MADAME C. J. WALKER
Madame C.J. Walker was an inventor, businesswoman and self-made millionaire. Walker was an African-American who developed many beauty and hair care products that were extremely popular.
Madam Walker started her cosmetics business in 1906. Her first product was a scalp treatment that used petrolatum and sulphur to heal scalp disease and to grow hair. She also softened the hair with an ointment she called Glossine, and straightened the hair with a metal comb. She did not, however, invent the hot comb. She added Madam to her name and began selling her new "Walker System" door-to-door. Walker soon added other cosmetic products to her line. The products were very successful and she soon had many saleswomen, called "Walker Agents," who sold her products door to door and through beauty salons. In 1917, her agents came together in one of the nation's first convention of businesswomen.
Madam Walker eventually became a millionaire from her business, which was at its peak from 1911 through 1922; she employed thousands of people. Walker moved to New York in 1916 and became active in influencing the arts and philanthropy. She contributed to many organizations ad educational institutions, including the NAACP, the Tuskegee Institute, Bethune-Cookman College, the YMCA and the YMCA. She also helped spur the Harlem Renaissance through her support of black artists and musicians. The Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company is no longer in business. Madame C.J. Walker’s greatest legacy was the impact she made on the beauty industry for black women. She serves as a fountain of inspiration for countless African American female entrepreneurs. Like many women of her era, Walker experienced hair loss. Because most Americans lacked indoor plumbing, central heating and electricity, they bathed and washed their hair infrequently which resulted into scalp disease. Sarah experimented with home remedies and products already on the market until she finally developed her own shampoo. Her hair grower was an ointment that contained sulphur to make the scalp and hair healthier and promote growth. Walker’s first influential experience with hair was in 1904 at the St. Louis World’s Fair. |
Here she was introduced to various black leaders and also beautiful black women, “women with hair.” She redesigned the hot comb handles and teeth to make them more useful on black hair. She began to lecture other black women and help them to build their own businesses. She was the first woman who became a millionaire by her own achievements as stated by the World Guinness Book of Records.
Not only did she assist black women with educational opportunities, but she made it her goal to create a safe and comfortable place in which black women could be pampered. She believed that this kind of attention would boost self-confidence and alleviate the daily stress that black women suffered from. She ran the mansion at Villa Lewaro, nicknamed “The Dark Tower,” as a salon for black artists and intellectuals. She supported the writers, poets, and musicians of the Renaissance while welcoming them into her home and allowed them to participate in somewhat of a ‘think tank’ experience. She had a floor set aside for the artists to work as well as an art exhibit. In conclusion, she developed products that revolutionised the beauty and grooming industry. This gave way to not only making women look beautiful but also men. Her inventions gave insight to inventors and designers to help and better their hair growth and other beauty products for men and women and possibly animals. |