Black women across the country are in outrage at the newly released Shea Moisture advertisement. The video included an array of Caucasian hair types and a light skin woman speaking how Shea Moisture products have restored their faith in their hair; my personal favorite being a red head speaking on the adversity that accompanies her cherry colored locks. However, the video failed to represent the women who actually support their products: kinky haired black women.
For years black women have roamed the aisles of supermarkets longing for hair products that catered to our tresses, and in the midst of endless bottles of white haircare products, Shea Moisture provided an asylum. The brightly colored bottles stand proudly in “ethnic” beauty aisles every where, and the company has garnered the majority of its success from the pockets of black women.
In its latest advertisement video, Shea Moisture chose to underrepresent the demographic that built them. Yet again, black women are the back bone behind a movement and in exchange, are abandoned.
Not only has Shea Moisture undermined our support, but they have also reflected the lack of respect and faith put into black buyers. Black people can never have anything for themselves because companies consistently disregard the gravity of the black dollar, and devalue our support. Shea Moisture has sold their souls and gone “all hair matters” in order to increase profits, and in doing so have neglected to include the women whose money has kept them afloat all these years. If our money isn’t appreciated, we can take it elsewhere.
