Hey guys! I’m Elizabeth from the University of Missouri and I’m your new beauty columnist! I’m obsessed with everything beauty related from volumizing shampoo to coral toenail polish. When I’m not trying the 78th newest mascara on the market, I’m working out, watching the Real Housewives or jamming to Lil Wayne in the car.
You’ve undoubtedly seen the infomercial at 2 in the morning that features girls of different hair types all rocking the same voluminous bump in the back of their hair.
The premise is great: a fuller head of hair without the pain or breakage that comes with teasing hair. After all, who doesn’t want to look like Brigitte Bardot in five minutes? On the other hand, is this look too much for real life? I’m not sure how I really feel about girls with four-inch high hair during 8 AM Psychology 101.
Of course, as with all as-seen-on-TV products, I was always skeptical as to whether Bump-Its actually worked. This year, my Halloween costume required the inserts and I bought myself a pack at Walmart.
Table of Contents
My Results:
What I Loved About Them:
The packaging:
Bump-Its come in a pink and black box that also has an easy to follow instruction pamphlet and a teasing comb. The packaging is cute and I liked the fact that they included a comb.
Their staying power:
Since I have dark brown hair, I bought the black Bump-Its, which never showed through my hair. After minimal teasing, a lot of extra-hold hairspray and a dozen bobby pins, my hair stayed put all night long, even after an extreme Backstreet Boys dance party and two rounds of karaoke.
What I Wasn’t Sold On:
The look:
I have a lot of long, thick hair, which made wearing a Bump-It easy. But my roommate, who has medium-length fine blonde hair, looked ridiculous with one in her hair. If you have hair like hers, I’m not sure if this would work without a lot of teasing. And if you’re going to tease your hair anyway, you probably don’t need a Bump-It for volume.
The shape:
The kit comes with three different bumps: a small one the size of a pink pearl eraser that’s supposed to be for bangs, a medium one that’s six inches long and 3/4 of an inch high and a larger one that’s five inches long and an inch and a half high. Basically, when I put the largest one in, I looked like a cone-head. Not so cute.
My Verdict:
Although the Bump-It might work for some girls with the right hair type and head shape, they didn’t work for me. I think the look is much too extreme for daytime but could work with an up-do. But for now, my Bump-Its are staying put in the back of my dresser.
What do you guys think? Would you try a Bump-It? Let me know with a comment.
I tried Bump-Its, too, but the results were hilarious. My sister and I decided we looked like dinosaurs. My head was oddly square-shaped no matter where I put the darn thing! I’m sure it would’ve stayed just fine, but my head seriously looked weird.
Thanks for giving the “it’s not for everyone” disclaimer. 🙂
I have to say, I think teased hair is a little outdated. But some girls like big hair, and I’m all for a little bit of volume. Overdone though, and it can be kinda scary. Every time I saw the Bumpit commercials all I could do was laugh, seeing how big some of the hairstyles were. I think it’s just too much for every day wear.
Honestly, there is a way to have more volume without teasing or wearing a weird plastic thing in your hair all day, hoping it doesn’t fall out as you search for your notebook in Calculus.
My tip is this: I wear my hair half up and half down a lot. When you pull your the top half of your hair back, after gathering your hair in a ponytail, twist the ponytail once. Then push the ponytail up a little bit so the top of your hair looks “bigger”. This gives a little volume, but it isn’t as crazy looking as a Bumpit. Keep in mind not to push your hair up a mile, though. Then clip your hair and go. Sorry if I wasn’t totally clear, but I prefer doing that over teasing hair. It takes less time, and a lot less energy.
🙂
yea I hate them, I like to tease my hair so my first reaction was excitment that i didnt have to damage my hair but it did not work at all!!!! WASTE OF MONEY
Yeah, I’m not convinced, there are so many hairstyles out there, why settle for one that requires plastic to sit on your head all day?
I bought the bump its and I love them! I have medium-long length fine brown hair. The large one is definitely way too large for anyone but the medium is good for a night out when I want some drama. I tease my hair at the crown, put the medium sized bump it in and then do the half up/half down look. I would definitely use it to do other updo styles, but I agree that wearing it with your hair down isn’t the way to go. The little one is the easiest to use – it works great when I want to pin my bangs back with a little poof.
I totally agree with Bailey. I have bumpits and when I pull some or all of my hair back, it looks cute. The headband is another must for it to look good in the front.
I always thought bump-its were kind of a…….funny joke. Sort of like the other products advertised on late night TV, like those vibrating belts that were supposed to give you great abs. I had no idea so many people actually bought them.
Personally I would never wear one, though. I think teased hair is a little dated.
I have to agree with Jenny and Norah, both about the results at the picture and about the daily usage of those. And I haven’t heard about Bumpits before – maybe because I’m an European.
I bought the Bump-it during the summer, and for some one with lots of thick hair, it didn’t work too well for me. I tried using them every day so I can get some practice and yet it didn’t look too good.
It looks better when I tease it on my own.
I’ve only seen the bump-it used up close and personal once, from a girl at work. I have to say it looked good, in the sense that it did exactly what it was suppose to. However, I think the style in general, even if it does look flawless is just simply too much. This of course is coming from someone who much rather seem naturally polished than overly done up.
Although it did look good, you could obviously tell that it took a lot of time and effort to make it look that way … not to mention way too much hair spray.
I could see them being useful for special occasions or maybe for a little fun for hitting up the bar scene but to see it in an everyday situation just kinda looked over the top.
i will never try it because it looks stupid and obviously from your picture it in fact DOES make the user look like they have a tumor. Besides, “volume” like of the girls in the commercial looks idiotic and not cute at all.
Elizabeth, the picture of your results doesn’t look too great. It looks unnatural and perhaps even obvious that your hair is sticking out in a weird pointy way. I tried the bumpit once, and unfortunately, I couldn’t get it to look perfectly voluminous like the box, so I returned it. I think it’s a little too uncomfortable for my liking.
I tried Bump-its over the summer. I have dark brown hair and I agree, they definitely didn’t show through. But I wasn’t incredibly committed to them…I think if I had teased my hair and used a bunch of hairspray they might have been cool. As it was, they were okay.
I would say they look best with pulled-back or at least half-up hairstyles. That also helps them stay easier since there’s less weight. Plus it’s easier to make your hair bigger that way.
🙂
Melody
I have to respectfully disagree. When done properly, the bump-it actually looks good. My roommate has the full set and wears them frequently, and you would never know she had actually put something in her hair – it just looks like she’s awesome at teasing.
We’ve also found that it works best when you pull part or all of your hair back, to give it some definition while the bump-it is in – just like when you tease your hair, you usually don’t just leave it all hanging.
As for the cone-head situation, wear a headband in front of it to lessen the blow. I agree it can look ridiculous if you don’t do it correctly.
Hope this gave it a little defense, and maybe something else to think about next time you try it.
beauty columnist? awesome, I look forward to many more articles like these!
Most attempts to use the bump-it that I’ve seen weren’t that great. I’ve heard so many girls say that they don’t have enough hair to use the bump-it properly. Kind of defeats the purpose! You can usually tell when someone is wearing one, they look like they have a giant headband hiding under their hair.
I bet anyone could make a better device by cutting a foam shoulder pad or bra insert into the right shape. I’ve never tried this but it might just work better.
I think bump-its are one of the most outrageous inventions. I agree, I do not want to see cone heads roaming around my school! I’m glad to see someone actually trying it in real life – it proves to be just as redic as seen on tv!
Great, informative post.
Spread peace and happiness
-Nikita