HOW TO USE SHEA BUTTER AND AFRICAN BLACK SOAP FOR NATURAL HAIR GROWTH

For the past year, I’ve been focused on growing out my hair—getting more length while keeping my strands healthy and strong.

Here I am a year ago, in January 2025.

And here I am in January 2026, just a few days ago.

SHE I’ve managed to retain quite a bit of length, and I’m still on this journey. I want to see how far I can take it! 

So how did I do this?

My overall beauty routine is built around BGLH products, and that includes my hair.

I wash my hair and scalp with African black soap, then deep condition with whatever I have on hand.

Lately, I’ve been using TGIN leave-in conditioners as deep conditioners—they’re very rich, so it works. I especially love the Miracle Repair Leave-In with biotin.

After I deep condition, I rake BGLH butter through my damp hair (right now I’m alternating between Candy and Vanilla Whipped Shea, coconut oil–free), then seal everything in with The Doux Bee Girl Honey Curl Custard.

Believe it or not, this creates a wash-and-go that lasts up to six days! This is day 3 of my wash and go. 

When the wash-and-go starts to get tangled or extra frizzy, I wash it again with African black soap and start the process over again.

I’ve been doing this pretty much non-stop since January 2025. And to be honest, I didn’t realize how much my hair had grown until I did my first silk press (in 20 years!) back in November. 

I’ve been deathly afraid of heat because I have fine, 4C hair that’s easily heat-damaged.

During the three weeks I kept the silk press, I was anxious that my hair wouldn’t revert back to curls—but when I washed it out, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my texture hadn’t changed at all.

That speaks to the power of the products I’ve been using on my hair!

Looking back, I think there were 4 key elements to my hair growth:

• African black soap, which gave me a clean, healthy scalp to work with
• BGLH butters applied to damp hair, which continually conditioned, softened, and strengthened my strands
• The curling custard, which locked in the benefits of butter + water for days at a time
• Low manipulation. As much as I love cornrows and box braids, I’ve stopped doing them in favor of styles like wash-and-gos, blow outs, and silk presses—which can last for days without being touched

Get to know our butters as a hair treatment. You’d be surprised what they can do—shop now!