Dove's controversial ad

Soap company Dove is facing a wave of criticism after an advert they posted of a black woman seemingly taking off her shirt and skin to become a white woman went viral.

In the now deleted picture, the four-panel shot shows a black woman in a chocolate brown shirt taking it off and revealing herself to be a white woman in an off-white shirt.

The add also features a third panel of another woman but in the now heavily circulated pic, that is not included.

After make-up artist Naomi Leann Blake first shared the now viral photo to which the company took to their social media to apologize.

"Dove is committed to representing the beauty of diversity,' the company said on Facebook.

"In an image we posted this week, we missed the mark in thoughtfully representing women of color and we deeply regret the offense that it has caused. The feedback that has been shared is important to us and we'll use it to guide us in the future."

They also took to Twitter to try to ease the anger felt by many.

"An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offense it caused," added the company.

But social media wasn't having it and hated the apology, blasting the company for its insensitivity following a similar incident by hair care company Shea Moisture in April. 
One user said: 'Lol did this even look right to y'all? I mean your whole team sat down and cleared this b******t right here? How?'

"Dear dove, I assure you us 'women of colour' have actual skin with colour, not a tan that you can remove. Thanks," added another.

"How many people saw this ad? If someone raised a concern and you didn't listen, please make them head of advertising," said a user.

This article was first published on dailymail.co.uk and is republished here with permission.