Ashlee Norman: Why the Industry is Relearning What Makes an Educator

Founded as an NYC salon in 1977, Bumble and bumble has long been rooted in professional education, editorial hairdressing and the belief that strong technique should translate behind the chair. From its salon-born product heritage to its razor craft and education programs, the brand has built its identity around supporting hairdressers with tools, technique and a clear point of view.

Now, that legacy is entering a new era. As Bumble and bumble expands their education presence—including showing up at more industry events like The BTC Show—the brand is bringing that hairdresser-first foundation back to the forefront.

“Social media changed the way that we do education within the beauty industry,” Ashlee explains. “I started becoming an independent educator in 2015, around the same time that Instagram became a thing. It became popular to create independent educators, not branded educators.”

Social media created opportunities for artists who had historically been excluded from traditional education spaces. “As a mother, I was able to create a global brand working part-time in the summer,” she says. “It was an unprecedented technological change in the industry.”

“As women and mothers, we were definitely not on the main stages,” Ashlee says. “It was mostly men. They were just, frankly, more available. Unless you lived in the heart of LA or New York, and you were willing to work 80 hours a week and travel every single weekend, you just weren't going to get a spot on stage next to the boys.”

Social media changed that. It gave stylists a way to build visibility without waiting for permission.

“The fact that social media gave us a window to the world where we can create global exposure from an app on a smartphone, it made it so that the women, who are honestly the 90 percent of the industry, finally had a voice,” Ashlee says. “And that was huge.”

But visibility and education are not the same thing. And that is where Ashlee believes the industry is now course-correcting.

“Now you have people who are entertainers and early adopters of technology who are calling themselves educators who really don't have a technical foundation,” she says. “They don't even really know how to present and how to teach, because that's a separate skill from actually doing hair itself.”

It is a distinction Ashlee understands deeply because she was trained in both.

"You can be a great hairstylist, but it doesn't make you a great educator,” she says. “You can be a great content creator, but it doesn't make you a great hairstylist or a great educator.”

Bridging Legacy Education And The Social Media Generation

That is part of what makes this return to Bumble and bumble feel so timely. Ashlee sees the current moment as an opportunity to connect the best parts of two eras: the structure, discipline and technical foundation of legacy education with the access and reach of the social media generation.

“What’s happening within our industry is we are building a bridge between what I call the legacy generation and the social media generation,” Ashlee says.

For Ashlee, that bridge is personal. Before she built a global education platform of her own, she first learned how to educate through Bumble and bumble.

Where Ashlee’s Bumble And Bumble Story Began

“I started working with Bumble in 2007,” Ashlee shares. “I was working at a new salon that just opened, and they were a Bumble and bumble exclusive salon. They selected me to be their network educator, which had me traveling to the Bumble and bumble University in the Meatpacking District in Manhattan at least once a year for eight years.”

That training would become one of the earliest foundations for the career Ashlee is known for today: a respected educator, editorial stylist, master cutter and one of the industry’s most recognized voices in razor cutting. But before Ashlee built a global education platform of her own, those trips to NYC taught her not only how to refine her technical work, but how to stand in front of a room and actually teach.

The Education That Taught Ashlee How To Educate

“When I first started training with Bumble, the first classes I took included the Network Educator class, and that one was not just technique-based: It taught us how to become an educator and how to actually teach effectively," Ashlee explains.

“They actually had us get up in front of a group and we were filmed, and then we had to sit and watch our own film. We critiqued each other as a group on things as simple as where to stand so you're not standing directly in front of your work when you're teaching to a live audience.”

“I think that was very unique about their education,” she adds. “Not only did they have fundamental skills that obviously changed my career and the way that I do hair from a technical standpoint, but they also taught me how to become an educator. How to present yourself as a performer.”

Ashlee believes the Bumble and bumble’s renewed focus on education is about choosing educators with real foundation, character and the ability to make an impact.

“I think right now the timing with Bumble and bumble coming back is perfect,” she says. “But I do think brands need to call winners and losers. They can't just hire someone because they have a high following. They have to have a character, number one, and then not only be great at doing hair, but also really know how to make an impact in people's lives.”

That kind of vetting is one of the reasons Ashlee says she respects the direction of Bumble and bumble's leadership.

“I love the fact that we have really strong leadership coming from our Head of Education, Sherri Doss,” Ashlee says. “I really have a lot of respect for her. I think she's brilliant, and I love the fact that she's made a point of not just hiring anyone who comes at her for a contract, but really vetting and making sure that the people that are wanting to jump on board not only have quality foundation in their haircutting and styling skills, possibly even a strong background with Bumble and bumble, but also to really have their heart in the right place, where they actually do want to make a positive impact on the industry.”

Education With Foundation, Not Ego

That balance—strong foundation without ego—is also what Ashlee remembers most about Bumble and bumble’s education philosophy.

When she began, she says, much of the industry celebrated haircuts that were technically difficult from a precision standpoint, but not always reflective of what clients actually wanted to wear.

“It was very stiff and very egotistical when I started, because the haircuts that were most celebrated from an industry standpoint were the ones that were most technically difficult from a precision standpoint,” Ashlee says. “And obviously, you know, that's amazing, and we can celebrate that artistry and that technical precision, but that's not necessarily the hair that's being worn by the average woman.”

That is where Bumble and bumble stood apart for her. “I always loved that when I went to Bumble, the things that I learned I could actually take behind the chair the next day,” she says. “And to this day, a lot of that foundational theory and philosophy is what I still continue to do.”

“As a brand, they also say this is a way, it's not the way,” Ashlee says. “So it's not that you suck as a hairdresser if you don't do it this way—there's still that flexibility within the culture of the brand where they believe that, hey, if this works for you, great. Or if this inspires you to do something slightly different, that's cool, too.”

“At the end of the day, beauty is subjective,” she says. “And if you've made your client feel beautiful, then you did your job correctly.”

Razor Cutting As A Bumble And Bumble Signature

As Ashlee returns to Bumble and bumble, one of the strongest connections between her artistry and the brand’s heritage is razor cutting. For Ashlee, the razor requires education, intention and a deep understanding of how the blade interacts with the hair.

“There really is a difference in terms of how you articulate the blade,” Ashlee says. “If you're using the blade flat to the hair, there's a tendency to shave the top cuticle layer, which is more damaging to the cuticle. If you're using it more perpendicular to the section, you're cutting across the hairs instead of shaving on top of them.”

That is also why product matters. Ashlee never razor-cuts dry, and one of her go-to cutting lotions is Bumble and bumble Prep Primer, which she uses as the foundation before layering other products.

“The reason why you wanna start with the Prep is it’s like a primer,” Ashlee says. “That's going to help fill in the porosities, so whatever styling product you layer over the top of that is gonna perform better.”

For razor cutting, she says Prep also helps keep the hair evenly moisturized without weighing it down like repeated water spraying can. “The Prep is light enough that it's not gonna do that,” Ashlee says. “It's gonna leave the hair still falling more organic so you can work within those natural cowlicks.”

Press play to see how Ashlee styles a razor-cut shag with her Bumble favorites featuring beauty influencer Claudia Fabian (@thebeautydebut):