George E. Johnson Sr. built a business around hair-care products for Black consumers. With Joan Johnson, he co-founded Johnson Products in Chicago in 1954. The company's Ultra Sheen and Afro Sheen brands became familiar names in homes and salons, and the company's story reached into television sponsorship, banking and corporate ownership. The brands advertised directly to Black consumers at a time when mainstream manufacturers rarely did.
Born in Richton, Mississippi, in 1927, Johnson moved to Chicago with his mother as a young child. The HistoryMakers' biography records early jobs shining shoes, clearing restaurant tables and setting bowling pins. He left high school before graduating and, in 1944, joined S.B. Fuller's cosmetics business, where he learned product manufacturing before starting his own company a decade later.
Johnson Products began with men's hair care and expanded into products for women. The HistoryMakers describes the development of Ultra Sheen and the company's work training cosmetologists to use its products.
The company's growth included a public stock listing on the American Stock Exchange in January 1971. It also sponsored the nationally syndicated music and dance program Soul Train.
Johnson's work beyond the company included co-founding Independence Bank in 1964 and chairing its board. His educational fund supported college scholarships. In February 2025, Little, Brown published his memoir, Afro Sheen, written with Hilary Beard. Johnson died on July 6, 2026, at age 99.
