As a young man in Chicago, Redding was teaching chemistry and working as a hair stylist using beauty products that did not perform to his expectations.

He began experimenting with chemicals and other ingredients he found in his kitchen, such as mayonnaise and vinegar, to make his own shampoos, rinses and hairdressing solutions to improve the hair of his clients.

He later co-founded three other major national hair care companies, Redken in 1960, Jhirmack in 1968, and in 1979, Nexxus, which he said stood for "Nature and Earth United With Science."

Jheri Redding and his management team of family members was the first salon only product company to introduce TV advertising on national scale such as Johnny Carson and the Today Show.

The introduction of co-op advertising assisted many salons with increasing business of both services and for the first time retail sales of both Nexxus and other products.

[citation needed][4] As he succeeded, the recognized authority on hair color put his ideas into print when he wrote The Anatomy of a Permanent Wave.