The incredible CEO of popular hair product brand, TGIN, Thank God it’s Natural, Chris-Tia Donaldson, has passed away. According to unofficial reports, Donaldson was 42.
TGIN finance and human resources manager and Chris-Tia's niece made the announcement through her Instagram late Sunday afternoon.
"It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of our founder and CEO, Chris-Tia Donaldson...TGIN and TGIN foundation has lost a leader and a visionary. And the world has lost a selfless human being. Chris-Tia lived a life of service and was a force to be reckoned with inside and outside the beauty community. Through her passion and purpose, she redefined beauty and created a community of female empowerment teaching us the importance of advocating for ourselves."
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Her spirit and her words of encouragement as a breast cancer survivor resonated with so many. She released her first book, Thank God I’m Natural: The Ultimate Guide to Caring for and Maintaining Natural Hair, in the summer of 2009. It was quickly heralded at the “The Natural Hair Bible.”
The book dispelled some of the most common myths and misconceptions about kinky hair. It also gave women a much-needed resource for how to embrace their coils.
Prior to starting her own company, Donaldson represented Fortune 500 companies in complex business transactions involving technology and open-source code. Donaldson earned her A.B. in Economics from Harvard University with high honors and is a graduate of Harvard Law School.
In 2013, she started making her products in the kitchen with the help of her family. By 2015, the products became a viable company with revenue topping $1 million.
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In 2015, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but it was something that was not on her mind, nor her health record.
"I was just 36 at the time of my diagnosis," explained Donaldson to BlackDoctor.org in 2017. "When I thought of breast cancer, I thought of people like Sheryl Crow, Melissa Ethridge, Joan Lunden, Suzanne Sommers and Christina Applegate."
"I never gave much consideration that this was something that could happen to me."
"I was actually taking a shower and noticed it then. Initially, I thought it was hormonal-related. I had a cyst removed from my breast in my 20s."
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"Given my age and the fact that I felt perfectly healthy, breast cancer was the furthest thing from my mind."
"When I first was diagnosed, my doctor asked me when could I start chemotherapy. I told them I had a meeting with Target on 3/22 that I had to look good for."
"Based on that, we scheduled my treatments in such a way, that I would be off and looking and feeling good for that meeting."
But, I soon learned that you can’t plan for everything, because we ended up getting calls to do meetings with Walgreen’s and Rite Aid and I just had to wing it even though I was at my weakest.
"I had a lumpectomy, followed by 8 rounds of chemotherapy and 33 rounds of radiation. My doctors were extremely aggressive with their choice of treatment given my age."
"In older women, they tend to only do a lumpectomy and radiation, if the size of the mass is small, because of their shorter life expectancy."
Employees, co-workers and users of TGIN all flocked to social media to share their admiration for the beautiful CEO.
Beauty blogger Afrobella commented, "Chris-Tia was such an inspiration and always a delight whenever we saw each other. I'm just so sorry to hear this. Her legacy will live forever."
Allthemoorecurls posted on Instagram saying, "I started using Tgin products this year and learned more about the CEO and company. Her story, where it all started with her selling hair products out of her car, she truly was an inspiration. She accomplished so much. Her products are amazing. They positivity she showed despite having Breast cancer was very uplifting. I'm so sorry to hear about her passing."
One of Chris-Tia's memorable quotes sums up her outlook on her life journey:
"Cancer is just one storm. It didn't define me. And you don't have to let your storms define you."
