TRESemmé is an American brand of hair care products first manufactured in 1947 by the Godefroy Manufacturing Company in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. It was named after the renowned hair care expert Edna L. Emme. The brand name is a phonetic respelling of "beloved" () that includes the surname of its namesake. The TRESemmé product line was initially marketed only to beauty salons. The TRESemmé brand was purchased by Alberto-Culver in 1968, and then acquired by Unilever in 2010. History The TRESemmé brand was launched in 1947 by Godefroy Manufacturing, and was bought in 1968 by Alberto-Culver, a manufacturer of hair and skincare products. The original intention was to only distribute the products of the brand within beauty salons; however, as the product line became more popular, it was marketed to supermarkets and pharmacies. In 2010, Alberto-Culver was bought by Unilever, an Anglo–Dutch multinational consumer goods company. At that time, the product line was further developed and more products were added. Product range TRESemmé creates formulas suited for different types of hair. TRESemmé products include: shampoos & conditioners, dry shampoos, mousse, gels, hair sprays, crème & milk, and other styling sprays. TRESemmé's products are used in hair salons across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Asia, particularly for hair repair treatment from heat damage caused by hair ironing and blowdrying. , a software tool called "PROfiler" on the TRESemmé website allowed consumers to find the right products for their hair. , the tool was no longer available. Advertisement The brand spent an estimated US$17 million on advertising in 2004. , advertisement campaigns included one promoted under "Professional, Affordable". South African racism controversy In August 2020, TRESemmé was accused of being racist when its marketing campaign at South African retail chain Clicks ran an ad showing the text "dull and frizzy" and "dry and damaged" under the portrait of a black model while "fine and flat" and "normal" appeared under a white model. Following an uproar across South Africa against Clicks and TRESemmé, protest action, damage to some Clicks stores by members of the South African political party Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), and a call by Minister of Small Business Development Khumbudzo Ntshavheni to remove all TRESemmé products, Clicks issued an apology, temporarily closed a number of its stores, suspended staff responsible for approving the advert, pulled all TRESemmé products, and pledged to fill the