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

Authorities report Haley Rozek bit one of the children left under her supervision. Police say the former caretaker said it was an accident as she tried to calm the baby down.

On Jan. 9, the woman who allegedly admitted to biting a 1-year-old boy’s arm while she was caring for him was released on a $15,000 bond and made her first appearance before a Jones County Justice Court.

Now, the 26-year-old is facing one felonious abuse and battery of a child charge after telling her supervisors she unintentionally assaulted the minor at the Kids Company Day Care on Lake Como Road in Laurel, Mississippi, in December, Leader Call reports.

On Dec. 7, the boy’s mother noticed the adult bite marks and immediately went to law enforcement to file a complaint.

The Jones County Sheriff’s Department promptly started an investigation into the daycare. Deputy Priscilla Pitts met with the director and workers about the allegations. The director said Rozek told her privately what she did, prompting a mandated report to tell the officer who committed the troublesome offense to the toddler.

“The daycare employees were interviewed, and one of the employees, Haley Rozek, admitted to biting the child on the arm,” Investigator Denny Graham said. “She stated that it was the child who was upset, she was trying to calm the child down, blowing on his arm and he pulled away, and she inadvertently bit him.”

Source: ‘There’s No Reason to Ever Bite a Child’: Mississippi Daycare Worker Allegedly Sinks Teeth Into 1-Year-Old In Her Care, Is Released on Bond