Black Women Are Threatening To Boycott This Major Black-Owned Haircare Brand And Dragging Them For FILTH

*UPDATE*

SheaMoisture has issued an apology. Read about it HERE.

I’m going to preface this post by stating that I have spent the last 10+ years stanning for SheaMoisture.  I’ve been using their products back when the only place you could find these products were in Duane Reade stores in New York, followed by Walgreens, and then Target.

And truth? I probably won’t be joining the boycott. The SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter Extra-Moisture Detangler is staple in my household and I ain’t finna stop using it no time soon. Also, I’ve worked with the brand on several paid sponsorships here on my blog and Youtube channel, because I legitimately buy the products, and love all of the work they do to give back to the community. I believe that they can and will do better. If they don’t I may change my tune, but for now I’m keeping hope alive.

All that being said, last year the brand launched their Break The Barriers campaign to highlight racial divides in beauty aisles. They started selling their products in the general hair care isle instead of “ethnic hair sections,” in a move to (I’m assuming) promote inclusivity. This short video sums it all up:

In 2015, the brand announced that they brought on an a minority, non-control investor in their company. Since then, we’ve seen the brand being sold in pretty much every major retailer and their advertising has reflected the change. It appears they are trying to to broaden their audience.  Read the 2015 announcement from the owners here:

Fast forward to a few days ago, SheaMoisture released their latest advertising video, and let’s just say, folks are none too pleased. Watch it here:

or Here (in the event the original video is pulled):

Here are some of the comments:

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I am not mad at SheaMoisture for doing things that will help take their brand to the next level. We all like money. What’s disappointing here is that in a move to include other races, they have excluded the very people who helped grow the brand from the gitty-up. Also, the women featured in this video, no doubt, have never lost a job or been severely discriminated against because of their hair, so ain’t nobody believing what they are trying to sell in this video.

The worst thing you can do, as a brand, is to have your consumers think that you think they are stupid. We are not stupid.

I’m holding out hope they they pull this video, issue an apology, and do better.

Share your thoughts below!

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33 Comments

  1. Bridgette says:

    Oh helllllll no!!!! Are you serious??? Y’all have seriously messed up. I’ll make my own hair care line heck I have been since before y’all were even a thought. This is upsetting on all levels. Y’all didn’t even put Naptual85 back in the commercial where’s our girl at???? Why y’all have to be so white washed all of a sudden.

  2. Maryam Aisha says:

    So what’s this supposed to be? A crossover strategy? At the end of the day, it’s still a business and it’s all about economics. However, the loyalty that got them there to even have an option for crossover isn’t present! I’m pretty sure this message is echoing that of many others not happy about the images in the commercial ad. For us and by us means nothing if it comes down to this.

  3. Marilyn Jones says:

    Shea Moisture what is your problem???? Clearly your advertising department didn’t think this one through! I suggest you pull this video ASAP before you lose a lot of valuable customers! If you INTEND to REPRESENT ALL of your clientele, then do so by showing ladies with ALL types of hair, not just to those you are trying to attract as customers!

  4. Ravis McNeal says:

    A couple of months ago this video probably would have upset me. However, things have changed. My mother recently moved in with me which means she, myself and my daughter share a bathroom. My mother is Irish and 60 years old, I am biracial 50/50 African American/Irish 37 uears old and my daughter is biracial 75/25 African American/Irish 17 years old. My daughter and I have been using Shea Moisture products for years. As you can imagine all 3 of us have very different types of hair from one another. All that to say one day my mother ran out of shampoo and since she had no alternative she used one of our Shea Moisture shampoos. She nearly came out of the bathroom singing. She loved it, she noticed a change in her hair immediately and is now a new member of the Shea Moisture family. Hell, that commercial could have been done just using the women in my house.

  5. Latrina Denson says:

    This commercial is soooo disappointing on so many levels. Like you I love these products and was excited when they expanded because I live in a community with very little places to purchase ethnic hair products.
    I’m also the first to say make your money but you never do it by ignoring the community which brought you to this point.
    Please replace this video at once.
    Such a bad image for my little girl who lives for thee products and I have encouraged to embrace her natural hair.

  6. Bella Sankofa says:

    Oh well. I guess she’s moisture goes to the left with carols daughter. I will be lending my natural support to my 1st natural I learned the game from on YouTube Kimmaytube and her luvnaturals.com line and he diy I learn from naptural85.

  7. Denise LeGree says:

    Oh hell naw! When do white women have problem hair or have they ever been discriminated against because of their hair. For real Shea Mositure you out these white chicks in the majority of the video and all of us in the rear! Shit, I can give Hicks or uncle funky’s daughter my money. I’m new to the natural hair game but I’m not hearing this cheap. This reminds me of the WB, yes the television station that started with all of the black shows to get them off the ground and them canceled each one. Well you can be cancelled too! You’re not any better than the Asian owned beauty supply that take all of the black dollars for that fake ass hair and then disrespect a woman because you think top she’s stealing. I’m keeping my eye on this situation and it beyptter change or I’m out). BELIEVE THAT!!!!

  8. Yet another example showing that when black people are inclusive of everyone we’re inevitably forgotten.

  9. Ol Alazian says:

    There are too many typos in this article for you to be a professional.

    1. Fuck you. No typos there, huh?

      1. Now…that was the unexpected chuckle that I needed this morning.

  10. Chantelle says:

    I will never believe that these products are remotely any good for white people’s hair… Works wonders for my daughter but not me. Sometimes its okay to have something that is not for everyone. I still don’t understand the way they had the black girl speaking as if she was a fruit loop and I will never understand why they put the white people in the commercial… Its not for them..

  11. Stephanie says:

    I am a Shea customer and didn’t see anything wrong with the video. I have white friends who use this product and swear by it. I don’t think they are selling us out. The goal of any company is to make a profit and to expand your customer base. We as a people want to be included and not excluded but we can not afford to do to others what’s been done to us.

  12. Teressa Thompson says:

    How can I tell my daughter that this is a product for her hair if we are not even represented in the advertising? For years we have purchased a product because we believed it was for our hair and that it worked. I guess I’m going to create my own because this product is fir white and mixed girls having bad hair days. Not for my hair anymore. Thanks shea butter.

  13. Hot dog. I’m shocked really but not very surprised
    I’ve started scaling back in their products anyway because I find they keep changing the formulas.

  14. Tee Carter says:

    What a shame, from the looks of the ad, this brand is not for me nor my daughter. Why do we always feel the need to include everyone? Some things can be reserved for us. If the product is universal, let it speak for itself.

  15. Black women are the ones who purchased your product, we’re the ones who spread the word about your product through word of mouth when you couldn’t afford to have a commercial… SMH you couldn’t even put a Black woman in your commercial all I saw in the commercial were white chicks and a biracial chick…. Shame on you I will now spread the word and not purchase your product just like I stopped buying Carols Daughter products….,,, NEXT?

  16. Stephanie says:

    First I’m not going to stop using SheaMoisture for a mistake they made that’s just dumb if it works wonderful with your hair thwn why stop using it over a mistake…y’all acting like it’s their 20th commercial made like this and it’s not…they even apologized for it and yet still getting ridiculed for it like really….at least give them time to fix their mistake before y’all try to boycott them…I swear y’all act like companies never made a mistake and they’re going to make mistakes why because they are ran by people and people are humans who makes mistakes…so I definitely won’t be joining the boycott movement because everyone deserves a second chance and a chance to redeem themselves….I’m pretty sure if most of y’all was boycotted for y’all mistakes it wouldn’t be anymore “you”

  17. Monique Coleman says:

    I didn’t see diversity I seen white and half white the truth is that we come in all shades,sizes,hair color and textures why not show that ?

  18. I’ll admit it. I feel slighted…But, I forgive them. Their apology seemed sincere and they’ve pulled the ad. That’s enough for me. I’m not going to boycott a successful black-owned business because they lost their minds for a moment. Plus…I need to tame these locs. To each, his own but really…we really need to learn how to support each other in the good and the bad. #justmyopinion #findsomesistasnexttime #callme #imavailable

  19. Being that you grew your company to this point off Black women’s hair, why isn’t there a Black woman in the commercial? As much hate as natural African hair and locs are getting now days and you fill your commercials with White women…REALLY! WOW!

  20. Nofret Iyneferti says:

    Totally disappointed….pulling this video or an apology won’t do anything for me…will not support this company ever again since it felt comfortable smacking us black women in the face….

  21. Shea Moisture really tried it with this one. I can only pray that they get it together and remember their roots. I don’t think it was ever a white and black situation but more-so lack of representation. They’re so focused on pushing the product to “everybody” that they forget to include their core audience. & sticking 1 or 2 4c naturals amongst dozens of redheads and loose curly girls in the other series of videos didn’t cut it for me.

  22. I read about this a week ago or so. It’s such a shame that Shea totally missed the mark like this but I’m glad to see they’re trying to make amends.

  23. SheaMoisture why? why? why? Now you have driven your most faithful clients away with this commercial. I used your product faithfully. Now I am done. No more of my dollars will be spent with your company.

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