Shea Moisture accused of alienating black women in new ad

By 
·April 24, 2017

Haircare company Shea Moisture is under fire after releasing a promo video about women hating their hair who, thanks to their products, have learned to love their natural tresses. But its the use of white women in the ad that has customers of the black-owned business pretty vexed.

The ad begins with a black woman opening up about the bullying she experienced due to her natural, curly hair.

“I hated my hair because it’s like oh I have this. And like…people make fun of me for it,” she said.

The video quickly transitions to a white woman admitting she “didn’t know what to do” with her long sandy blonde hair, and another red-haired white woman expressing that she used to dye her hair “platinum blonde.”

While the video campaign was supposed advocate loving your hair — and generating more consumer interest — it did quite the opposite, judging from reactions online. On Twitter, many users slammed Shea Moisture for attempting to “diversify” its clientele, but in the process alienating what many argue is the company’s core consumer base: black women.

Check out some of the feedback below.

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