Shea Moisture

Shea Moisture is an American personal care company that focuses on shampoo, conditioner and body wash. It is owned by Unilever.

Shea Moisture
Variety of SheaMoisture products
Product typePersonal care
OwnerUnilever
CountryUnited States of America
Introduced1991
MarketsInternational
Previous ownersNyema Tubman, Richelieu Dennis, and Mary Dennis
Websitewww.sheamoisture.com

History

The company was founded in Harlem in 1991 by Liberians Nyema Tubman and Richelieu Dennis (and his mother Mary Dennis), who were part of the Liberian Diaspora to the United States. The company was inspired by Dennis' Sierra Leonean grandmother, Sofi Tucker, who sold shea butter at a village market in Bonthe, Sierra Leone in 1912.[1][2][3]

In 2017, Unilever announced its intent to acquire Shea Moisture.[4] In 2018, Davina Bennett (Miss Jamaica Universe 2017) was contracted as "the face of Shea Moisture", representing the company's Black Castor Oil product line.[5]

Campaigns

In April 2016, the company launched the "#BreaktheWalls" campaign, which promoted more ethnic inclusion and empowerment.[6] The next year, the company released another commercial with the message "Break free from hair hate", featuring mostly white women and one racially ambiguous woman. The commercial generated controversy for barely featuring the brand's original customer base, which were black women with diverse hair textures, including kinky and curly. The company issued an apology, saying that they "really f-ed this one up".[6][7][8]

Awards

In 2015 and 2016, Shea Moisture was voted Overall Favorite Brand in Naturally Curly's annual Best of the Best survey.[9]

For the company's national and international experience in sustainable development, and eco-friendly products, the Environment Possibility Award conferred the "Award of Earth Defender" to Shea Moisture in 2020.[10]

References
  1. Piepenburg, Erik (23 April 2015). "'Bad Jews' and Its Hair Club for Women". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  2. Amber Kallor (2015-03-31). "Long Hair, Don't Care: Beyoncé, Madonna, Ciara, and More Take Their Tresses to Extremes". Style. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  3. Ireoluwa Ajayi (2015-03-27). "Natural hair care - The Rabbit Newspaper". The Rabbit Newspaper. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  4. Hazelwood, Janell (November 27, 2017). "UNILEVER ACQUIRES SUNDIAL BRANDS, OWNER OF SHEAMOISTURE, FOR AN UNDISCLOSED AMOUNT". Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  5. Hudson, Tanay (25 Mar 2018). "Miss Jamaica Davina Bennett is now the face of Shea Moisture". MadameNoire. Retrieved 6 Apr 2018.
  6. Williams, Jancie (April 25, 2017). "Shea Moisture just pissed off the people who've been buying their products from the start". Newsweek. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  7. Harris, Chevonne (April 26, 2017). "Down Goes Frazier And Down Goes SheaMoisture". Huffington Post. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  8. "SheaMoisture Apologizes for, Pulls Controversial Ad: 'We Really F--ked This One Up'". People. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  9. "The Most Popular Curly Hair Products of 2016". Naturally Curly. May 2, 2016.
  10. "RAW SHEA BUTTER BODY WASH won the 2020 Award of Earth Defender". A.A. Environment Possibility Award. Retrieved 2020-12-27.


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