Dyke and Dryden: Cosmetic kings

Witness History

In 1969, a new sound began to dominate the airwaves in the UK, reggae.

This was terrible news for two Jamaican men, Len Dyke and Dudley Dryden who were making their money selling 'slices of home' records on market stalls in London.

They had been pushed out by big labels but being true businessmen, they established themselves in an area with little-to-no commercial competition - black women’s haircare.

Little did they know they were entering the market when black beauty was about to get a whole new look that would make them millions.

It was the dawn of the Jerry Curl. This was a new product that could chemically change the texture of afro hair making it straighter and shinier.

Rudi Page, Dyke and Dryden's former marketing manager tells Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty how the business became so successful that they started supplying products in Ghana and Nigeria as well as the whole of the UK.

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(Photo: Rudi Page. Credit: Rudi Page)