makes one wonder what products the salon was using in the early years, when it first began receiving accolades in the press and among the glitterati.
Although Bumble and bumble’s big city pedigree is impressive, do keep in mind that hairstylists, even brilliant ones, are not typically skilled in the art of hair-care formulations. Plus, it takes far more than good products to create the often fantasy-driven hairstyles that appear in magazines and advertisements. You can be sure that before and while the cameras are clicking away there is a team of talented people on hand to make sure every last well-lit hair on the model’s perfectly tilted head is as perfect and in place as it can be. Truly talented hairstylists can create awe-inspiring hairstyles using almost any products if they have the right heat-styling implements and brushes. And Bumble and bumble is not the only hair-care line to show up at fashion shoots; nor is it the only one used by Hollywood hairstylists.
Most of the requests I receive to review this line come from readers who think the products must be incredible because [insert celebrity du jour name here] uses them. Let me assure you, celebrities use lots of different hair-care brands and they can be just as fickle or brand-loyal as most consumers.
Far from the only highbrow salon line available, Bumble and bumble’s success eventually caught the attention of Estee Lauder; they purchased a majority interest in Bumble and bumble at the turn of this century and acquired full ownership in 2006. As you might expect (and this is precisely what happened when Lauder purchased Aveda), Bumble and bumble product launches were ramped up and new product groups were created. And, of course, perhaps owing to the brand’s fabled history but more likely for prestige marketing purposes, the prices have continually spiraled upward. Unfortunately, with few exceptions there is nothing in Bumble and bumble’s hair-care products that makes them worth the expense. Your hair won’t look $50 better using their shampoo and conditioner rather than a similar duo from L’Oreal, Dove, Fructis, Pantene, Got2Be, or numerous other lines.
Unlike Lauder-owned Aveda, Bumble and bumble doesn’t position itself as a natural brand, although they do use and call attention to several natural ingredients; rather, they sell most of their products on the basis of their performance, which, in most cases, is very good. That’s not to say that filling your hair-care routine with B&B products will guarantee your hair will be a cut above the rest (pun intended), but those with a limitless hair-care budget will find proportionately more good than disappointing products. If you opt to purchase from this line, your best bets are the selection of styling products, most of which are versatile and remain true to the artistic background and salon history that inspired them.