Bumble and Bumble Conscious Curl Creme

...hadn’t received my bottle of Bumble and Bumble Curl Conscious Curl Crème as a (very generous) present, then I would almost certainly still be admiring it longingly (but from afar) in the window of my local hairdresser. But here I am instead with a bottle in my hand, attempting to persuade you that it’s worth every penny of its £24 pound price tag. Although I can see that this is likely to be an uphill struggle, no frizzy-haired curly girly should ...
...The Crème…

Bumble and Bumble, a 1970s established New York based company, see hair straightening as a ‘tyranny’. This is a company with a belief that for ladies with curly hair, looking ‘sexy, professional and groomed’ doesn’t necessarily go hand in hand with a £90 pair of GHDs. They encourage us to be ‘curl-positive’ and work with, rather than fight against, our curls. On a basic level I agree with their philosophy. The amazingly ... more

This is a truly phenomenal product, but one with a price tag that requires a severe intake of breath. If I hadn’t received my bottle of Bumble and Bumble Curl Conscious Curl Crème as a (very generous) present, then I would almost certainly still be admiring it longingly (but from afar) in the window of my local hairdresser. But here I am instead with a bottle in my hand, attempting to persuade you that it’s worth every penny of its £24 pound price tag. Although I can see that this is likely to be an uphill struggle, no frizzy-haired curly girly should be without this fairy godmother of a product.

The Philosophy Behind The Crème…

Bumble and Bumble, a 1970s established New York based company, see hair straightening as a ‘tyranny’. This is a company with a belief that for ladies with curly hair, looking ‘sexy, professional and groomed’ doesn’t necessarily go hand in hand with a £90 pair of GHDs. They encourage us to be ‘curl-positive’ and work with, rather than fight against, our curls. On a basic level I agree with their philosophy. The amazingly sexy flowing ringlets sported by models in magazines or befitting celebrities flouncing along red carpets would be more than welcome to reside upon my head. However, I have spent years devoting hours attempting to tame my uneven, frizzy curls into submission with the result that my hair still looked like I’d just crawled out of bed and that it hadn’t seen a brush in weeks. Or, to be somewhat successful in my battle then step outside and for the slightest bit of humidity to transform my hair into a cloud of frizz. Now, as the proud owner of a fantastic pair of hair straighteners, I have very little time or patience for nurturing my curls. They are either acceptable as they are, or my straighteners work their magic. End of…until now.

Promises, Promises…

Bumble and Bumble Curl Conscious Curl Crème is available in two different versions depending on whether you have thin to medium hair or medium to thick hair (like mine). My hair is curlier on the top than underneath and particularly curly at the back and also has a tendency to go very frizzy given the slightest opportunity (i.e. all the time). The Medium to Thick Hair Curl Crème’s promises to create ringlets from my hair, decrease the amount of frizz and help my ‘wound-up hyperactive hair come together and calm down’ made this curl-enhancing cream sound perfect for turning my red carpet fantasies into a reality. The Curl Conscious Curl Crème for thin to medium hair on the other hand keeps the fact that fine curls are drier and more fragile than straight hair in mind. It attempts to create ‘super-soft textural waves’ by enhancing curls, supporting their shape and preventing them from drooping. So far so good…

A How-To Guide…

The Curl Crème is designed to be used after shampooing and conditioning your hair as normal and needs to be used every time you wash it. You then towel dry your hair, being careful to squeeze rather than rub it with the towel (which would create extra frizz). Then squeeze a fifty pence-sized blob of the cream out onto your hand. Work it into your hair with your fingers from the roots to the ends and from the nape round to the front of your head. Then comb through your hair with a wide-toothed comb. If you have lots of hair you will probably need to use more than a fifty pence sized dollop, but it is a good idea to use this amount to start with and see if your hair feels thoroughly coated. You can then work some more through if it does not, rather than using too much in the beginning and risk your hair looking greasy or feeling overloaded with product, taking the bounce out of your curls. Personally I have very thick shoulder length hair and have found a fifty pence-sized blob to be ideal for my needs.

Wait until your hair is about 80% dry (Bumble and Bumble frown strongly upon using a hair dryer but recommend using a diffuser if this is absolutely necessary). You then need to gently lift sections of hair and corkscrew them around your finger, towards your face (I use approximately 3cm wide sections but once again the size of the section you need to use will depend on how thick your hair is-the thinner your hair, the smaller the sections you will need to use). Towards your face corresponds to clockwise to the left of the centre parting and anticlockwise to the right and once again you should start at the nape and work up to your natural parting. After each twirl around the finger, gently cup the end of the section and press towards your scalp (without squashing it) and release. Repeat this all over your head, making sure that the sections framing your face curl in towards it.

Then- LEAVE YOUR HAIR ALONE. Playing, fiddling and generally obsessing over your curls will only add frizz and too perfect curls have a ‘fake’ stigma attached to them.

The result...

...bouncy, tightly-curled (but still perfectly defined) ringlets, minimal frizz: in other words a hair do with plenty of attitude! There are no limp curls, it leaves the underneath of my hair as curly as the hair above it (removing the 2-layer effect which normally plagues my head) and my hair does not feel as if it has any product in it at all. It causes no irritation whatsoever to my scalp (although only one brand of shampoo has ever had that effect) and generally leaves me feeling proud to be curly!

This product also comes with what I think is the most gorgeous, chic box ever-it has a background of different shades of grey (looking somewhat pencil shaded) with what I can only assume to be words describing the different person that this product can create out of you, standing out in white capitals- ‘GODDESS’, ‘VIXEN’ and ‘TEMPTRESS’ being amongst them. It was seeing this box in the window of a hairdresser that first attracted me to the product- only then did I research it on the internet and discover that it could be the solution to my hair problems. The box can be seen on the Bumble and Bumble website (www.bumbleandbumble.com) if you need any further temptation to buy.

One further thing to consider is that a bottle of this will last you ages. I have had mine since the beginning of June and (from what I can see from peering into the bottle) at least 3/4 of the 250ml bottle is still left after using it about 3 times a week. So for a year's use, you might consider the (admittedly very hefty) price worth paying.

There are only one or two negative things that I can say about this product. Firstly, the white plastic bottle inside the box looks a bit cheap and nasty considering how much you are paying for the product. The words aside (which are the same as those on the box), this is a bottle that looks like it ought to be containing a supermarket own brand version rather than a salon-exclusive product. Also, because the plastic of the bottle is not very flexible and because the crème itself is quite thick, it is difficult to squeeze it through the small hole in the plastic lid onto your hand. This isn’t too much of a problem however, because the plastic lid can easily be unscrewed and the crème can be tipped out instead. However, it might be difficult to get the last traces out of the bottom (and lets face it at this price you’ll want to). The crème also doesn’t have much of a fragrance to it, but personally I see this as a good thing as it doesn’t clash with the fragrance of my favourite shampoo which I love. It can also be quite difficult to find- it is only available in salons (and not all that many sell it), so probably the best bet is to buy online (you might find it a bit cheaper too!).

Bumble and Bumble use the slogan ‘Be Curl Conscious Not Self Conscious’ and for me these words sum up the crème perfectly. Normally I feel that my hair looks a mess when I go out without straightening it and resort to looking in the mirror every five minutes- no longer! For me £24 (for 250ml) is a small price to pay for having fantastic looking curls and the self-confidence to enjoy them.
 

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