Dear Shea Moisture,
You and I have been rollin’ tight for quite some time. When I first came across you in the sparkling aisles of Target, I was singing to the high heavens. I was thrilled. I was elated.
Yes, I was a little hurt when you stopped only producing products for textured hair (because come on…what’s wrong with ONLY catering to us?) But overall? Do I loves me some Shea Moisture?
However, Lately SM…you’ve been on on my hit list and for several reasons. Okay, maybe they won’t make sense to you but as much as I love you, I figured it would be best if I tell you this now instead of pretending everything is all hunky-dory.
First off…
These fragrances are INTENSE!!
I’m really happy that you finally started removing No Synthetic Fragrances from your packaging. It was a total lie! You weren’t fooling anyone with the “Essential Oil Blend” messaging. Come on. I’m no mixtress, but there is no essential oil that smells like a floral bomb combined with vanilla. Every time I’d see that on a bottle, I was like…
Why so many freaking ingredients?
Are you kidding me with this? You guysssss. Come on! Now I’m not a cosmetic scientist. I barely passed 10th grade Chemistry so take my rant with a grain of NaCl. But why does your toner have almost 20 ingredients in it?
Sooooo many lines! You’re like the MAC Cosmetics of skincare/hair care.
Shea-boo, listen. Old skool Shea Moisture fans remember when Coconut&Hibiscus was your only line. It was cute. Granted the products weren’t ideal for everyone but we loved you just the same. And then you started cranking out more products for very specific needs. Yes! We needed it. And we loved you for it.
Now we’re overwhelmed.
I mean, DANG. Just how many lines do you have? And some are exclusive to certain stores? How are your consumers supposed to know that? I accidentally picked up a product for straight hair because it looked so much like what I used to use. And now I’m confused. My friend swears you have a line for braids. She thinks she saw it but can’t trace it online and hasn’t been able to find it in stores. I mean, what’s going on here? This is wild, don’t you think? Less is more. Focus on what you’ve got, make those great (and available to the masses) and then launch more. Am I making sense?
I don’t want you to think that I don’t love you. I love you so very much. I hope you can read this with love and know that you’ll always have a special place in my heart. And if you’re wondering what my ideal line would be, it’s this…
-Fragrance-free
-Readily available at my local Target
-Few ingredients (can we stick with under 10?)
-Marketed by a woman who looks like me
-Biodegradable packaging
-Packaging provides more info about fair trade efforts
I know, I know. That’s asking for a lot, right? But closed mouths don’t get fed and if you make this happen, you’ll make one fan even happier.
Think on it, will you?
Mucho Love,
I LOVE this post!
Yaaaaasssssssss to all of it!!
I agree with all of this. I have bought Shea Moisture for years. I was so grateful to find the Shea Butter Raw Moisture Retention shampoo and conditioners. It worked so well with my dry and frizzy hair, and I was thrilled to see the line grow (and still am), but I’m overwhelmed now by all they have rolled out. I’ve been on the fence about buying things and the strong scent of many items and the ingredient list where I need a magnifying glass to read it have left me leaving the store empty handed. I wish they’d slow it down a bit.
Sounds like a lot of people think the way we do, Heidi! Here’s hoping Shea Moisture hears us.
As someone that considers themselves a cheerleader for a lot of perfume brands that truly use naturals, it irks me to no end to see brands claim to be “natural”. I’m no Naturals Police, but seriously, it’s so frustrating. I was sooo happy to see Shea Moisture remove that claim. But, now we have to deal with folks thinking fragrances like theirs are “natural” which makes it harder for those that actually produce all-natural fragrances/products to actually compete in this market 🙁
I’m so glad to get your input on this. YES! You are absolutely right. Sadly, it appears that in terms of packaging, here in the U.S., you can call anything natural or organic. It’s SO confusing!
I totally agree with you!
ahintofbeauty.blogspot.com
I have recently been turned off by Shea Moisture as well. I’m overwhelmed by the amount of products and confused about the low and high porosity product they have now. I don’t like a whole lot of ingredients in my products either especially my skin care products (I look at those ingredient list very closely). I have since turned to other products that are for African Americans and actually work better for me and my girls hair. I think I bought into the hype of Shea Moisture and I finally realized that the hair line isn’t really best for my hair. I now use aloe-based products. Thanks for this post !
I’m like you, sister. I thought I really liked their ACV line but meh…it’s only okay and I’ve had much better success with other lines. We’re aloe-based lovers, too. Both my daughter and I need serious hydration and water and aloe get the job done!
Omg I found your article looking for answers about the fragrance in Shea Moisture’products. I recently bought several bottles of a frankincense and myrrh lotion. I was stoked because they were on sale and I have some seriously dry skin. One application was overwhelming. I couldn’t wait to get home and wash it off. There was no possible way that product is only fragranced with EOs. I returned the lot.
So what is the deal? Did they publicly come clean about the fragrance BS or just quietly remove the claim from their packaging? Thanks! I enjoy your writing xo
I have nooooo idea if they ever came clean about the use of fragrances or not.