Natural Hair Care- the Rise of Natural Hair Products from the Era of Madam CJ Walker to Present

Facebook

Twitter

Author
Recent Posts

Qiana Williams

Qiana Williams is a fashion and entertainment marketing guru and professional writer with vast experience writing on fashion trends and style, beauty, real estate, business, family, relationships, law and much more. Williams runs her own PR firm- Goddess Media NYC- in New York, and is currently authoring her second novel.

Latest posts by Qiana Williams (see all)

How to Reroute Uncomfortable Questions About your Hair - December 11, 2018
Natural Hair Annual Events - December 8, 2018
Lupita Nyong’o Inspires All Natural Women - December 4, 2018

Madam C.J. Walker

The story of Sarah Breedlove- aka Madam CJ Walker- and her rise to entrepreneurship is often misconstrued. Many believe she invented the straightening comb, but that is not the case. Rather, Ms. Walker was the creator of a whole line of natural hair products that catered specifically to women of color. These natural-based products came out of a need for herself that grew into something much bigger.

After the birth of her daughter, Sarah began to experience unidentifiable issues with her scalp that led to hair loss. She desperately tried home remedies and natural products to regrow her hair and manage her scalp ailment. Eventually, she developed Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower, which she claimed came to her in a dream. This product was marketed as a scalp conditioning and healing formula. She sold it- and other products she developed along the way- door to door. She first began in the South and Southeast regions of the US and focused on black women as her target market. Word of mouth grew as she developed a name for herself and her products. As a result, she was not only one of the first African-American women- but one of the first American women of any race- to become a self-made millionaire.

As we fast forward to current times, natural hair care products (meaning products that are paraben and carcinogen free and comprised of non-synthetic ingredients- not just products formulated for natural hair) are widely used today. We are moving forward as a naturally-conscious society and women are beginning to understand- and question- the ingredients in the products they use in their hair.

Natural hair products today come in a variety of types- conditioning creams, shampoos, oils, growth and regrowth treatments, strengtheners, detanglers, texturizers, styling aids and much more. The beautiful thing about natural products is that they are perfectly formulated for caring for natural hair in a variety of textures. This is reflected in the fact that natural hair styling aids and treatments were originally vegetable-based.

You want to make informed decisions when shopping for products to treat and care for your hair today. Look for coconut, jojoba, shea and castor oils, fruit and vegetable derivatives, aloe, cucumber and other hydra-based nutrients, as well as argan and nut oils as primary components in your hair care products.

Author: Qiana Williams

“Changing attitudes about natural hair” is what we do at Natural Haircare News. Through informative articles, podcasts and videos, we go beyond just sharing the latest advice and tips on kinky, curly, wavy haircare – We shake things up and focus on the realities of wearing our hair natural.