Jheri Redding (born Robert William Redding March 2, 1907 – March 15, 1998) was an American hairdresser, chemist, hair-care products entrepreneur and businessman. Redding is best known for having created the

Jheri curl The Jheri curl (often spelled Jerry curl or Jeri Curl) is a permanent wave hairstyle that was popular among African Americans during the 1980s and early 1990s. Invented by the hairdresser Jheri Redding, the Jheri curl gives the wearer a glossy, ...

. Redding is credited with being the inventor of modern-day

hair conditioner Hair conditioner is a hair care cosmetic product used to improve the feel, texture, appearance, and manageability of hair. Its main purpose is to reduce friction between strands of hair to allow smoother brushing or combing, which might otherwise ...

. He was the first to make " pH balanced" shampoos, to put vitamins in hair care products, and to market added minerals. He developed the

perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia ** Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administra ...

product Jheri curl, as well as numerous other beauty products. He founded the international beauty products business that bore his name, along with three others.

Personal history

As a young man in Chicago, Redding was teaching chemistry and working as a hair stylist using beauty products that did not perform to his expectations. He began experimenting with chemicals and other ingredients he found in his kitchen, such as

mayonnaise Mayonnaise (; ), colloquially referred to as "mayo" , is a thick, cold, and creamy sauce or dressing commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, composed salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various other sauces, such as tartar ...

and vinegar, to make his own shampoos, rinses and hairdressing solutions to improve the hair of his clients. From his research grew the treatments, styling creams and

gels A gel is a semi-solid that can have properties ranging from soft and weak to hard and tough. Gels are defined as a substantially dilute cross-linked system, which exhibits no flow when in the steady-state, although the liquid phase may still di ...

that became known as Jheri Redding Products. Redding moved to Los Angeles, California, shortly after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Having adopted his unusual nickname along the way, he founded Jheri Redding Products Company in 1956, selling a cream rinse he developed. He later co-founded three other major national hair care companies,

Redken Redken is an American hair care brand owned by L'Oréal Group under the Professional Products division. History The company was founded in 1960 by Jheri Redding and Paula Kent, thus the name, "Red-ken." Redken pioneered the "Scientific Approach ...

in 1960, Jhirmack in 1968, and in 1979,

Nexxus Alberto-Culver was an American corporation with international sales whose principal business was manufacturing hair and skin beauty care products under such brands as Alberto VO5, Andrew Collnge, St. Ives (skin care products), TRESemmé, FDS, ...

, which he said stood for "Nature and Earth United With Science." From the beginning of Nexxus a major disruption in the market place occurred with the introduction of direct to consumer advertising to direct consumers to salons. These companies continue to operate under different ownership. Nexxus became the leader in this marketing technique as developed by Stephen Redding, President of the company. Jheri Redding and his management team of family members was the first salon only product company to introduce TV advertising on national scale such as Johnny Carson and the Today Show. Both brand advertising and in association with local salons through co-op program. The introduction of co-op advertising assisted many salons with increasing business of both services and for the first time retail sales of both Nexxus and other products. With the leadership of Jheri Redding, his son Stephen Redding his wife Angie Redding and her sisters Rose Marie Demourkas and Christina Demourkas and their brother John Demourkas the beauty salon industry underwent a resurgence still being felt today. With advertising to consumers Nexxus created the first large scale successful retail sales in salons. The other important advancement was development of small number of independent distributors throughout the country rather than direct corporate sales. Also at very large trade shows for professional hairdressers like the one in Chicago, IL or Las Vegas, NV hundreds or thousands of professionals attended classes to listen to and learn directly from Jheri Redding.

Thoroughbred racing

Jheri Redding raced

Thoroughbred horses The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are con ...

under the '' nom de course'' Jhayare Stables. His most successful runner was Itsallgreektome who was voted the 1990

American Champion Male Turf Horse The American Champion Male Turf Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. The award originated in 1953 when the ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) named Iceberg II their champion. The Thoroughbred Racing Association (TRA) added the cat ...

Marriages and children

Jheri Redding had four wives: Marjorie Silverman Miller, Selma, Irene J. (divorced March 16, 1979) and Cheryl Shirleen Lugo (divorced), respectively. Jheri had 3 biological children and 1 adopted: * Robert William (Bill) Redding (b Jan 6, 1941), married to Linda Anne Redding. Two sons: Robert William Jherimiah Redding (born August 23, 1963) and Thomas James Redding (born March 30, 1970). * Stephen J. Redding, married to Angie Demourkas. Three children: Elisa, Stephanie, and Jheri (divorced From Gabriella Redding with 2 children, Illiana Rose Redding and Aliyah James Redding). All born in Santa Barbara. * Robert Dean Redding, Deceased March 1, 1992. One child, Bryce Dean Redding (born July 28, 1985) * Sean Redding, married to Natalie Moton. Five children together. Natalie and Sean Redding have a reality TV show about life on their farm called "Shear Madness" on

Nat Geo Wild National Geographic Wild (shortened as Nat Geo Wild and abbreviated NGW) is a global pay television network owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). T ...

. Jheri had a total of 12 grandchildren. Also having at least 6 great grandchildren. Three are Sully, Finn, and Pippa, born from Thomas James Redding.

Printed works

As he succeeded, the recognized authority on hair color put his ideas into print when he wrote ''The Anatomy of a Permanent Wave''. Redding also assumed a leadership position in the cosmetics industry and founded the Hollywood Design Council.

Awards and honors

In 1990, Redding was inducted into the National Cosmetology Foundation's Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the North American Hairstyling Award's Hall of Leaders in 1997.

References

External links

RHC Legacy – Bringing Health to Hair for Over 75 Years!
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Redding, Jheri 1907 births 1998 deaths American people of Irish descent American chief executives American chemists American cosmetics businesspeople American hairdressers 20th-century American inventors California people in fashion Businesspeople from Illinois Businesspeople from Los Angeles American racehorse owners and breeders People from Rantoul, Illinois 20th-century American businesspeople