Shampoo
Sienna Naturals
Clean haircare designed specifically for textured hair. Black woman-founded.
Ingredients Excellent
9
Independence Excellent
9
Ownership Expose
Who Owns SheaMoisture Now?
Owned by
Unilever, since its 2017 acquisition of Sundial Brands. No longer Black-owned or independent.
SheaMoisture is owned by Unilever. They acquired Sundial Brands, which also includes Nubian Heritage and the Madam C.J. Walker Collection, beginning in 2017.
A brand born from a family's Sierra Leonean heritage, built to serve the Black community, now managed by a $60 billion multinational.
The Ownership Timeline
1991
Sundial Brands Founded
Richelieu Dennis, Nyema Tubman, and Mary Dennis found Sundial Brands, selling shea butter products on the streets of New York City. The company is rooted in the Dennis family's shea butter trade in Sierra Leone, spanning four generations. SheaMoisture becomes the flagship brand, serving the Black community with natural hair and skin care.
1991–2017
Becomes a Cultural Institution
SheaMoisture grows into one of the most beloved personal care brands in the Black community. The products, built on shea butter, coconut oil, and African botanicals, become cultural staples for natural hair care. The brand expands from corner stores to nationwide retail while maintaining its community focus.
November 2017
Unilever Announces Acquisition of Sundial Brands
Unilever announces the acquisition of Sundial Brands, which includes SheaMoisture, Nubian Heritage, and Madam C.J. Walker Collection. Richelieu Dennis initially stays on and creates the New Voices Fund to invest in women of color entrepreneurs. The community reaction is deeply mixed.
2020
Deal Fully Closes Under Unilever
The acquisition fully closes. SheaMoisture, Nubian Heritage, and the Madam C.J. Walker Collection are now wholly owned Unilever subsidiaries. The brands sit alongside Dove, Axe, TRESemme, and Suave in Unilever's hair care portfolio.
2024
Richelieu Dennis No Longer Involved
Richelieu Dennis is no longer involved with Sundial Brands or SheaMoisture. The brand that was born from a family's Sierra Leonean heritage and built to serve the Black community is now managed entirely by Unilever's corporate structure.
What This Means for You
SheaMoisture's story is different from the other brands on this page, and it deserves to be told honestly. This wasn't a two-year-old DTC brand that got flipped for a quick payday. SheaMoisture was a 26-year-old cultural institution when Unilever acquired it.
Richelieu Dennis built Sundial Brands from a street vendor operation into a company that served a community that mainstream beauty had ignored for decades. SheaMoisture became more than a product. It was a symbol of Black entrepreneurship and self-care. The products were formulated with African botanicals and shea butter traditions passed down through generations.
The acquisition was controversial within the community SheaMoisture served. Some saw it as a betrayal. Others noted that Dennis used the acquisition to create the New Voices Fund, a $100 million commitment to invest in women of color entrepreneurs. That matters. The intention was to turn the acquisition into community reinvestment.
But intentions don't change ownership structures. In 2024, Richelieu Dennis is no longer involved. SheaMoisture is now managed by Unilever's corporate structure, the same company that also manages Dove, Axe, and TRESemme. The brand sits in a portfolio designed to capture market share across every demographic, not to serve a specific community.
SheaMoisture isn't the only "natural" hair brand under Unilever, either. Its sister brands from the same Sundial deal, Nubian Heritage and the Madam C.J. Walker Collection, went to Unilever in the same transaction, and Living Proof sits in that portfolio too. We mapped the whole thing in your "natural" shampoo is owned by Unilever, and you can see who's actually still independent in our shampoo and conditioner reviews.
The formulas have also evolved. Some longtime users report changes in texture, scent, and performance since the acquisition. Whether those changes are real reformulations or batch variations is debated, but the concern is understandable when a community brand is now managed by a corporation optimizing for global supply chain efficiency.
We respect what SheaMoisture was. We're honest about what it is now.
Decide for yourself
Curious what buyers are saying?
We report who owns SheaMoisture — whether that changes your buying decision is up to you. The product reviews tell the rest of the story.
See SheaMoisture reviews on Amazon
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Independent Alternatives
Independent Hair Care Worth Knowing
These hair care brands are founder-owned and independently operated. They make clean formulations without corporate oversight.
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Innersense Organic Beauty
Clean haircare that salon professionals actually use. USDA Organic ingredients.
Ingredients Excellent
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Independence Excellent
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Ingredients Good
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Read our Sienna Naturals review, Innersense review, and Acure review, or browse every vetted brand on the full list.
SheaMoisture Ownership: Common Questions
Did SheaMoisture sell their company?
Yes. SheaMoisture's parent company, Sundial Brands, was sold to Unilever in a deal announced in November 2017 that fully closed in 2020. The sale included SheaMoisture along with sister brands Nubian Heritage and the Madam C.J. Walker Collection. SheaMoisture is now a wholly owned Unilever brand, sitting in the same portfolio as Dove, Axe, TRESemme, and Suave.
How much did SheaMoisture sell for?
Unilever never disclosed the official price for Sundial Brands. Industry reporting at the time estimated the deal at roughly $1.2 to $1.6 billion, based on Sundial's reported revenue of around $240 million. As part of the agreement, Unilever and Sundial also launched the New Voices Fund, starting with a $50 million investment to back women of color entrepreneurs.
Who founded SheaMoisture?
SheaMoisture was founded in 1991 by Richelieu Dennis, along with Nyema Tubman and his mother, Mary Dennis, under the company Sundial Brands. The recipes came from the Dennis family's shea butter trade in Sierra Leone, which spanned four generations. Richelieu Dennis stayed on after the 2017 Unilever acquisition but was no longer involved by 2024.
Is SheaMoisture still Black-owned and independent?
No. SheaMoisture is owned by Unilever, a multinational corporation, and is no longer Black-owned or independent. It was a Black-founded, independent brand from 1991 until the 2017 Sundial Brands acquisition. Founder Richelieu Dennis used the sale to create the New Voices Fund for women of color entrepreneurs, but by 2024 he was no longer involved with the brand, which is now managed entirely within Unilever's corporate structure.
What is Sundial Brands?
Sundial Brands is the parent company founded in 1991 that owned SheaMoisture, Nubian Heritage, and the Madam C.J. Walker Collection. Unilever acquired Sundial Brands starting in 2017, so all three brands now belong to Unilever. When people ask who owns SheaMoisture, the corporate answer is Unilever, by way of its purchase of Sundial Brands.