(One of the first ads and packaging for Madam C.J. Walker’s hair care line)
Over the past few weeks there has been buzz about about the re-launch of Madam C. J. Walker’s Beauty Culture brand. Sundial Brands – the creator and manufacturer has re-launched this iconic brand that will be exclusively sold at Sephora. Talk about perfect timing – right off the heels of Black History Month and at the start of Women’s History month. First, a quick history lesson on Madam C.J. Walker.
- Born Sarah Breedlove in 1867
- Married at age 14 to escape the brutality of her brother-in-law in 1881
- Gave birth to one daughter – Lelia in 1883
- Worked as a washerwoman and domestic servant 1887-1905
- Second marriage to Charles Joseph Walker 1887 (divorced 1906)
- President and owner, Madame C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, 1905-19
- Became first African-American female self-made millionaire
Now, over 100 years later the line has been relaunched with a new way to care for natural or processed hair in mind. What is unique about the brand is that you can either use all products within a collection or mix and match products from different collections to address your specific hair concerns. Here’s how the line has been broken down:
- Curl Collection: For curly/wavy hair. Includes a shampoo, conditioner (not pictured), curl-defining milk (not pictuted), coconut oil and a humidity blocking hair gel.
- Smoothing Collection: For hair that is straighter (naturally or processed) and includes a silkening blowout cream, a silkening shampoo, a softening and silkening hair oil made with Brassica Seed oil, a silkening leave-in conditioner (not pictured) and a gentle holding spray (not pictured)
- Coily Collection: Made with the coily strand woman in mind. Provides intense moisture. This collection includes a clarifying shampoo, a curl enhancing and moisturizing cream, a nourishing oil that includes castor oil, and a soft hold edge control gel (not pictured below).
- Scalp and Strand Nourishing Collection: Suitable for all hair types. It contains essential proteins needed to ensure hair health. The collection includes a pre-wash protein treatment, a scalp exfoliator (very important because without a clean scalp it is nearly impossible to grow and maintain healthy hair), and a hydrating deep conditioning mask.
(All product photos courtesy of Janice McCafferty Public Relations)
As I am transitioning from processed to natural while wearing a protective style here are the products that I have chosen:
- Silkening Shampoo
- Silkening Blowout Creme
- Brassica Seed Oil
- Wonderful Pre-Wash Protein Treatment
- Wonderful Scalp Exfoliator
- Wonderful Deep Conditioning Masque
I will be using these products from now until my birthday and be chronicling the results along the way via the blog or Instagram.