Bettiann Gardner, co-founder of the most prominent African-American hair care company in history, passed away on Dec. 19 from Alzheimer’s disease complications. She was 93.
Gardner’s passing comes nearly nine months after her husband, Edward, died in March.
In 1964, Gardner and her husband, Edward, created Soft Sheen Products from their West Chesterfield home on Chicago’s Southside. The birth of one of the most enduring Black hair care product lines came about out of curiosity, ingenuity and determination.
Edward was a Chicago Public Schools administrator who sold hair care products for a beauty supply company to make extra money. But he believed he could make the products he was selling and started tinkering around in his basement. Eventually, he developed a scalp conditioner that would become popular among beauticians.
“I took it to the beauticians all over the city—it was a hair and scalp conditioner—and they liked it. It eventually got to the point where I was making more money selling my hair care products than I was in the school system,” Gardner told The Chicago Defender back in 2011.
While Edward was doing his part, Bettiann played an integral role in the day-to-day administration of Soft Sheen by managing the company’s finances and getting their children involved.
“My wife took care of the books and paid the bills and so forth, and my children at that time were teenagers, and they would go work with me and screw tops on the jars and do things like that. We all were very much involved in different aspects of the business. It was a family business,” Edward said.
Eventually, Soft Sheen expanded, developing shampoos and relaxers. By the 1980s, Soft Sheen products like Care Free Curl, Let’s Jam, Frizz Free, Sportin’ Waves, Wave Nouveau and Optimum Care were staple products in Black households nationwide.
At home, the Gardners were making their marks as prominent civic leaders who desired to do the work that would positively impact the Black Chicagoans economically, socially and culturally.
Soft Sheen’s South Side manufacturing plant on 87th and Dobson provided hundreds of jobs to people in the community. At one point, the company would have 400 employees and full-year sales of $80 million, making it the country’s largest black-owned beauty products company.
The Gardners have a street named after them at that very intersection where their building stood.
However, the Gardners sold Soft Sheen to L’Oreal S.A. of France, one of the world’s largest cosmetics companies, in 1998. Presently, the company is now known as Softsheen-Carson.
Concerned about the impact of crime in their community, they created the Black on Black Love initiative to combat violence by promoting the principles of self-love, respect and peace. They also provided social services, including job training and after-school programs.
While Ed played a pivotal role as a civic leader, most notably helping Harold Washington get elected as Chicago’s first Black mayor in 1983, Bettiann supported arts and culture initiatives throughout the city.
She contributed millions toward purchasing and revitalizing the legendary Regal Theater in 1987, according to HistoryMakers. She also supported the New Regal Theater Foundation and acted as chairwoman of the Chicago Sinfonietta’s honorary board of directors.
The Gardners also purchased a share of the Chicago Bulls in the mid-1980s when Michael Jordan joined the team.
Bettiann Gardner was born in Chicago on June 26, 1930. She is survived by her four children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A private service will be held to honor her life and memory.
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