Social media has struck again when it comes to letting companies know exactly how they feel and this time, they held no punches. So who's the latest company under scrutiny? None other than what some may consider the face of the new wave of natural hair movement, Shea Moisture.

Last Monday, the well-known cosmetic company released a commercial that received an enormous amount of backlash from users on social media. The 60-second long commercial depicts multiple women discussing the "hair hate" they've gone through in their lives, and how Shea Moisture has helped them to combat their insecurities and feel better about their hair.

So what's the issue with this? A hair company releases a commercial with various women discussing how said hair company has changed their lives. Sounds normal right? Almost cliche? Though the concept of the commercial isn't anything new, it certainly isn't what's causing the excessive amount of backlash. What's causing the backlash isn't the concept of the commercial, it's the people used in it.

You see, you would think that for a hair company that is seen as the face of the black natural hair movement, a company that gets most of its income from black women with thick, super curly, super kinky hair, that these women would be depicted in the commercial. But low and behold, they are not.

No, instead, the commercial starts off with a lighter skinned black woman talking about how she used to hate her hair. Her curls are visibly loose, the kind of curls that most black children are told is "good hair." The curls you can see. The curls that are long, that are bouncy, the curls everyone wants. She discusses how people used to hate her for her hair, throw things in it so it would get stuck. And initially, there's nothing wrong with this, after all, she is a black woman and I'm sure plenty of women with hair like hers do contribute to Shea Moisture's sales.

But as the commercial goes on, it becomes clear that Shea Moisture has no interest in actually depicting the people who use their products. All of the people talking about their "hair hate" after this are white. Red heads discuss how they dyed their hair because they hated their hair color. And the commercial continues with these white women and the curly haired light skinned black girl talking about their hair hate for the rest of the 60 seconds, ending with a montage of people who presumably use Shea Moisture.

Only then, for a split second, do we see some faces that look similar to the people you would see purchasing these products in the tiny "ethnic" aisle in the corner of your local drug store. Because yes, these products are found in the infamous ethic aisle, in case you didn't know.

So why is this causing so much backlash? Maybe white women do use Shea Moisture, maybe it has changed their lives. And that's what the commercial showed. But here's the thing: white women did not make Shea Moisture. Without black women, black women with 4c hair, black women with skin darker than a paper bag, black women with a curl pattern can't visibly see, Shea Moisture wouldn't be half the company it is today. White women didn't start a new hair movement and practically make Shea Moisture the face of it. So why do they get to be the face of something black women built, when they're already the face of everything else?

Maybe the company wants to expand its clientele to people of other races. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as you don't do it to the detriment of the very people that made you. But even if Shea Moisture wanted to expand their client base, there was no reason to center white people when they're already the center of everything.

When white companies want to expand to black people, they add a token black person, a person to say, "Hey look, we included you. Shut up and buy our product now." But when a black brand wants to expand itself, it makes white the center, catering to their privilege and coddling their fragile egos.

So, Shea Moisture, expand if you want. But just know that your company was built on the backs of black women who have spent their lives in the margins. Built on the backs of black women who have spent their lives as the other. And we will not let you push us back into the margins after we made your company what it is. You will not make us the other on something we helped make.

Because, whether you like it or not, black women made Shea Moisture what it is. And whatever black women make, we can take right back.