“My mother didn’t want me to become a hair stylist,” reflected Andre Walker, who has won seven Emmy Awards in the profession. “She didn’t think it was a profitable business for a young black man, but it was a passion and I knew that it was something I needed to do.”

In the 1980s Andre opened his own salon in downtown Chicago, and quickly built a reputation for himself as the go-to hair guru in town. After seeing several episodes of AM Chicago in 1986, he noticed that the show’s new host could use a little hair help.

“Oprah [Winfrey’s] hair was never consistent and I could tell she needed a stylist, so I sent her flowers and a note saying, ‘I’m dying to get my hands in your hair,’” he recalled. “I got a call the next day for a try-out.”

The rest is history. When Oprah went on to become the queen of daytime television, she took Andre with her, resulting in him closing his salon and working with her as a personal hair stylist for more than 25 years.

This fall the legendary hair stylist, who is also known for creating Halle Berry’s signature pixie cut, will be enhancing The Gold System, a line of products he designed for the natural hair care market. Launched a year and a half ago in partnership with Dianne Hudson, former Executive Producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the line consists of a shampoo, conditioner, oil and styling creams to provide a solution for dry, curly, kinky, textured and relaxed hair across ethnicities. Retail price points range from $9.99 to $15.99.

“As a hair stylist, you’re always looking for the best products, and I was always making cocktails by mixing a variety of different products to get the right texture or definition for natural hair,” said Andre. “I developed the collection to streamline this process.”

As the creator of the original hair typing system, the Andre Walker Hair Classification System, used by the hair care industry today to identify specific curly hair types and textures, Andre has a deep understanding of natural hair needs and solutions. It took more than two years to formulate the system, which features mongongo oil as the star ingredient. Extracted from the exotic mongongo nut found in the southern regions of Africa, the oil is known to add gloss to hair, increase moisture and manageability.

The Gold System is welcoming two new additions: Beautiful Curls Styling Crème, a leave-in conditioner designed to control frizz and dryness; and Q Oil Quench-Essential Oil, an enhanced version of the line’s original, which aims to nourish hair and add shine. The two new additions, along with the products in the collection, became available exclusively at Target and Target.com this month.

“I am excited to introduce the newly enhanced Gold System,” he said. “Each product has been formulated to compliment the next, so that hair health is systematically restored. If you commit to using the system as advised, the health, moisture and manageability of your hair will be restored over time.”

Up next, Andre plans on adding a hair color stick for touch up and highlights to the collection, and is considering developing several other hair care products.

“I have many ideas for innovative products for the hair care market,” he said. “But, as a small business I am primarily focused on nurturing our current offerings.”