Black Hair Care Entrepreneur - Madame C.J.Walker (1867-1919)
Inventor of Black Hair Care Treatments & Hair Relaxers
Madam C.J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove, was an African-American businesswoman, hair care entrepreneur and philanthropist. She made her fortune by developing and marketing a hugely successful line of black beauty and black hair products for women under the company she founded, Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company.
Madame CJ Walker did not have a fortunate start in life but worked hard to turn it round. Born in 1867 to former slaves and orphaned at the age of seven, Madame CJ Walker worked with her sister in cotton fields and later became a house maid.
She married at the age of fourteen and her only daughter A’Lelia was born when she was eighteen, sadly her husband passed away by the time she was twenty. Madame CJ Walker went on to marry twice. Her third husband, Charles Joseph Walker and her daughter had key roles in the growth and day-to-day operations of the business she later went on to develop.
Black Afro Hair Care Needs
Like many women of her era, Madame CJ Walker experienced hair loss. Because most Americans lacked indoor plumbing, central heating and electricity, they bathed and washed their hair infrequently. The result was scalp disease. Madame CJ Walker experimented with home remedies and products already on the market until she finally developed her own shampoo and an ointment that contained sulfur to make her scalp healthier for hair growth.
Black Hair Care Scalp Conditioning & Healing Formula
Madame CJ Walker, founded her own business in 1906 and began selling her own product called Madam Walker's Wonderful Hair Grower, a scalp conditioning and healing formula. To promote her products, she embarked on an exhausting sales drive throughout the South and Southeast selling her products door to door, giving demonstrations, and working on sales and marketing strategies. In 1908, she opened a college in Pittsburgh to train her "hair culturists."
The Walker System – Growth In the Black Hair Care Market
Eventually, her products formed the basis of a thriving national corporation employing at one point over 3,000 people. Her Walker System, which included a broad offering of cosmetics, licensed Walker Agents, and Walker Schools offered meaningful employment and personal growth to thousands of Black women. Madame Walker’s aggressive marketing strategy combined with relentless ambition led her to be known as a leading business woman with a lasting legacy.
Improved Permanent Wave Machine – Black Hair Relaxer
An employee of Madame CJ Walker’s empire, Marjorie Joyner invented an improved permanent wave machine. This device patented in 1928, curled or "permed" women’s hair for a relatively lengthy period of time. The wave machine was popular among women white and black allowing for longer-lasting wavy hair styles. Joyner went on to become a prominent figure in Madame CJ Walker’s industry, though she never profited directly from her invention, the assigned intellectual property of the Walker Company .
When Madame CJ Walker was confronted with the idea that she was trying to conform black women's hair to that of whites, she stressed that her products were simply an attempt to help black women take proper care of their hair and promote its growth .
The Words of the Late Black Hair Care Entrepreneur - Madame CJ Walker
"I got my start by giving myself a start."
"I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations. I have built my own factory on my own ground."
"I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them."
"One night I had a dream, and in that dream a big black man appeared to me and told me what to mix up for my hair. I made up my mind I would begin to sell it."
"I am not satisfied in making money for myself. I endeavour to provide employment for hundreds of the women of my race."
"There is no royal flower-strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it for if I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard."
"Perseverance is my motto."
Black Hair Care Legacy
Madame C.J. Walker died at Villa Lewaro on Sunday, May 25, 1919 from complications of hypertension. She was 51. At her death she was considered to be the wealthiest African-American woman in America and known to be the first self-made female American millionaire. Her daughter, A'Lelia Walker, became the president of the C.J Walker Manufacturing Company.
Sources:
Wikipedia - Madam_C._J._Walker
Inventors.about.com - MadameWalker
