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Continue shoppingFamily Heritage•Chicago Roots•The Next Generation•Family-Owned•A Legacy of Care
Our Story
Family Hair Care Since 1979
Rooted in family. Guided by care.
From a Chicago hair care company that helped define an era to The Next Generation, the Daurham family has spent more than four decades caring for hair, scalp and community.
Ernest Daurham Jr.
Founder of D-Orum Hair Products, Inc. (est. 1979)
Founder of D-Orum Hair Products, Inc. (est. 1979)
Family Heritage•Practical Guidance•Personal Support
Our roots run deep. Since 1979.
Before the Products, There Was the Chair
Ernest Daurham Jr. started as a barber, caring for his customers’ hair one chair at a time. By 1977 he was developing his own formulas, and in 1979 he founded D-Orum Hair Products, Inc. to address the unique hair care needs of the African American community. Under his leadership, D-Orum grew into one of the leading hair care companies of its era, home to the flagship brand “Leisure Curl.”
He gave just as generously to his community, establishing the Ernest Daurham Jr. Community Foundation in 1991 and the Daurham Institute of Hair Technology, which offered free education to cosmetology students.
Today, his family carries that vision forward. We are his Next Generation.
The Next Generation
Carrying Our Heritage Forward
Ernest Daurham Jr. went from behind the barber’s chair to building a hair care manufacturing empire. This is his Next Generation: his family, each of us carrying his vision forward in our own way, with the same care he put into every customer and every product.
Our Journey
Four decades of hair care, education and community, told through the family archive.
Our Roots
From the barber’s chair to a company built on hair care, family and community.
Our Family
Care and knowledge passed down through generations.
Our Future
Building on the blueprint he left us, with guidance and support for every hair journey.
1977
A product line takes shape
Ernest Daurham Jr. develops his own formulas. Customer demand brings them to beauty supply stores and Walgreens.
1979
D-Orum Hair Products, Inc.
The company is founded to serve the unique hair care needs of the African American community.
1982
The “Chicago Curl Kit”
D-Orum introduces the first no-rod curl kit, a breakout success.
1984
First million in sales
The Chicago Curl Kit carries D-Orum past its first million dollars in sales.
1985
“Leisure Curl” and the Dry Curl
The flagship brand promised “the look of a relaxer with the maintenance of a curl” and gave birth to the “Dry Curl” category.
1989–90
Record-breaking sales
D-Orum reaches a record sales year.
1991
Giving back
The Ernest Daurham Jr. Community Foundation is established to support social, educational and employment opportunities.
1992
Daurham Institute of Hair Technology
Free education for cosmetology students, plus five salons across Chicagoland and Gary, Indiana to employ graduates.
2014
A new chapter
Ernest Daurham Jr. returns from retirement to launch Daurham Corporation and introduce “It’s A Miracle” African Oils.
Honored in Chicago
The Daurham Way
Chicago honored brothers Ernest Daurham Jr. and William “Chap” O. Daurham with an honorary street name, a tribute to their legacy in hair care, business and community.
Read the Daurham Way Story →
Carry the legacy forward
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