Inventor Marjorie Stewart Joyner (1896–1994)

Marjorie Stewart Joyner (1896–1994) was the first African American to patent a permanent waving machine for hairstyling and became one of the first black woman to receive a patent for an invention.

She later developed a hair straightening comb also known as the “hot comb.” Joyner was an employee of Madame C.J. Walker, to whose company the patent was assigned.

Joyner became the national supervisor of Walker’s chain of beauty schools.

Joyner growing up

The granddaughter of slaves, Joyner was born in the Blue Ridge Mountains near the town of Monterey, Virginia. She was one of thirteen children, only four of whom lived beyond infancy.

Joyner’s education

In 1916 Joyner, the first black graduate of A. B. Molar Beauty School in Chicago, opened her own salon. In 1945 she was a cofounder of the United Beauty School Owners and Teachers Association. It was not until 1973, when she was seventy-seven years old, that she received her bachelor’s degree from Bethune-Cookman College in Florida.

Joyner was called the “Grand Dame of Black Beauty Culture.”

Permanent Waving Machine invention

Did you know about this inventor? What have been your experiences with the hot comb?

Joyner photo and content source: credoreference.com Permanent waving machine photo source: about.com Book sources: Macdonald. Feminine Ingenuity. pp. 297–301. Who’s Who among Black Americans, 1992–93. p. 806. Smith. Notable Black American Women, Book II. pp. 366–70.