Shampoo
Sienna Naturals
Clean haircare designed specifically for textured hair. Black woman-founded.
Ingredients Excellent
9
Ownership
VC-Backed
Ownership Exposé
Who Owns SheaMoisture Now?
SheaMoisture is owned by Unilever. They began acquiring Sundial Brands in 2017. Sundial Brands also includes Nubian Heritage and the Madam C.J. Walker Collection.
A Black-founded heritage brand built to serve an underserved community is now part of a global consumer-goods company.
Ownership investigation
The Ownership Timeline
From a four-generation family trade to a Unilever brand. Here's the full trail.
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–December 2017
Unilever Announces and Completes the Sundial Acquisition
Unilever announces an agreement to acquire Sundial Brands on November 27, 2017, then records completion on December 18. Sundial includes SheaMoisture, Nubian Heritage, Madam C.J. Walker, and nyakio. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Source record
How We Verified the Ownership
The November 27, 2017 acquisition announcement identifies Sundial's brands, says financial terms were not disclosed, and records the New Voices Fund's initial $50 million investment. Unilever's 2017 full-year results record completion on December 18, 2017. Sources checked August 27, 2026.
The takeaway
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 announcement also created the New Voices Fund with an initial $50 million investment and an intention to scale it to $100 million by attracting other investors. That commitment and the ownership change are both part of the record.
The ownership conclusion is straightforward: SheaMoisture is Black-founded, but it is no longer Black-owned or independently owned. That distinction does not, by itself, prove that any specific product formula or safety profile changed.
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.
Any formula-change claim needs evidence from the exact product, variant, market, and label date. This page therefore treats ownership as a corporate fact rather than evidence about current ingredients.
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
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Independent Alternatives
Independent Hair Care Worth Knowing
These hair care brands are founder-owned and independently operated. They make clean formulations without corporate oversight.
Shampoo
Innersense Organic Beauty
Clean haircare that salon professionals actually use. USDA Organic ingredients.
Ingredients Excellent
9
Ownership
Independent
Shampoo
Acure
Performance-driven clean beauty at drugstore prices. 100% vegan.
Ingredients Good
8
Ownership
Independent
Read our Sienna Naturals review, Innersense review, and Acure review, or browse every vetted brand on the full directory.
SheaMoisture Ownership: Common Questions
Did SheaMoisture sell their company?
Yes. Unilever announced an agreement to acquire SheaMoisture's parent company, Sundial Brands, on November 27, 2017 and recorded completion on December 18, 2017. The acquired portfolio included SheaMoisture, Nubian Heritage, Madam C.J. Walker, and nyakio.
How much did SheaMoisture sell for?
Unilever did not disclose the purchase price. The agreement included an initial $50 million investment in the New Voices Fund, with an intention to seek outside investment and scale the fund to $100 million.
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.
Is SheaMoisture still Black-owned and independent?
No. SheaMoisture is owned by Unilever and is no longer Black-owned or independently owned. It remains a Black-founded brand; Unilever completed its acquisition of parent company Sundial Brands in December 2017.
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.