Back in 2008 I started a blog called Black Girl with Long Hair to provide inspiration and education for women like me, who had abandoned hair straightening chemicals and were discovering their natural texture for the first time.
In the process of blogging, I discovered shea, mango and cocoa butter and became absolutely smitten. Shea, mango and cocoa butter have a long list of health and beauty benefits for hair and skin — from providing deep moisture to boosting collagen production and healing scars. I noticed that my readers complained about lack of access to these ingredients. Shea, cocoa and mango butter are contained in many beauty formulations, but they’re often combined with synthetic ingredients and harsh chemicals that degrade their quality and effectiveness.
So in November 2014 I launched BGLH Marketplace, a companion to the BGLH blog, and began selling raw shea butter. I soon got the idea to turn BGLH Marketplace into an “ice cream shop for the body” — where customers could choose from a variety of all-natural whipped and scented mango, shea, and cocoa butters to incorporate into their skin and hair routine. The goal was to make the butters as fragrant, rich, and absorbent as possible.
I got really into it, studying pastry techniques and learning how to use commercial grade mixers to whip the butters to a soft and fluffy consistency.
I carried over the “Black is Beautiful” tagline from my blog because, at the time, I was convinced that BGLH Marketplace would remain a small companion piece to the blog.
How wrong I was, lol.
BGLH Marketplace took off and within 4 years of its launch, I shuttered the blog to focus all my attention on whipping butter for an ever-increasing base of customers.
Today, BGLH Marketplace has served more than 55,000 people in 6 different countries. The products have been featured in Elle Magazine, Ebony Magazine and on NBC News. They’ve been requested by YouTube and PayPal as gifts for private corporate events. But, most importantly, they’ve become a safe, clean and effective alternative to chemicalized lotions. And that is the biggest achievement of all.
