Sunsilk Afro in South Africa

The launch of Sunsilk Afro in the South African market in 2002 was one of the biggest and most challenging projects that Unilever has ever undertaken. Although Unilever is very strong in every other personal grooming category, we had no presence whatsoever in the black haircare sector.

The market was saturated and highly fragmented. There were over 230 brands already on the shelves. Most South African women were under the spell of the popular Afro-American brand Dark 'n Lovely as well as the local brand Black Like Me.

Sunsilk relaunch of Relaxers – the biggest news ever!

In February 2006 Sunsilk re-launched the relaxer range that would change the world of relaxers forever. 

Gone are the days of one size fits all relaxers. This was the result of the most comprehensive research conducted on over 3 000 women across Africa. Hair samples were analysed in laboratories at Sunsilk's Global Technology Centre in the UK and its Regional Technical Centre in South Africa. In-use product tests conducted on many different relaxers.  

From this research Sunsilk has discovered that different women have very different hair types. Women have one of three different hair types:

• Soft Hair
• Medium Hair
• Coarse Hair  

Each hair type has unique characteristics and requires specific treatment to look its best. Products that are suitable for one type of hair will not give the best results for a different hair type. It is therefore very important that women correctly identify their own hair type so that they can decide how best to care for their hair.

Women already know that they need to understand their unique grooming needs. Facial products are designed to cater from women's specific skin types. Cosmetics are made to enhance women's individual skin tones. Even clothing designers recognise that different women have different body types and need clothing designed accordingly.

Neutralising shampoo

When all these factors were taken into account, our mission became clear. We would reach out to South African women with a fresh, new message that Sunsilk Afro was the only brand that truly understood their emotional hair care needs. We would combine this message with demonstrations of our knowledge of ethnic hair care problems, and offer simple solutions for every South African woman, giving her the confidence that only soft, strong and beautifully shiny hair can provide.

The Sunsilk Afro brand has gone from strength to strength since the launch, and sales continue to follow an upward trend. The market still remains a challenging environment, however, and these victories have been hard-fought. 

With this continually evolving approach, we cannot fail in our mission to take Sunsilk Afro hair care all the way to the top as the outright market leader - the number one haircare brand for South African women.