IN MEMORIAM: Chris-Tia Donaldson, Founder of TGIN Beauty, Passes Away At 42

By Paige Boyd, Managing Editor

Chris-Tia Donaldson, the founder of the popular TGIN Beauty, has passed away at the age of 42.

Essence reports that Donaldson died on Saturday, November 13. The cause of death was not known at press time, but Donaldson has been open in the past about her journey as a two-time breast cancer survivor. Her niece, TGIN's finance and human resource manager Aris Singleton, broke the news on the business' Instagram page on Sunday.

"It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of our founder and CEO Chris-Tia Donaldson on the evening of Saturday, November 13. TGIN and the TGIN foundation has lost a leader and a visionary and the world has lost a selfless and beautiful human being. Chris-Tia lived a life of service and was a force to be reckoned with inside and outside of the beauty community. Through her passion and purpose she redefined beauty and created a community of women empowerment teaching us the importance of advocating for ourselves especially our health,” said Singleton. “The entire TGIN family mourns the tremendous loss. No words can adequately express that sadness or the love we have for her.”

Launched in 2013, TGIN (an acronym for "Thank God, It's Natural") has been a leading manufacturer of natural haircare and skincare products, available at Target and Sally Beauty locations nationwide. Donaldson, a Detroit native, was also the author of the #1 Amazon Best-seller, Thank God I’m Natural: The Ultimate Guide to Caring for Natural Hair, and her latest book, This is Only a Test: What Breast Cancer Taught me about Faith, Love, Hair and Business.

In addition, Donaldson supported uninsured women undergoing treatment for breast cancer through her TGIN Foundation. Most recently, the foundation partnered with rideshare company Lyft to provide transportation for women to get to their breast cancer treatments and to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. For her philanthropy and success in business, she was recently named as a "Woman Of Excellence" by the Chicago Defender, and in response to her death, the Defender called her "a trailblazer in the natural hair community. Someone who broke barriers for future Black women entrepreneurs. And an influence to all."