My Inspiration and Motivation
My sister Timothy (fondly known as Dena), inspired me to get involved in the hair augmentation industry due to her personal experience with hair loss. Timothy was an Ebony Fashion Fair model and the first African American to model Jordache Jeans. Although she achieved great success in her modeling career, her personal life was unraveling due to hair loss as a result of chemical burns to her scalp. This caused her to become inward, depressed and very self-conscious. Dena became so embarrassed that she never wanted for anyone to see her without hair, not even her family. Knowing how depressed she was about her hair loss, my younger sister paid for a hair replacement system from a very reputable company. Unfortunately, the results looked unnatural, and Dena was still sad. I prayed “Lord, you’ve got to let me learn how to do that, and make it look more natural.” About 6 months, later I finally got the opportunity. I made myself a promise that I would perfect the technique and make it have a more natural appearance. It became very personal to me. Just as I thought, she began to feel good about herself after we achieved a more natural appearance. Sadly, the joy did not last long since we shortly found out my sister had another battle to overcome… breast cancer. This devastating situation made me more determined to give her and others like her the opportunity to feel good about themselves.
In 2008, a year before my sister passed, I started a non-profit organization called “Hair Dreams by Christal”. The goal of this organization is to provide non-surgical hair replacement systems to underprivileged women and children who suffer from extreme long or short term hair loss. I aim to restore people’s self-esteem and rebuild their confidence by enhancing their outward appearance. Our motto is “You can be sick, but you don’t have to look sick. You can have hair loss and no one has to know it.” Typically, when we think of hair loss we envision balding middle-aged men, but today with all the food additives, illnesses, traumatic experiences, medication and stress levels, many women and children are also experiencing hair loss. Hair loss reaches across all social, racial and economic spectrums. It does not pick and choose who it will affect.
Through Hair Dreams by Christal I have come across women and children whose self-esteem was so shattered, they were unable to look me in the eyes. They were broken, they didn’t feel whole, and they just didn’t feel good about themselves. Seeing the physical and emotional transformation that takes place after their hair treatment is truly astonishing and it reassures me that I am honoring my sister in the best way.
