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Tracci Johnson
Tracci Johnson was born in Fowler, a suburb of Fresno, California. Her parents divorced before her first birthday, and she was raised in a single parent home with her older brother...view moreTracci Johnson was born in Fowler, a suburb of Fresno, California. Her parents divorced before her first birthday, and she was raised in a single parent home with her older brother. Her mother was an elementary teacher and later an assistant principal.No one was surprised with Tracci’s career choice because she was preceded by a long line of women in the hair industry. Her fraternal great, great grandmother made wigs for Madame C.J. Walker’s company. A fraternal aunt was a celebrity stylist in the 70s and one of the first African American women to own a salon in Beverly Hills. Her maternal grandmother and two of her sisters were stylists and salon owners. Another sister was a barber and pioneered in becoming a female barber shop owner in the state of Texas.While studying at the Institute of Cosmetology in Oakland, California in the 80s, Tracci was sought by the late Ron Newton, master stylist, and son of the late Black Panther leader, Huey P. Newton, as his assistant. Under his mentoring, Tracci became one of the busiest stylists in Oakland, before moving to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of becoming a celebrity stylist. Little did she know, but there would be many obstacles and lessons to be learned in her path.After a long unanticipated struggle, Tracci established herself as a very successful celebrity stylist and owner of Eclipse Salon on Melrose in Hollywood, California. During her career, she toured with Pebbles, En Vogue the 90s super group, and Babyface as a key stylist. She also serviced, either in her salon or on sets, such celebrities as El Debarge, LL Cool J and his wife, Simone Smith, Jada-Pinkett-Smith, Nia Long, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Kelly Williams, Elise Neal, Brandy, Kelly Price, Keisha Cole, Natalie Cole, Cicely Tyson, Tisha Campbell, Tichina Arnold, CeCe Winans, Lynn Whitfield, and others. Other stylists who worked in Eclipse Salon serviced clients such as Janet Jackson, Forrest Whittaker, Terrence Howard, Dr. Dre, Arsenio Hall, Shaquille O’Neal, and other Lakers’ team members and many of their wives.Tracci’s talents have been displayed on ABC’s Extreme Makeover and other make-over shows. Her styles have graced the stages of the Oscars, the Grammys, BET Awards, Image Awards, movies, music videos, and television shows. She has appeared in several publications such as In Style, Essence, Upscale, Salon Sense, Sophisticates Black Hair, and others. Upscale Magazine voted her one of the top ten African American stylists in the country. Salon Sense Magazine voted her one of the 50 most influential women in the beauty industry and voted her salon as one of the top 10 urban salons in the nation.Although highly successful in business, Tracci’s private life was a total failure. The total of her worth was wrapped up in her public image, but privately, her life was riddled with a foreboding darkness, brokenness, bitterness, unforgiveness, self-loathing, pretense, and a constant feeling of not being enough. She lived with the fear of losing her ability to project the confident person she presented to the world.At the age of eight, Tracci accepted Jesus as her Savior, but failed to grasp the significance of surrendering to His Lordship. Her toxic relationship with her earthly father impacted her view of God, the heavenly Father, and her ability to trust His unconditional love for her. Her dangerous mistrust of God left her exposed and vulnerable to the many attacks of Satan as she navigated her life with an often-intentional disregard for God’s guidance. Not trusting God was a sin that had catastrophic consequences in her life and ushered in many other sins that derailed her ability to be used of God.Her life was on a downward spiral until God intervened and taught her the value of trusting Him. She not only found Him to be trustworthy but found in Him everything that she was so desperately searching for. Once she was delivered from her destructive self-sufficiency and mistrust, she opened herself up to God’s plan for her life, and in doing so, she exchanged her driving passion for her career for a driving passion to be used in ministry. She not only found her purpose but realized that where God wants her is the most fulfilling place to be.Instrumental in Tracci’s deliverance was her willingness to forgive and release the bitterness she carried against her father. The lessons she learned from her experiences have allowed her to approach ministry with a passion to help others, especially women, from the Word of God and lessons she learned from her own experiences. She began teaching a women’s Bible class and later a singles’ ministry. Currently, she is the founder of the Ruth Group, a women’s ministry.After a life of pretending to be happy and well adjusted, Tracci values authenticity, and allows access into some of her most private situations in a genuine effort to help others.view less