This article contains affiliate links; if you click such a link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission.Law Roach’s Newest Title? The Undisputed King of the Silk Press

Nerisha PenroseFri, March 13, 2026 at 5:41 PM UTC

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Law Roach Talks SheaMoisture Silk Press CampaignSheaMoisture

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Sizzling, steaming hot comb. Sleek roots cascading into a slight wave, a bump at the ends, or pin-straight lengths. Painful hairpins anchoring a tightly brushed doobie wrap. For those who partake, even occasionally, the image is unmistakable: a silk press.

The style’s cultural significance has stretched across generations, with its genesis in the kitchen with the inevitable refrain of “ouch,” before morphing into new iterations—and new choruses. “Bust down, middle part, and I got it black” wasn’t merely a random mélange of words rapper Sexyy Red strung together, but a time-honored descriptor of the sleek style that’s become quintessential for Black women ordering the smoothest option on the menu.

Now, with its latest launch, SheaMoisture adds another jingle to the canon: “Silk Press in a Bottle makes straightening hair easi…er,” sung by the patron saint of the hairstyle himself, Law Roach.

Silk Press in a Bottle is SheaMoisture’s response to a different song, one of lament and disappointment from those with curly, textured strands who desire sleekness that humidity and frizz thwart. Never thought you could protect and strengthen your bonds while you heat-style? The formula doubles as a heat protectant and bond treatment, powered by amla oil and plant-derived straightening actives to reduce frizz, fortify strands, and minimize reversion. If anyone’s akin to such precision and slick, it’s the image architect who’s most recognizable for his “buss down middle part” in jet black and the “Silk Inquirer” of the campaign. “I heard it’s some girls who think they got a better silk press than me. That’s impossible, so let’s find out who they are and where they’re at,” he quips to the host in one of the campaign visuals. We meet in the courtroom for a “press conference,” in which Roach interrogates a panel of ladies (Love Island’s Serena Page, Olympic gold medalist Masai Russell, and lifestyle creators Kirah Ominique and Clark Peoples) about how they achieved a flawless, silky finish.

Ahead, we press Law Roach on his SheaMoisture campaign, stepping into his other public personas, and the meaning of signature style.

We’re so used to seeing Law Roach, the image architect, but this SheaMoisture campaign showed us a different, more comedic side to you.

The thing is, I have so many lives. I have a career where I work with the biggest stars in the world, and when I’m doing that work, I’m quiet. Then, I have myself as talent and a personality, which is fairly new in a way. I think I weave in and out of both so frequently that I don’t pay attention. I just sat front row at [Louis] Vuitton. Now, I’m hopping on a plane to come to New York to film Project Runway next to your editor-in-chief [Nina Garcia]. I’m happy that I’m hopefully making you laugh and bringing some joy through both careers.

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Let’s go back a bit. For so many Black people, haircare started in the kitchen. When did your relationship with hair begin?

Exactly what you said—it’s the memory of my grandmother rolling her hair on Saturday night before getting ready for church. It’s the memory of my sisters in the kitchen with the pressing comb for picture day or on Easter. And you have to be of the culture to understand [these memories] and their nuances. Those shared experiences are what made me want to be part of this campaign because, culturally, it means something. If you don’t get it, you’ll watch it and be like, “Oh, it’s just a silk press.” But it’s so much more behind that; it’s so much more of what we have to go through to get our hair to look like that—the reasons we do it, the reasons we started doing it.

I got waves, a deep wave today, but [a silk press] is my signature. I’m proud of it because it helps people identify me. I don’t think I started it, but I hope I help other people and other men who decide to try different hairstyles feel comfortable doing so.

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It’s interesting that even as a stylist whose job it is to keep your clients’ looks fresh and inventive, you still value a signature.

Because there’s nothing wrong with having a signature. I worked with Ariana Grande when she was in her A-line skirt, tall-boot, high-ponytail era, and it was my job to protect that and elevate it without changing it. Back in the day, when I did the Sweetener Tour and the Dangerous Woman Tour, I would have been upset if I had come to that tour and didn’t see that ponytail—that ponytail was just as important as the music. So I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a signature and figuring out how to elevate it, while also not really disrupting how people see you or how they love you. If you think of people like Goldie Hawn, she wore the same hairstyle for 60 years. Zendaya has a signature. It’s not as pronounced, but there are signature things. Like she has a leg out on that carpet that she’s perfected, that we’ve come to know. I think when you’re public-facing, you don’t necessarily owe people something—or anything. But if you give them something consistent, people appreciate that.

SheaMoistureOne word that anchors the entire point you made earlier was protection, and this product aligns with that. You can morph and whip a silk press into so many different styles while protecting it.

SheaMoisture created a product that gives you that look without damaging or ruining your hair or your curl pattern. My stylist actually did my hair for the campaign, and when he got the product in his hands and started using it—I don’t know if you noticed in the visuals—but my hair was so fucking beautiful. It was straight, it was just so shiny, but it had that bounce. It was moving! We felt and saw the difference.

What about this moment in your life and career made partnering with SheaMoisture feel like the right fit?

I love that they presented this campaign as something that wasn’t just about me; instead, I got to be part of this group with these beautiful, successful Black women. I’ve never done anything like that. For me, being a co-star in this ensemble felt really different and new. I’ve always been familiar with SheaMoisture. Even with the [“Silk Press in a Bottle” jingle], I wanted to be like the girl [content creator @romeosshow] who made the Dr Pepper song. I’m just fun, kind of an improv girly, so I wanted to be able to say whatever comes to my mind and make things up. And just working with a team that allows you to do that, working with a brand that sees you—although they put me in a collective—as an individual, felt like community.

You say in one of the campaign visuals, “I heard it’s some people who said that they have a better silk press than me.” What celebrities come to mind when you think of a really bomb silk press?

Kimora Lee Simmons. One of my clients, Ryan Destiny, has beautiful hair. But I think for me, it’s Kimora. She’s been doing that for years, since the Baby Phat era. She was wearing a buss down before people were calling it a buss down. Queen Latifah, too, that hair, and it’s always healthy. Still, I’m the undisputed king. Nobody wants to smoke with this hair. Nobody.

A hairstyle is as integral to a look as the clothing. What silk press styles would you pair for, say, a wedding?

Well, I’m not going to a wedding anytime soon, if that’s what you’re asking.

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