I’ve wanted to try Bumble & Bumble since, I don’t know, forever! But at £47 for a shampoo and conditioner, my bank account said no. You’ve probably noticed that happens a lot to me. I have accepted that some things, like Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation and Glamglow Supermud, will be on my wish list a VERY long time before I get to try them, but I did really want to try B&B so I added it to my Christmas wish list early on, and then promptly forgot about it so I was nicely surprised but also a bit annoyed when I got it. Let me explain – I asked for it before I cut silicones and sulphates out of my hair care routine, so I was instantly gutted thinking that I’d have to sabotage my new hair care in order to use my new products.
Thankfully, the Bumble & Bumble Hairdressers Invisible Oil range is sulphate free, and although there are silicones in the conditioner, it’s a lot less than in normal products. How do I know this, you ask? Well, normally silicone (anything ending with -cone) is the fourth or fifth ingredient in conditioners, but it’s crazy low down the list for the Invisible Oil conditioner. I still am not totally happy using silicones every time I wash my hair, so I’ve been alternating between these and my Naked Rescue shampoo and conditioner, which I bought on Fragrance Direct for under £2 each after my Green People free from products ran out.
I got the full sized shampoo and conditioner, and a travel set which included a mini shampoo, mini conditioner and primer. I have deduced that the primer is just a heat protectant, and they’ve called it a primer because primer’s are seen as such an important step in the beauty world. Good marketing, Bumble! The whole range is designed to protect your hair, soften, detangle and defrizz, whilst remaining lightweight and not bogging your hair down.
Shampoo
I’m not a massive shampoo connoisseur, if I’m honest, but as far as they go this is decent. It doesn’t foam up very much, due to the sulphate free situation, so I find it works best if I work a tiny bit in my hair, add water, lather it up and repeat. I don’t mind shampooing twice when there’s no sulphates involved, and actually I find that all sulphate shampoo needs to be repeated if you want to feel particularly clean.
Would I pay £18 for this? No. In my opinion, it’s the conditioner and styling products you use that really affect the condition of your hair, especially if you do choose sulphate free products. I only use shampoo on the top half of my hair, as that is where the oil is, and allow the water that runs down to cleanse the rest of my hair so I just don’t see the point in spending a lot on shampoo.
Conditioner
Again, the smell of this is perfect. I was initially surprised by this conditioner, as it’s not as rich as I expected it to be but in hindsight, it makes sense – B&B hugely emphasise the fact it uses lightweight oils, and there is no mention anywhere that it is deeply moisturising. It’s a nice conditioner, but I personally feel that I need something a bit more intensive to combat my dryness and frizz. The days I use this, I do feel my hair is a little less tameable and a little more frizzy.
Primer
This ‘pre-styling mist’ has apparently been formulated for dry, course or brittle hair – it softens and detangles while eliminating frizz, protecting against breakage, heat damage and UV damage. Unlike the shampoo and conditioner, I do really love this. The spray is perfect, it smells great, and it is a lot more nourishing (yet less heavy) than previous heat protectants, despite having less silicones. It’s not cheap – this little 60ml bottle can be bought for £7.50, or the full size for £19, but it is good. Whether I repurchase will depend on how long it lasts me, I don’t mind spending more if it lasts a long time.
If I’m honest, I am a bit disappointed with these products but not because of the products themselves. I should have gone for a more intensive range but I got sucked in by the hype surrounding hairdressers oil, which is annoying because I really can’t afford to treat myself to a different range! I’m going to still carry on using these, as there isn’t anything wrong with them, but I do definitely need to alternate it with a more intensive range to stop my hair from drying out.
I think one of the reasons that I didn’t get as many benefits as other people seem to have got from the Hairdressers Invisible Oil range is that my hair care is already sulphate and silicone free, so I’m not getting the benefits from reduced silicones and no sulphates as I’ve already got these benefits, if that makes sense? If you’re not already watching what you put in your hair, you probably would see a big improvement as you’re no longer stripping your hair of its natural oils and coating it with silicone.
I know this has been not the most positive of reviews, but I do think the travel set is worth buying to see if the range works with your hair. I think anyone with frizzy hair who doesn’t watch the ignredients in their shampoos etc would benefit from this, it’s just not hydrating enough for my unruly hair!
Travel set (£19.50) – here / Shampoo (£23) – here / Conditioner (£25) – here /Primer (mini – £7.50) – here / Primer (full – £19) – here
Have you tried any Bumble & Bumble products? What would you recommend?
