| Book explores women's hair journeys to authenticity |
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| Healthy Hair | |||
| Tuesday, October 27, 2009 | |||
Chris-Tia Donaldson, author
Hair ChroniclesThank God I'm Natural!!!By Chris-Tia Donaldson, authorExcerpt from book It was Saturday night and my place was packed!!! As This Christmas played loudly in the background, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief — knowing that for once everything was going exactly according to plan. This year, I decided to make things easy on myself. Instead of doing all of the cooking as usual, I simply picked up a shrimp platter, a veggie tray, and a few desserts from Costco's. All I had to do was take the teriyaki wings out of the oven. What could be simpler, right? Wrong!
No amount of preparation could have prepared me for what happened next. As I bent down and leaned my head toward the broiler, I could feel 475° of intense heat sweep across my face and over my forehead, instantly transforming my wig's soft, flowing bangs into hard, melted plastic. It didn't take long for the unmistakable stench of burnt hair to permeate throughout my apartment and overpower the smell of everything — even the sweet aroma of my Glade Christmas-Cookie plug-ins! There I stood, melted plastic bangs glued to my shiny, sweaty forehead — and my friends waiting in the very next room...still hungry.
Book cover for "Thank God I'm Natural" from TGINesis Press
As I searched through my closet frantically looking for a suitable replacement — I sat down amidst the strewn clothes, shoes and hair pieces, and broke down in tears. Then, it hit me: I was happy wearing hair in every color, texture and length — but not my own. Seeing my charred wig lying on the dresser that night forced me to come to grips with my kinky tresses. Like most black women, I had an unhealthy, and sometimes negative, perception of my hair. I knew I needed to let go and stop wearing a wig, but after two years of waking up every morning and putting one on, I couldn't stand the sight of myself without my synthetic tresses.
You see, I had recently decided to go natural, and although my hair was quite long, my hair looked dry and dull — like week-old cotton candy — because I had kept it covered for so long. After getting a perm for 20-plus years, I didn't know the first thing about caring for my natural texture. I had no clue what products or styling tools to use or how to work with the tight, spongy curls sitting atop my head. Learning to do my hair was like teaching myself Swahili. I simply didn't know where to begin. This episode forced me to come to the realization that me and my hair would be together until death do us part and was also the inspiration for my new book, Thank God I'm Natural: The Ultimate Guide to Caring for and Maintaining Natural Hair.
Chris-Tia Donaldson is the author of Thank God I'm Natural: The Ultimate Guide to Caring for and Maintaining Natural Hair. Donaldson, a Harvard trained lawyer, has been featured in publications like USA Today, Essence magazine, the Chicago Tribune, and the Detroit Free Press for her thoughts on the growing natural hair trend and issues related to black women, beauty, politics and pop culture. This Detroit native currently lives in Chicago. For more information, visit her Web site at www.thankgodimnatural.com or her blog at thankgodimnatural.wordpress.com. 
WIN A FREE COPY OF THANK GOD I'M NATURAL: Post a new comment on any article on MySalonScoop.com by Nov 10, win a chance to receive a copy of the book. Copyright 2009 © TGINesis Press LLC Comments (3)
  written by jvernitad1, October 28, 2009
I also have been wearing wigs but I am beginning to see they make me look older then being my 59, so I am trying to go natural I have been just 2 strand twisting my hair but I think this book would help me to create a healthy head of hair...
written by Cristina B, November 01, 2009
I stopped using the "creamy crack" over a year ago, but have been lost in terms of what to do with my hair since. I've become very close to my hairdresser as he presses the roots every 2 weeks so it still looks relaxed- but believe me- I run for cover if I see even the possibility of a raindrop. I am excited to get Chris-Tia's book so I too can share in her natural hair epiphanies!
written by jvernitad1, December 09, 2009
I won I won thanks so much I received my book yesterday and it is the bomb I was undecided what style I want ad now I know which locs, I know what to look for in getting someone and not just letting anyone do it, Trust me this is an hair encyclopedia it is like having a question book because it answer any question it is like going to Google to find something about hair....lol...Thanks for this Chris-Tia
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Although going natural was a long, difficult and sometimes painful journey, it's one that I will never regret. My natural journey, which has been fraught with many difficult moments, has taught me many lessons — including not to retrieve appetizers from an oven while wearing synthetic hair. But most importantly, that we, as black woman, must learn to love our hair, embrace our unique differences and no longer be ashamed of who we truly are. Today, I love my hair now more than ever before and have just as many styling options, if not more (minus the paranoia) as when I was wearing a wig. While it has taken me close to 25 years to accept my kinky mane for what it is, I can now finally say, THANK GOD I'M NATURAL!
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