Inventor of Permanent Wave Machine & Beauty Education Pioneer
October 24, 1896 – December 27, 1994
🇺🇸 United StatesMarjorie Stewart Joyner was born on October 24, 1896, in Monterey, Virginia, during an era when African Americans faced severe discrimination and limited opportunities. Born just 31 years after the end of slavery, Joyner grew up in a society still deeply scarred by racial oppression. Her early years were marked by poverty and the everyday indignities of Jim Crow segregation, yet her family instilled in her a strong work ethic, pride in her heritage, and a determination to rise above the limitations imposed by a racist society.
Joyner's family moved to Dayton, Ohio, when she was young, seeking better opportunities in the North. While Northern cities offered some advantages over the segregated South, African Americans still faced severe discrimination in housing, employment, and education. Nevertheless, the move provided Joyner with access to schooling and exposure to a growing Black middle class that would inspire her future ambitions.
As a young woman, Joyner showed exceptional intelligence and ambition. She completed her education during a time when many African American children, particularly girls, were pulled out of school early to work. Her commitment to education would become a defining characteristic throughout her life—she would eventually earn degrees from multiple institutions and dedicate herself to educating others.
In the early 1910s, Marjorie Joyner became aware of Madam C.J. Walker, the pioneering African American entrepreneur who had built a beauty empire creating and selling hair care products for Black women. Madam Walker was not just a businesswoman; she was a symbol of what African American women could achieve through determination, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Walker employed thousands of Black women as sales agents and beauticians, providing economic opportunities in an era when such opportunities were scarce.
Joyner enrolled in the A.B. Molar Beauty School in Chicago to learn beauty culture and the Walker system of hair care. The Walker system was revolutionary, teaching scientific hair care methods specifically designed for African American hair textures at a time when most beauty products and techniques were developed exclusively for white women with straight hair. The training emphasized not just technical skills but also business management, professional presentation, and community leadership.
After completing her training, Joyner became a Walker agent and opened her own beauty shop in Chicago. She proved exceptionally talented both as a beautician and as a businesswoman. Her shop thrived, and she quickly gained a reputation for excellence. More importantly, she caught the attention of Madam Walker herself, who recognized in the young beautician the intelligence, dedication, and leadership qualities that could help build the Walker empire.
When Madam C.J. Walker died in 1919 at the age of 51, the Walker Manufacturing Company faced a critical transition. The company's leadership chose Marjorie Joyner, then just 23 years old, to become the national supervisor and advisor for the Walker schools and training programs. This appointment was extraordinary—a young woman given enormous responsibility for training and supervising thousands of Walker agents across the country. It testified to both Joyner's exceptional abilities and the trust the company placed in her.
In the 1920s, permanent wave hairstyles became fashionable. Women wanted the wavy, curly look that was considered glamorous and sophisticated. However, creating permanent waves was an extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive process. Hairdressers had to work on small sections of hair one at a time, wrapping each section around heated rods and carefully timing the process to avoid burning the hair or scalp.
For a busy beauty salon, this was impractical. A single permanent wave treatment could take six to eight hours or more, tying up the beautician for an entire day to serve just one client. For African American women, who often had hair textures that required different treatment than the techniques designed for white women's hair, the process was even more challenging.
Joyner, running her own salon and overseeing Walker schools nationwide, saw this problem firsthand. She watched beauticians struggle with the tedious process, saw clients frustrated by the long hours required, and recognized that there had to be a better way. Her practical experience as a working beautician gave her insights that academically trained engineers or inventors might never have gained.
Drawing on her understanding of both hair care and basic engineering principles, Joyner began developing a machine that could wave multiple sections of hair simultaneously. She worked on the design in her spare time, experimenting with configurations that would allow a single heating unit to connect to multiple rods, enabling a beautician to work on the entire head at once rather than section by section.
In 1928, Marjorie Joyner received U.S. Patent No. 1,693,515 for her "Permanent Waving Machine." The device consisted of a dome-shaped hood with multiple heated rods extending downward. A beautician would section the client's hair, wrap each section around one of the rods, and then activate the machine. All sections would be heated simultaneously and evenly, dramatically reducing the time required for a permanent wave treatment.
The invention was ingenious in its simplicity and practicality. Rather than requiring beauticians to monitor multiple individual heating elements, Joyner's machine coordinated the heating centrally, ensuring even temperature distribution and consistent results. The design also made the process safer, as the controlled heating reduced the risk of burns that sometimes occurred with individual heated rods.
Joyner's patent made her the first African American woman to receive a patent for a hairstyling device, joining the small but growing number of Black women inventors who were making their mark in various fields. This achievement was particularly significant because it came from practical innovation—a working beautician identifying a problem and developing a solution based on real-world experience rather than abstract theorizing.
However, there was a complication regarding the patent. Because Joyner had developed the permanent wave machine while working for the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, the company owned the patent rights. This meant that while Joyner received recognition as the inventor, she did not receive royalties or direct financial profit from the invention. The company held the rights and any commercial benefits from the device.
While this arrangement might seem unfair from a modern perspective, it was standard practice then (and often still is today) for employers to own patents for inventions developed by employees during their employment. Nevertheless, the invention significantly enhanced Joyner's reputation and career. It established her as not just an administrator and educator but also an innovator who could develop practical solutions to industry challenges.
While the permanent wave machine brought Joyner recognition, her most lasting impact came through her work in beauty education. As national supervisor for the Walker company, Joyner oversaw the training of thousands of beauticians through the Walker school system. She developed standardized curricula, established consistent training methods, and ensured that Walker beauticians received education that went beyond just technical hair care skills.
Joyner understood that for Black women to succeed in the beauty industry, they needed comprehensive business training as well as technical skills. Her educational programs taught salon management, customer service, accounting, marketing, and professional ethics alongside hair care techniques. She wanted Walker beauticians to be not just employees but entrepreneurs who could build their own businesses and achieve economic independence.
During her five decades with the Walker company, Joyner personally trained an estimated 15,000 beauticians. These women, in turn, trained others, creating a multiplier effect that spread professional beauty culture throughout the African American community. Many of Joyner's students went on to open successful salons, beauty schools, and product companies, creating employment and economic opportunity in their communities.
Joyner also worked to professionalize and standardize Black beauty education more broadly. She helped found the United Beauty School Owners and Teachers Association, which worked to establish consistent standards for Black beauty schools nationwide. At a time when African Americans were excluded from most professional associations and certification programs, these Black-led organizations created alternative paths to professional recognition and advancement.
Despite her demanding professional responsibilities, Joyner remained committed to her own education throughout her life. She earned teaching certificates and studied at multiple institutions, including Bethune-Cookman College in Florida and Northwestern University in Illinois. She pursued formal education not just for personal enrichment but to better equip herself to educate others.
Her relationship with Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, the renowned educator and civil rights leader who founded Bethune-Cookman College, was particularly influential. Bethune became a mentor and friend, and Joyner supported Bethune's educational mission both financially and through active involvement. The friendship between these two pioneering women exemplified the networks of mutual support that sustained Black women leaders during the Jim Crow era.
Joyner's commitment to education extended beyond beauty culture. She was active in various educational and professional organizations, served on boards and committees, and advocated for expanded educational opportunities for African Americans. She understood that education was not just a path to individual advancement but a tool for collective liberation and empowerment.
Joyner was a founding member of two important sororities that served the Black professional community. In 1932, she co-founded Chi Eta Phi, a national sorority for professional Black nurses and nursing students. The organization provided networking, professional development, and mutual support for Black nurses at a time when they faced severe discrimination in the medical profession.
She was also active in Alpha Chi Pi Omega sorority, the national beauticians' sorority. These organizations were not merely social clubs but vital professional networks that provided business connections, continuing education, advocacy for professional standards, and community service opportunities. For Black professional women excluded from white professional organizations, these sororities filled essential functions.
Through these organizations, Joyner promoted high professional standards, encouraged continuing education, and fostered a sense of pride and identity among Black professional women. She understood that collective organization strengthened individual members and advanced the professions as a whole.
Throughout her life, Joyner was active in civil rights and community organizations. She worked with the NAACP, served on the board of the Bethune-Cookman College, supported the National Council of Negro Women, and participated in various initiatives to advance racial equality and opportunity.
During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, Joyner supported the struggle for equality while continuing her work in beauty education. She understood that economic empowerment and professional achievement were integral parts of the larger fight for civil rights. By training thousands of Black beauticians who built their own businesses and achieved economic independence, she was contributing to the movement in her own way.
Joyner also recognized the beauty industry's cultural significance. Black beauty salons were not just places of business but community institutions where women gathered, shared information, discussed issues, and organized for change. During the Civil Rights Movement, many salons became informal organizing spaces. Joyner's work in professionalizing and expanding the Black beauty industry thus had implications far beyond commerce—it strengthened community institutions that played vital roles in social and political movements.
As Joyner aged, she began receiving recognition for her lifetime of achievement. She received honorary doctorate degrees from Bethune-Cookman College and other institutions. Beauty industry organizations honored her contributions to cosmetology education and professionalization. Historical societies and museums recognized her as an important inventor and entrepreneur.
In her later years, Joyner became a sought-after speaker and interviewed subject, sharing her memories of Madam C.J. Walker, the early days of the Black beauty industry, and the changes she had witnessed over eight decades. Her firsthand accounts provided invaluable historical documentation of African American business history and women's entrepreneurship.
Even in her nineties, Joyner remained sharp, engaged, and committed to education and community service. She continued to speak publicly, mentor young beauticians and entrepreneurs, and advocate for excellence in the beauty profession. Her longevity allowed her to see dramatic changes in American race relations and the beauty industry, though she often noted how much work remained to be done to achieve true equality.
Marjorie Stewart Joyner lived to the remarkable age of 98, passing away on December 27, 1994, in Chicago. Her nearly century-long life spanned from the tail end of Reconstruction through the entire Jim Crow era, the Civil Rights Movement, and into the modern era. She witnessed and participated in transformative changes in American society, the beauty industry, and the opportunities available to African American women.
At her death, she was remembered not just as an inventor but as an educator, mentor, community leader, and pioneer who had opened doors for thousands of women. The beauticians she trained had trained others, creating generations of skilled professionals. The businesses she helped Black women build had employed thousands and contributed to community economic development. The professional standards she helped establish had elevated the entire beauty industry.
Joyner's legacy lives on in multiple ways. The permanent wave machine she invented, while evolved through technological advancement, established principles still used in modern hair styling devices. The educational standards and curricula she developed influenced cosmetology training for decades. The professional organizations she helped build continue to serve Black beauticians and nurses. Most importantly, the thousands of women she trained and mentored carried forward her commitment to excellence, professionalism, and community service.
Marjorie Joyner's permanent wave machine transformed hair styling, while her educational work empowered thousands of Black women entrepreneurs, creating economic opportunity and professional advancement across generations.
Marjorie Stewart Joyner's legacy extends far beyond her invention of the permanent wave machine. While that innovation brought her recognition and demonstrated her technical creativity, her most profound impact came through her lifelong commitment to education, professional development, and economic empowerment for African American women.
Through five decades of work with the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, Joyner trained an estimated 15,000 beauticians, each of whom learned not just hair care techniques but also business skills, professional ethics, and the confidence to build their own enterprises. These women, in turn, trained others, creating a multiplier effect that spread professional beauty culture throughout Black communities across America. Many opened successful salons that became community institutions, providing not just beauty services but also employment, gathering spaces, and economic anchors in their neighborhoods.
Joyner understood that the beauty industry offered African American women one of the few paths to economic independence and entrepreneurship in an era of severe discrimination. By professionalizing beauty education and establishing high standards, she helped elevate the field from informal practice to recognized profession. The organizations she helped found—including Chi Eta Phi sorority for nurses and the United Beauty School Owners and Teachers Association—provided professional networks, continuing education, and advocacy that strengthened these professions and advanced opportunities for Black women.
Her permanent wave machine, while owned by the Walker company rather than bringing her personal royalties, established important principles in hair styling technology. The concept of simultaneously processing multiple sections of hair with coordinated heating became foundational to modern styling tools. Though technology has advanced dramatically since 1928, Joyner's core innovation—making the permanent wave process faster, more efficient, and more consistent—remains central to contemporary hair styling equipment.
As a civil rights activist and community leader, Joyner demonstrated how economic empowerment and professional achievement could advance the broader struggle for equality. The thousands of successful Black women entrepreneurs she helped create built economic power in their communities, challenged racist assumptions about Black capabilities, and created models of achievement for future generations. During the Civil Rights Movement, many of the salons operated by Joyner's students became informal organizing spaces where women gathered, shared information, and mobilized for change.
Joyner's nearly century-long life allowed her to witness extraordinary changes. She was born just three decades after slavery ended, lived through the entire Jim Crow era, participated in the Civil Rights Movement, and survived to see the election of Black mayors, members of Congress, and other leaders who would have been unimaginable in her youth. Her longevity made her a living link to history, and her willingness to share her memories and experiences provided invaluable documentation of African American business history and women's entrepreneurship.
Today, Marjorie Joyner is remembered as a pioneering inventor, visionary educator, and tireless advocate for Black women's advancement. Beauty schools continue to teach according to standards she helped establish. Professional organizations she founded or supported continue serving their members. The Walker legacy she helped build continues to inspire Black entrepreneurs. Most importantly, the principle she embodied—that education, professionalism, and economic empowerment are essential tools for achieving equality and dignity—remains relevant and powerful. Her life stands as testament to how one person's commitment to excellence and service can transform thousands of lives and leave a legacy that endures for generations.