A subsidiary of the hair care giant Wella Company has apologised on social media for an “insensitive” term used by one its educators at a Vancouver, Canada event.
At the Shinefinity show, hosted by Wella Canada West Education, the Wella team member is said to have used an “objectionable term” to describe a model’s hair on stage.
One commenter on Instagram said the educator used the derogatory term “nappy hair”.
The business was quick to react to the incident and posted an apology message on its Instagram feed hours after the event finished.
“Individually and as an Education team, we deeply regret the insult to the model and to our audience, and we sincerely apologize. [sic]
“We strive to achieve inclusivity in all the ways we do business, including education and yesterday we fell short.
“We understand your disappointment and pledge to learn from this incident and do better.”
In a statement to Cosmetics Business, a Wella spokesperson said: “Diversity, equity and inclusion are core to who we are at Wella Company.
“We take seriously any behaviours that do not align with these principles, and are taking appropriate steps to ensure our Educators are fully aligned with company beliefs and behaviours that marry our DEI values.”
Consumers, however, remain disgruntled with the business.
One Instagram user described the incident as “maddening and frustrating”.
Others called on Wella to do more than apologise.
“I would love to know what are your action steps to rectify this issue,” a social media user asked.
While another said: “What have you done so far to ensure your team is educated and provided [with] diversity and inclusion education?”