What's Good: Shea Moisture
SheaMoisture: Beauty Rooted in Community
SheaMoisture began with the legacy of Sofi Tucker, a pioneering entrepreneur who began selling shea nuts, shea butter, African Black Soap, and her own beauty preparations in Sierra Leone in 1912. More than a century later, that heritage remains central to the brand.
The modern SheaMoisture story took shape in 1991 in Harlem, where the brand began selling handcrafted products on 125th Street. From those beginnings, it grew into a global beauty company while maintaining a particular focus on textured hair, melanin-rich skin, cultural pride, and community.
At the heart of its product philosophy is moisture, nourishment, and purposeful ingredients. SheaMoisture is particularly known for formulations built around shea butter and botanical ingredients, with many products developed specifically to address the needs of textured hair—from cleansing and conditioning to curl definition, hydration, strengthening, and styling. Its portfolio has expanded into skin, body, baby, and men's care as well.
But the brand's philosophy extends beyond the formula. SheaMoisture's Community Commerce model directs proceeds toward community investment, including education, healthcare, safety, fair wages, and entrepreneurial programs. The brand also says its shea butter is sourced through women-led cooperatives in West Africa, connecting the ingredient itself to the communities that produce it.
For customers, that makes SheaMoisture interesting for more than simply being an accessible haircare brand: its products represent a meeting point between traditional beauty knowledge, botanical ingredients, textured-hair expertise, modern formulation, and social purpose.
A note on the brand: SheaMoisture is now part of Unilever, but the brand states that it remains Black-founded and Black-led and continues to center its commitment to the Black community.