Gwen Jimmere’s invention of a new hair care product was born out of a culture of making things when you couldn’t get them. She had no idea her own product would be so successful and it led to her taking 6-months to learn patent law and filing a patent herself to become the first African American to patent a natural hair care product.

Natural Hair Care is a huge industry estimated to be worth around $2.7 billion. The thing is many patents and products are owned by huge corporations even though they often had humble beginnings. Also te word natural is quite open and many products are not as natural as they pretend to be. The fact that Gwen is the first African American to file such a patent in such a huge industry really speaks for itself and the state of African American small business.

The community produces a lot of innovative products but patenting is difficult and takes time.

Gwen founded her company Naturalicious in 2013. Shortly after she was finanlising a divorce and was laid off of her job at Ford as global marketing director.

So, she took the signs as a chance to push ahead with her dreams. Short on cash, she couldn’t pay to file a patent so she took to hard work and regular library visits to research what was needed over 6 months.

She eventually filed a patent for her product Moroccan Rhassoul 5-in-1 Clay Treatment.

A clay conditioner, deep conditioner, leave-in conditioner and de-tangler all in one. She says a normal wash day can take 3 hours but this product cuts it down to one hour. She is so confident she offers a two month trial and 100 percent of your money back, and she will buy a competitor’s’ product to replace it if the customer isn’t happy.

Gwen is keen to push others to pursue their dreams and own their products. Entrepreneaur.com quoted Gwen saying

“The patent gives me leverage and can be a part of wealth building. I really want women entrepreneurs to start legally owning our creations via intellectual property. We innovate incredible things all the time,” she says. “Consider patenting these inventions. Think about protecting yourself, your business and your legacy.”