There isn’t a more perfect example of the phrase “black don’t crack” than Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas. One third of the 1990’s R&B group, TLC, Chilli hasn’t appeared to age since the day the group entered the music scene over 25 years ago.
After dominating the charts with TLC’s four multi-platinum albums, Chilli is showing no lines of slowing down — professionally or physically. Despite many years of touring, performing, and life on the road, Chilli has maintained her physique and youthful glow thanks to being disciplined and figuring out a regimen that works best for her. And it’s clearly working.
Mainly, because the 47-year-old mom takes her health very seriously.
“You have to take care of the temple like God wants us to,” Chilli told ESSENCE exclusively. “Your older self will tell what the younger self did. The earlier you start, the better.”
Besides God laying his hands on her, what exactly does Chilli do to maintain her youthful glow?
“I do acupuncture,” she revealed. “I do a lot of different things to make sure inflammation is not in my body. Most people have inflammation, they don’t even know it because they don’t feel it at the time.”
She continued, “A good chiropractor is also essential because your hips and stuff are not balanced. You don’t know it until you lay on that table and you see one leg is longer.”
And with so many new fads on the market promising to reverse aging, remove fine lines and get rid of that stubborn fat, it’s often hard to determine what’s going to have health benefits for the long run. For Chilli, she undergoes cryotherapy, or cold therapy, regularly.
“I also do red light therapy. That’s also good for inflammation,” she said. “It’s an LED light and it doesn’t burn your skin, but it helps with arthritis. Even if your skin has acne and stuff like that, you can find red light therapy. I suggest doing the whole body. That’s what I do on a consistent basis. I don’t ever feel like I have any injuries.”
Finally, she said that the real key to looking as amazing as she does it eating right — a lot. “That helps and you can enjoy life a lot longer,” she said.
Welp, there you have it. If you’ve ever wanted to know how Chilli does it — now you know.
