Regarded as “the first Black woman millionaire in America”, Madam C.J. Walker amassed her wealth from homemade hair care products she developed and sold. More than 100 years after the matriarch launched her successful business, her family recently announced the launch of a beauty and haircare brand that was inspired by the trailblazing icon.
In a press release, Sundial Brands said MADAM by Madam C.J. Walker “features damage-defying formulas designed to respect, protect, and perfect the wide range of styles worn by women of color.”
The company also said the beauty and haircare brand will consist of 11 products, and they will be available in 3,000 Walmart stores across the United States. The products will also be available on the retail giant’s online platform.
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“We’re so excited to be announcing the launch of MADAM by Madam C.J. Walker – a collection designed to carry on Madam Walker’s legacy as an innovator, trailblazer and activist. The products were created for polycultural women who proudly lead their lives, unbothered by society’s ideals of how they should look, feel, and present themselves,” Cara Sabin, the CEO of MADAM by Madam C.J. Walker’s parent company, Sundial Brands, said.
“MADAM by Madam C.J. Walker celebrates the multi-dimensionality of women with textured hair, enabling them to switch it up while promoting a healthy scalp, stronger hair and unlimited styling possibilities.”
Walker, originally named Sarah Breedlove, was born to enslaved parents on December 23, 1867. The trailblazing businesswoman began her million-dollar hair enterprise in 1906. But after her husband’s death, she moved to St. Louis with her daughter, where she began to work as a laundress.
At the time, Black women had a lot of issues with their hair, including dandruff and other scalp diseases. After experimenting with products in her home and other items in the market, Walker developed a shampoo and ointment with sulfur that helped stimulate the scalp and made it healthier for hair growth.
With her new husband, Charles Joseph Walker, she developed and marketed a line of beauty and hair products for Black women through Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, the successful business she founded. Madam C.J. Walker’s hair products were distributed and sold door to door throughout the United States.
The launch of the recent beauty and haircare line seeks to continue her legacy. “I am thrilled to continue my great-great grandmother’s legacy with the launch of MADAM by Madam C.J. Walker in partnership with stellar Black women leaders at Sundial Brands and Walmart,” the matriarch’s great-great-granddaughter, A’Lelia Bundles, said.
“We worked together to merge 100 years of research, development, science and technology to ensure that the products are as innovative and effective as the original Walker line. This collection embodies Madam Walker’s spirit of empowerment and pays homage to modern women of color.”
Sundial Brands also said they’re introducing a “damage-defying Scalp to Strand System” for the launch of MADAM by Madam C.J. Walker, adding that it will give “consumers the freedom and confidence to style their hair the way they want, when they want.”
“The systems’ haircare regimen takes cues from Madam C.J. Walker’s philosophy which was that healthy, strong hair first starts with a healthy scalp,” the press release said.
The collection includes products for a healthy scalp, longer hair, and unlimited styling possibilities.
