CINCINNATI — In honor of Black History Month, P&G’s Royal Oils by Head & Shoulders and Gold Series from Pantene brands have enlisted the help of AfricanAncestry.com to trace the DNA of the team behind the brands and launch a journey of discovery that is #RootedInScience. The “Crowns of Heritage” campaign encourages people to reflect on the missing pieces of their family histories and provides them an opportunity to reconnect with the African roots of their family tree. The Crowns of Heritage Sweepstakes will give away 50 AfricanAncestry.com DNA test kits, giving winning individuals the ability to broaden their sense of identity and celebrate a fuller picture of their history, the companies said.

As part of the campaign, more than a dozen P&G multicultural haircare brand builders, ambassadors, executives, and scientists took the AfricanAncestry.com DNA test and participated in a group reveal. Led by Dr. Gina Paige, AfricanAncestry.com co-founder, the team celebrated new connections and missing links in their family stories. The reveal also provided relevant historical context on the results and shared connections with other prominent Black innovators and leaders, reinforcing a legacy of strength and resilience, with hope for a more informed future.

“This last year reinforced how important connection is to grow and thrive,” said Nadirah Mutala of P&G Beauty Communications. “Technology has been integral to staying connected to family and deepen those relationships. “The Crowns of Heritage campaign allowed all of us to expand our family group to include ethnic groups from West and Central Africa. Now, we can fully embrace and explore a more complete picture of ourselves. The power of this knowledge is a gift that we can share with our families to empower us for generations. We want to give this gift to more people.”

P&G said it has committed to decades of cutting-edge innovation and technology, plus ongoing research of textured hair in partnership with Black scientists, dermatologists and stylists to create Royal Oils and Gold Series hair care products.

“Our team of Black scientists has made understanding our hair their mission, using specialized testing protocols on hair samples from people of African descent to ensure optimal performance and best-in-class product benefits,” said Dr. Rolanda Wilkerson, principal scientist of P&G Beauty. “Royal Oils and Gold Series are #RootedInScience, and that underpins all we do to ensure we deliver products that truly serve Black consumers. We turned to science in this campaign and our formulas to deepen the connection with the larger community, for a deeper understanding of our heritage and products designed for them.”

The Royal Oils, Gold Series and AfricanAncestry.com campaign includes a video and sweepstakes. Consumers are also invited to join the conversation by using the #CrownsofHeritage hashtag and tagging @pantene, @headandshoulders, and @africanancestry on social media channels. (@headshoulders on Twitter and @headandshouldersusa and @PanteneNA on Facebook).