It seems like Pepsi isn’t the only company that has released some ill-advised ads this year. Shea Moisture released a new ad yesterday that sparked outrage in the natural hair community.
The commercial, which you can see above, shows three women with non-kinky hair textures (two of whom are white) speak on the topic of learning to love their hair. The controversy comes from the fact that the ad focused the majority of its time on several white women, including a blonde woman who doesn’t “know what to do” with her hair.
This raised several questions to the black-owned natural hair and beauty line, on their loyalty to their long time kinky-haired consumers
Shea Moisture is a company started by Liberians and inspired by a woman from Sierra Leone. Shea butter, itself has long been used for hair-related products, particularly among Africans and African-Americans.
Earlier this month, Shea Moisture launched their #BreakTheWalls campaign, which was geared towards dismantling the segregation of beauty aisles. Products made specifically for black hair are often pushed into the “Ethnic” section of department stores, isolated from mainstream products that are used for contrasting hair textures. In the commercial for Shea’s new movement, a black woman asks: “Is ethnic, not beautiful?”
So, imagine the anger that their consumers now have when they see an ad that excludes them. As a black woman with thick kinky curls, learning to embrace your hair for what it is, takes time. Everything about society’s beauty standards forces women with hair like mine to get looser curls or straighten their hair. Brands like Shea Moisture have become the go-to for black women who wanted to embrace their natural kinks and coils because not many products accommodated “black hair.”
After the uproar that took social media yesterday, Shea Moisture within hours issued an apology.
“Wow, okay – so guys, listen, we really f-ed this one up. Please know that our intention was not – and would never be – to disrespect our community, and as such, we are pulling this piece immediately because it does not represent what we intended to communicate. You guys know that we have always stood for inclusion in beauty and have always fought for our community and given them credit for not just building our business but for shifting the beauty landscape. So, the feedback we are seeing here brings to light a very important point. While this campaign included several different videos showing different ethnicities and hair types to demonstrate the breadth and depth of each individual’s hair journey, we must absolutely ensure moving forward that our community is well-represented in each one so that the women who have led this movement never feel that their hair journey is minimized in any way. We are keenly aware of the journey that WOC face – and our work will continue to serve as the inspiration for work like the Perception Institute’s Good Hair Study/Implicit Association Test that suggests that a majority of people, regardless of race and gender, hold some bias towards women of color based on their textured or natural hair. So, you’re right. We are different – and we should know better”
Shea Moisture released another ad that featured black women who spoke on the topic. The second ad features models and influencers with natural styles like dreadlocks, coils, and afros. Check it out below:
.@SheaMoisture helped me break free from hair hate and taught me how to love my #naturalhair. #EverybodyGetsLove pic.twitter.com/FDWxis3tFu
— KinkyCurlyCoilyMe (@BlakIzBeautyful) April 24, 2017
