Walker’s technology

Every invention requires a process in which the invention was developed. For Walker’s invention, there were no small tools or gagets involved, but ingredients that were used to mix the ingredients in. Ingredients were from the common household and as far as tools used to mix Walker’s ingredients, Madam is thought to have mixed up her ingredients in her washtub (Vare and Ptacek, 2002).

From multiple sources, Walker had been mentioned to have experiemented with many products before developing the “Wonderful Hair Grower.” A’Leila Bundles, Madam C.J. Walker’s great granddaughter who lives today spoke out about the ingredients used for Walker’s “Wonderful Hair Grower.” Bundles stated that beezwax, sulfur, and petrolatum were the main ingredients used (Byrd, A. D. & Tharps, L., 2003). Bundles also stated that anybody with or without knowledge in chemistry could have created a concoction such as Walker’s, however what made Walker’s product so popular was her drive to advertise her product to African American women (Byrd, A. D. & Tharps, L. , 2003).  ”It wasn’t about the ingredients in her product, it was Madam’s marketing genius and personal charisma,” stated Bundles about Walker’s true passion for helping women improve the overall quality of their hair (Byrd, A. D. & Tharps, L., 2003).

In addition to the “Wonderful Hair Grower,” Walker also created “Glossine” and “Vegetable Shampoo.” “Glossine” was essentially pressed oil (Uncovering an Indiana Treasure…Madam C.J. Walker , 2008). All three of these products were designed to improve the condition of hair and the scalp. When selling her products door-to-door, Walker even gave women proper instructions on hair and scalp treatment at no cost (Madame C.J. Walker, 2008). Althought there is little research on the development of the “Glossine”, the oil was pressed, therefore some sort of device may have been used to press the oil.

African American women’s hair lack the ability to uphold moisture, leaving hair brittle, dry, and with then tendency to break off. Many black women’s hair had natural curls that inhibited the distribution of moisture, and in low humidity weather such as the mountainous areas such as Denver, hair was left feeling brittle (Bundles, A., 2001). When the “Wonderful Hair Grower” was created, Walker’s main intention for the product was to promote a healthy shin and relaxing formula for black women’s hair by conditioning the scalp. The reason the name stuck as “Wonderful Hair Grower” is because once Madam mixed her ingredients together and applied it to her own hair, her hair began to grow back (Vare & Ptacek, 2002). Walker often used the image as seen above as an advertisement for her “Wonderful Hair Grower.” The series of photos shows Walker’s hair before and after using her product.