Bettiann Gardner, co-founder of Soft Sheen, one of the most well-known Black hair care companies in American history, died at the age of 93 on Dec. 19. The Chicago Defender reports that Gardner had been suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and her husband and decades-long business partner, Edward Gardner, died in March 2023. The pair started Soft Sheen together in 1964 as a family affair, eventually testing their products on their children as well as the family dog before they debuted their products, mostly to Chicago area Black salons.

Encyclopedia.com says that the Gardners’ company started to gain market traction in 1976. Then, after attention was brought to the use of lye in hair products, they quickly got products that were affected off the market and replaced them with products that did not need a warning about lye. Their focus on the lye-free products eventually lead to the introduction of the line that would make them a fixture in Black households and Black salons nationwide, the Care Free Curl line. In 1981, as the Jheri Curl became a cultural phenomenon, Care Free Curl made its market debut, and helped propel the company to $55 million in profit in 1982. In 1983, the company staked out its place on BLACK ENTERPRISE’s list of the top 100 Black-owned businesses, which it continued to occupy for decades thereafter. By 1989, BE had named Soft Sheen as the Company of the Year, further raising the profile of the hair care company.

The Gardners had their hands in Chicago politics as well, and their efforts in that arena led to the election of Harold Washington, Chicago’s first Black mayor. Soft Sheen dedicated its advertising budget to running spots on the radio focused on voter engagement. At the time, Edward Gardner told the Chicago Weekend, “My family has always been involved in trying to make life better for the African-American community.”

Gardner added, “We thought it was our responsibility as a successful Black company, where we gained most of (our) income right here in Chicago, to give back… to help the Black community realize its strength and power.”

According to ABC 7, in the 1980s, the couple made a few power moves, purchasing partial ownership of the Chicago Bulls as well as purchasing and revitalizing the shuttered Avalon Theater in 1987, reopening it as the New Regal Theater, which enjoyed a beautiful second act. The purchase of a minority stake in the Bulls organization made Bettiann the first Black woman and first woman owner in the history of the team. According to her daughter, Terri, the two loved going to the games and would regularly attend games whenever they could. “She loved going to the games, and she and my dad rarely missed a game when they were able to go.”

Source: Bettiann Gardner, Co-Founder Of Soft Sheen, Pioneering Black Hair Care Company, Passes Away At 93