Who invented the weave for hair and in what year? That is a question that has been burning in a lot of peoples heads. We love the ability to change our look at the drop of a dime if we wish. It was a great invention and we are thankful for it. Going from a short curly do to a long wavy sexy do all in one day is every woman’s dream.

Well an African American lady by the name of Christina Jenkins invented the hair weaving process in the nineteen fifties. She received a patent in 1951 for this process of hair weaving. Although people were wearing wigs and hair pieces for thousands of years, Christina came up with the weaving idea. She was married to a jazz musician named Duke at the time and lived in Cleveland Ohio.

Christina and Duke Jenkins formed their company Christina’s Hair-Weev in the early nineteen fifties. People were so in love with her weaves and method of applying them that they would pay her to come to their countries and teach them how to sew in hair weave. Before she invented the idea to sew the weave onto the hair, people were putting the weave on with hair pins placed on the scalp.

Hair weaves back in those days were stiff and pretty bulky. Mrs. Jenkins technique at first looked the same once done. What she did for the hair extension world was created a way for it to be applied and stay for a while. Her technique at that time was very time consuming. In the nineteen fifties the way she would do a weave sew in, according to the patent includes:

…connecting successive strands of live hair and successive strands of commercial hair to a linearly elongated attachment base of cord-like material at closely spaced points therealong. …interweaving strands of live hair and strands of commercial hair, with cord like material to permanently join the strands thereto. …interweaving strands of live hair with filamentous material to permanently secure the filamentous material as a base on the head; and attaching a switch or like accessory of commercial hair to the base, by thread. etc.

Patent US 2621663 – Permanently attaching commercial hair to live hair: US2621663

Christina Jenkins maiden name is Thomas and she was born in Louisiana. She graduated from Leland College in nineteen forty three. That same year is when she married well known Jazz Pianist Herman Duke Jenkins. Sadly she passed away in December of 2003.

Now you know who invented the weave for hair and in what year. In December think of her as well and give thanks as you wear that cute weave you have on your head. Mrs. Christina Jenkins has done a great service to us all by inventing a way for us to turn our short locks into long ones without damaging our natural hair.

Resources:

Congressional Record: Volume 149, Part 23 By Bernan

Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History By Victoria Sherrow

Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America By Ayana Byrd, Lori Tharps