Madam C.J. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove in 1867 to enslaved parents in Louisiana. Though she came from humble beginnings with little education and working as a washerwoman, she went on to build million dollar business.
Walker began to lose her hair in the 1890s, a problem that her work as a washerwoman likely contributed to. However, this was a common problem for most Black women of the era as many lived without indoor plumbing making regular shampooing impossible.
So what was Walker’s solution?
Walker embarked on a quest for a cure to hair loss working with home remedies and the help of her brothers who were barbers in St. Louis. In 1906 she married Charles Joseph Walker and began to call herself Madam C.J. Walker around the same time she finally developed her own scalp and hair growth formula.
Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower was the name of Walker's product. It sold for decades after her death in 1919 but has since relaunched in 2022.
Walker took her own misfortunes and made a positive impact on the hair care industry for Black women. She reminds us that even in business we can stay true to ourselves and use our hard lessons to help others.