Gwen Jimmere, founder and CEO of Naturalicious, is the first Black woman to own a natural hair patent. Naturalicious is a hair care brand that creates time-saving products for Black women. She was awarded this patent in 2015.
Gwen is on an unrelenting mission to challenge the narrative that “the struggle is real” when it comes to natural hair. Her company creates quality hair care products that have collectively saved over seventy thousand (70,000) women more than 1.2 million minutes on wash day.
How Gwen Started Her Hair Care Company
Gwen Jimmere, founder and CEO of Naturalicious, is the first Black woman to own a natural hair patent. Naturalicious is a hair care brand that creates time-saving products for Black women. She was awarded this patent in 2015.
Gwen is on an unrelenting mission to challenge the narrative that “the struggle is real” when it comes to natural hair. Her company creates quality hair care products that have collectively saved over seventy thousand (70,000) women more than 1.2 million minutes on wash day.
Gwen started Naturalicious with a two-year old son and just $32 in her account!
In a chat with Black Enterprise, Gwen says, “I started in my kitchen with $32 in the bank. I was a newly single mother to my then-2-year-old son, recently divorced from an emotionally and physically abusive marriage. At the time, I was having an extremely hard time finding haircare products that worked great for my coily hair, were vegan, and didn’t force me to spend hours managing my hair.
As a new mom with no help, I needed to look and feel great about myself and my beauty, but I couldn’t afford to spend a ton of time doing my hair. I couldn’t find a solution to my problem, so I created it. They say “the struggle is real” when it comes to managing textured hair, so I created the first patented system that makes it effortless, giving our customers better hair in half the time. Receiving the patent for my product made me the first Black woman in history to own a patent for a natural hair care product.”
Jimmere has earned her place in history as the first African-American woman to hold a patent for natural haircare products, which can be found around the world in over twelve thousand (1200) retail stores.
Gwen was named “the world’s leading authority on textured hair care”. She is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Winner, and has been named one of the 100 Most Influential African Americans in the United States, along with the likes of Beyoncé, LeBron James and Serena Williams; as well as a Top 10 Business Woman in the U.S., and a Crain’s 40 Under 40 recognition.
Now largely known as a leading expert on textured hair care in the world, Gwen strives for greatness and has never felt the need to give up in spite of difficulties.
She recently launched her book, Everything You Know About Hair is Wrong. The book, available on Amazon, speaks on Black natural hair and how to care for it.
In an interview with Black News, Gwen says, “It crushes my heart to hear our women say their hair is ‘too much’ or ‘unprofessional.’ This book is my love letter to natural queens around the world. It’s my contribution to ensuring that every Black woman and girl knows that she is the standard of beauty.”
Gwen does not plan on stopping anytime soon and continues to dominate in the hair care industry and other industries as a Black Woman.
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