Shea Moisture

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.{{Cite web| title = 'Bad Jews' and Its Hair Club for Women| last = Piepenburg | first = Erik| work = New York Times| date = 23 April 2015| access-date = 2015-04-23| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/theater/bad-jews-and-its-hair-club-for-women.html?_r=0}}{{Cite web| title = Long Hair, Don't Care: Beyoncé, Madonna, Ciara, and More Take Their Tresses to Extremes| author = Amber Kallor| work = Style| date = 2015-03-31| access-date = 2015-04-23| url = http://www.style.com/beauty/hair/2015/how-to-care-for-long-hair-ciara-beyonce-madonna}}{{Cite web| title = Natural hair care - The Rabbit Newspaper| author = Ireoluwa Ajayi| work = The Rabbit Newspaper| date = 2015-03-27| access-date = 2015-04-23| url = http://therabbitnewspaper.com/2015/03/natural-hair-care/}}

In 2017, Unilever announced its intent to acquire Shea Moisture.{{cite web |last1=Hazelwood |first1=Janell |title=UNILEVER ACQUIRES SUNDIAL BRANDS, OWNER OF SHEAMOISTURE, FOR AN UNDISCLOSED AMOUNT |url=https://www.blackenterprise.com/unilever-acquires-sundial-brands-owner-of-sheamoisture-in-for-undisclosed-amount |access-date=17 September 2018 |date=November 27, 2017}} 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.{{cite news |last=Hudson |first= Tanay|date=25 Mar 2018 |title= Miss Jamaica Davina Bennett is now the face of Shea Moisture|url=http://madamenoire.com/1019141/davina-bennett-shea-moisture/ |work=MadameNoire |access-date= 6 Apr 2018}}

In April 2016, the company launched the "#BreaktheWalls" campaign, which promoted more ethnic inclusion and empowerment.{{cite news|last1=Williams|first1=Jancie|title=Shea Moisture just pissed off the people who've been buying their products from the start|url=http://www.newsweek.com/shea-moisture-products-commerical-owners-shampoo-589825|access-date=May 25, 2017|work=Newsweek|date=April 25, 2017|language=en}} 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".{{cite news|last1=Harris|first1=Chevonne|title=Down Goes Frazier And Down Goes SheaMoisture|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/down-goes-frazier-and-down-goes-shea-moisture_us_5900e767e4b00acb75f18413|access-date=May 25, 2017|work=Huffington Post|date=April 26, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/style/shea-moisture-pulls-controversial-ad/|title=SheaMoisture Apologizes for, Pulls Controversial Ad: 'We Really F--ked This One Up'|website=People|language=en|access-date=2019-05-16}}

In 2015 and 2016, Shea Moisture was voted Overall Favorite Brand in Naturally Curly's annual Best of the Best survey.{{cite web |website=Naturally Curly |title=The Most Popular Curly Hair Products of 2016 |date=May 2, 2016 |url=http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-products/the-most-popular-curly-hair-products-of-2016-hi/ }}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ep-a.org/medal-2021/en/sheamoisture-raw-shea-butter-body-wash|title=RAW SHEA BUTTER BODY WASH won the 2020 Award of Earth Defender|website=A.A. Environment Possibility Award|language=en-US|access-date=2020-12-27}}

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• {{Official website|http://www.sheamoisture.com/}}

Category:Personal care brands

Category:Shampoo brands

Category:Products introduced in 1991

Category:1991 establishments in New York City

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