Did Madam Walker invent the hot comb?

Contrary to legend, Madam Walker didn’t invent the hot comb. According to A’Lelia Bundles’ biography of Walker in Black Women in America, a Frenchman, Marcel Grateau, popularized it in Europe in the 1870s, and even Sears and Bloomingdale’s advertised the hair-straightening styling tool in their catalogs in the 1880s.

How did Madam Walker become a millionaire?

By leveraging her beauty and hair care products company, Madam Walker was one of the first American women to become a self-made millionaire, while offering African American women a source of income and pride. Also known for her philanthropy and social activism, Madam Walker played a significant role in the Harlem Renaissance movement of the 1900s.

Why is Madam Walker so famous?

It was hard to miss Madam Walker whenever reading up on the latest news, and in her placements, she was a pioneer at using black women — actually, herself — as the faces in both her before and after shots, when others had typically reserved the latter for white women only (That was the dream, wasn’t it? the photos implied).