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Bumble and bumble

Gel

Styler / Gel, polymer-set

  • Styler
  • gel
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
  • Protein-free
  • Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Size5 fl oz
Priceabout $37commonly seen · 5 oz
Price / oz$7.40/ozat 5 oz
Where to buy6 stores · $37.00–37.00

Add it to your products. We’ll tell you if it’s ever recalled.

Scent:

The ingredient list declares fragrance. What it smells of is not stated, and we do not guess.

Listing used for research: bluemercury.com

Personal fit

Is this right for you?

Complete the consultation to see how well this product fits your hair and your goals. With 6,000+ products in our library, we can match you to the right ones.

  • About 20 minutes, and your answers save as you go.
  • Every product matched against your hair across the 21 factors we check.
  • A personalized routine built around your schedule, styling habits, and local weather.
  • Find products that do the same job at a lower cost.
  • Your goals, scalp, damage history, water, budget, and scent preferences all shape your plan.

$49 with 60 days of follow-up questions and plan updates

$99 with 12 months. Pay once; the year renews only if you choose.

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Same job for less elsewhere

$7.40/oz at 5 oz, more than 94% of the 267 gels , which mostly run $1.13–3.78/oz.

View alternatives

Great for

Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
Fine hairthat flattens under most products
Silicone-free routinesno silicones appear in the list
Stretching wash daysnothing here needs a detergent to remove

Maybe skip if

this product has a scent
Anyone who dislikes a castthe film formers here can set firm
Tight budgetsit sits in the upper price tiers

Whether this hold suits you depends on your density, porosity and how long your style needs to last. The consultation works that out.

What the formula actually does

Read from the label, not the marketing

Each row says where it comes from: F means we derived it from this product’s own ingredient list, S means it is a claim the brand makes that the formula neither confirms nor contradicts.

Hold system Synthetic polymer

Synthetic hold polymers, the firmest kind of hold.

Cast risk Likely

Film formers with little to soften them, so expect a cast to scrunch out.

Weight on the hair Light

Water-first and light: unlikely to flatten fine hair.

Oil absorption None

No absorbent powders or starches.

Oils and butters None

No oils or butters in the list.

Fast-drying alcohol None

No fast-drying alcohol in the list.

Needs detergent to remove No

Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove.

Fragrance Present

Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients.

from the formula stated by the brand reported by reviewers Scale: 1 dot low · 5 dots high, within this product type.

Ingredients that matter

The ingredients that change a decision

The workhorse ingredients, plus anything lower down that changes a decision. The chips name what an ingredient does. They are not safety scores, and no ingredient here is rated good or bad on its own.

IngredientWhat it doesWhy it mattersChip
Water solvent The base everything else is dissolved in Neutral
Polyacrylate-2 Crosspolymer film former Lays down the film that holds a shape Holds
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil solubilizer Keeps oils dissolved in water Stabilizes
Disodium EDTA hard-water chelator Binds trace metals Stabilizes
O-Cymen-5-Ol preservative Keeps the product from spoiling Stabilizes
Phenoxyethanol preservative Keeps the product from spoiling Stabilizes
Methylisothiazolinone isothiazolinone — Stabilizes
Sodium Benzoate preservative Keeps the product from spoiling Stabilizes
Butylphenyl Methylpropional fragrance The scent Fragrance
Linalool fragrance The scent Fragrance
Hexyl Cinnamal fragrance The scent Fragrance
Limonene fragrance The scent Fragrance
What the list leaves out, and what it carriesNo sulfates, silicones, or drying alcohols. Protein-free: this is built for moisture rather than for strengthening. Contains fragrance. Chelators for hard water.
Full ingredient list (15)

In the US, ingredients above 1% are listed from most to least. Below 1% they can appear in any order. Each note keeps three things apart: what the ingredient generally does, its role in this type of product, and what its position can tell you.

  • 1 Water
    General function

    The base of almost every rinse-off and cream hair product. It carries everything else and is normally the first ingredient on the label.

    Leading ingredient

    Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.

    • solvent
  • 2 Polyacrylate-2 Crosspolymer
    General function

    A synthetic film-forming polymer. Polymers of this kind dry to a continuous film on the hair, which is how a styling product holds a shape.

    Leading ingredient

    Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.

    • film former
    • polymer
  • 3 PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
    General function

    A castor-oil derivative that dissolves fragrance and oils into water so the product stays clear and does not separate.

    Leading ingredient

    Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.

    • solubilizer
    • emulsifier
  • ▾Below about here, the order stops meaning much. These are usually used at 1% or less.
  • 4 Disodium EDTA
    General function

    Grabs metal ions from hard water so they cannot dull the hair or destabilise the formula.

    Estimated lower-concentration zone

    It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

    May suitBuild-up-sensitive routines

    Binds the calcium and magnesium in hard water, which is what stops mineral deposits accumulating on the strand wash after wash.

    May suitGray, silver, or brass-prone hair

    Copper and iron carried in tap water deposit on the strand and read as a dull, warm cast on gray or light hair. A chelator holds those metals in solution so the wash carries them off.

    PubChem
    • hard-water chelator
  • 5 O-Cymen-5-Ol
    • preservative
  • 6 Phenoxyethanol
    General function

    The most common modern preservative; it keeps the product free of bacteria and mould. It sits well below 1% of the formula.

    Estimated lower-concentration zone

    It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

    PubChem
    • preservative
  • 7 Methylisothiazolinone
    General function

    A powerful rinse-off preservative used at very low levels; a known contact allergen for some people.

    Estimated lower-concentration zone

    It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

    • isothiazolinone
    • preservative
  • 8 Sodium Benzoate
    General function

    A food-grade preservative that works only in acidic formulas, which is why it usually appears alongside citric acid.

    Estimated lower-concentration zone

    It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

    PubChem
    • preservative
  • 9 Butylphenyl Methylpropional
    General function

    A floral fragrance component (lilial) named separately as a recognised allergen; increasingly reformulated out.

    Estimated lower-concentration zone

    It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

    May not suitFragrance-sensitive routines

    One of the 26 scent components the EU requires to be named individually above a threshold. It is named because it is a known contact allergen, not because it is unusual.

    PubChem
    • fragrance
    • named fragrance allergen
  • 10 Linalool
    General function

    A floral fragrance component listed separately as a recognised contact allergen.

    Estimated lower-concentration zone

    It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

    May not suitFragrance-sensitive routines

    One of the 26 scent components the EU requires to be named individually above a threshold. It is named because it is a known contact allergen, not because it is unusual.

    PubChem
    • fragrance
    • named fragrance allergen
  • 11 Hexyl Cinnamal
    General function

    A jasmine-like fragrance component named separately as a recognised allergen.

    Estimated lower-concentration zone

    It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

    May not suitFragrance-sensitive routines

    One of the 26 scent components the EU requires to be named individually above a threshold. It is named because it is a known contact allergen, not because it is unusual.

    PubChem
    • fragrance
    • named fragrance allergen
  • 12 Limonene
    General function

    A citrus-smelling fragrance component that EU rules require to be named separately because some people react to it.

    Estimated lower-concentration zone

    It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

    May not suitFragrance-sensitive routines

    One of the 26 scent components the EU requires to be named individually above a threshold. It is named because it is a known contact allergen, not because it is unusual.

    PubChem
    • fragrance
    • named fragrance allergen
  • 13 hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde
    General function

    An individual aroma chemical. It is part of the product's fragrance; brands that print these are disclosing more of the blend than the rules require.

    Estimated lower-concentration zone

    It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

    May not suitFragrance-sensitive routines

    Declared fragrance. On a fragrance-sensitive routine this is the line that decides it, wherever it sits on the label.

    • fragrance
  • 14 Geraniol
    General function

    A rose-scented fragrance component, listed on its own because some people react to it.

    Estimated lower-concentration zone

    It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

    May not suitFragrance-sensitive routines

    One of the 26 scent components the EU requires to be named individually above a threshold. It is named because it is a known contact allergen, not because it is unusual.

    • fragrance
    • named fragrance allergen
  • 15 Fragrance
    General function

    An undisclosed blend of scent ingredients. Regulations let it stay unlisted, so a fragrance-free product is the only way to be certain what is not in it.

    Estimated lower-concentration zone

    It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

    May not suitFragrance-sensitive routines

    Declared fragrance. On a fragrance-sensitive routine this is the line that decides it, wherever it sits on the label.

    • fragrance
    • declared fragrance

What the whole list adds up to

  • 7 fragrances
  • 5 named fragrance allergens
  • 4 preservatives
  • 1 solvent
  • 1 film former
  • 1 polymer
  • 1 solubilizer
  • 1 emulsifier
  • 1 hard-water chelator
  • 1 isothiazolinone
  • 1 declared fragrance

Ingredient list captured 2026-09-05. Formulas change, so check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.

Price · 5 oz

Commonly seen about $37 Midpoint $37 · 5 stores · checked Sep 5
Good value under $6 Under $1.24/oz it costs less than three-quarters of the 8 products we score as doing the same job

Priced above the products that do the same job. Stores sell it above the $6 line; products that do this job typically go for about $11 at this size.

Show the price ladder
Where we’ve seen it7 listings · 6 stores

Sorted by price per ounce. Dated observations from our research, not live prices. Direct store pages, no affiliate links. We don’t sell this product.

How we work this out
  1. 5 oz is the size stores list most often; every comparison on this page is made at it. Other sizes are shown in the Sizes row and the store list.
  2. Commonly seen is the middle half of current prices for the 5 oz at recognised stores. We leave out the cheapest and most expensive quarters, so one sale or one overpriced listing can’t move it.
  3. Good value under $6 comes from the 8 products we score as doing the same job as this one. A quarter of them cost less than $1.24/oz; at 5 oz that is $6. Under that line you are paying less than most of them.
  4. About $11 is what those same products typically cost at this size: the midpoint of their prices per ounce, scaled to 5 oz.

Formula

Formula score
7 of 10

It costs more per ounce than 94% of the 267 gels we’ve priced, and 6 formulas we score as close matches cost at least a quarter less per ounce.

How the score is counted
  • 6 products we score as doing the same job cost less per ounce
  • Costs more per ounce than 94% of the 267 gels we’ve priced
  • No softeners alongside the hold in the formula
  • Salon tier
  • A hold systemThe polymer, gum, or wax that holds the shape.3 pts
  • Softeners alongside the holdWhat keeps a film flexible instead of brittle.2 pts
  • No drying alcohol in the first threeFast drying without leading on alcohol.2 pts
  • A humectantBinds water into the hair.1 pt
  • A humidity claim with a mechanismThe claim has a film former or silicone behind it.1 pt
  • Fragrance kept out of the top eightScent as a finishing touch, not a major share.1 pt

The formula score measures completeness for the job: a weighted share of the systems this product type is usually built around that we find in this list. It does not rate how well the product works or its quality, and it never compares across product types.

Does the same job, for less

Formulas that do the same things (cleanse, condition, coat or hold) for less per ounce. Scent, texture and where you buy them can still differ.

Harry'sLowest cost per oz Sculpting Gel $1.34/oz $6.06/oz less
  • Protein-free
  • Curly method
  • Lightweight
· Same function
Differs
  • Drugstore tier
  • 6.7 oz bottle
Compare
AxeSame function Signature Clean Cut Look Hair Classic Pomade $2.99/oz $4.41/oz less
  • Protein-free
  • Curly method
  • Lightweight
Differs
  • Drugstore tier
  • 2.6 oz bottle
Compare
L'angeSame function Salt + Sea Texturizing Spray $3.74/oz $3.66/oz less
  • Protein-free
  • Curly method
  • Lightweight
Differs
  • Masstige tier
  • 4 oz bottle
Compare

See more alternatives in the product library

These products do a similar job. We haven’t matched them to you. Find the one that fits your hair, routine and budget

Built for wavy to coily hair

Final decision

Should you buy it?

Good for the right person, not the lowest cost
Best user

Hair that stiffens on protein, looking for a protein-free formula and a curly-method-compatible formula

Biggest tradeoff

Worth skipping for anyone sensitive to fragrance, anyone who will not scrunch out a cast, or people shopping on a budget

Best alternative if not

Harry's Sculpting Gel, for similar results at a lower price

We do not sell products or take placement fees. This page states what the formula and the prices show; the consultation is what matches it to a person.

Claims check

What the brand says, and what the formula shows

Claims are quoted from the brand. We mark a claim supported, partly supported or conflicting only when the ingredient list speaks to it. Everything else stays "stated by the brand". That isn’t a criticism: most claims can’t be checked from a label.

2
SupportedBacked by ingredients
0
Partly supportedSome supporting logic
0
Stated by brandNo clear evidence
0
Potential conflictFormula works against claim
Alcohol-free sculpting gel that molds and firms hair for a flexible, shiny finish that never cracks or flakes, even when brushed.

No fast-drying alcohol appears in the list.

—

Supported

Nothing that flashes off dry.

Free from phthalates, formaldehyde, and parabens

No parabens appear in the ingredient list.

—

Supported

Preserved without parabens.

How to read this

We look at the first 10–15 ingredients and what they do in a formula, not at the marketing. If the list doesn't speak to a claim, we don't assume.

Reviewers

What people report

Themes that come up again and again in sourced reviews, written by our researchers in their own words. We don’t store or scrape star ratings.

Several reviewers say the gel gives strong, flexible hold while drying soft rather than stiff, sticky, or greasy.

Several reviewers call the product pricey or overpriced compared to similar gels, even though most still say it is worth buying.

A recurring complaint describes packaging problems on arrival, including a broken or missing cap, no safety seal, or a leaking tube.

Multiple reviewers note a little goes a long way, with one bottle lasting two to three months of regular use.

A minority of reviewers report the opposite of the flexible-hold claim, describing hair left stiff, hard, or coarse after it dries.

More from Bumble and bumble

How this page was made

  • Everything above comes from our researched product record: identity, the ingredient list as printed, the brand's own claims, dated prices and review themes our researchers wrote in their own words. No part of this page is written by hand for one product.
  • The value band is a fixed label over two stored numbers: this product’s cost per ounce as a percentile of every product of this type we have priced, each at the size it is most often sold in, and how many products we score as doing the same job cost at least a quarter less per ounce.
  • Both scores out of ten are defined on this page. The formula score is completeness for the job, computed from a fixed per-format checklist shown beneath the gauge; the price score is cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced.
  • The "Is this right for you?" panel reads only your own consultation answers, and it applies exactly the filters our recommendation engine applies. It is computed when you load the page and is never stored on it.
  • 4 sources consulted for this product (0 manufacturer or regulatory, 3 retailer, 1 editorial), last checked 2026-09-05.
  • Ingredient references are linked for 5 of 8 product-aware annotations on this page. Fit notes are general formulation guidance. They aren’t a verdict on the finished product or on you.
  • We haven’t tested this product in a lab, and we don’t physically test your hair. Formula readings come from the ingredient list. Claims about how it behaves are labelled as the brand's.
  • Ingredient order tells you relative amount only above roughly 1%. Prices are what we saw on the dates shown and can change.
  • Ingredient names link to our ingredient library, where each entry shows what it does, which product types use it, and where it usually sits on a label across everything we have researched.
  • This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.
  • Formula readings: derivation v23. Record last updated 2026-10-07.

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