If steroids grew your hair back and it fell out again the moment you stopped, this episode explains why.
Inside this episode:
Johanna opens with the part most people are never told at diagnosis: steroid injections, topical minoxidil and JAK inhibitors work by suppressing immune activity. While that activity is suppressed the attack on the follicle pauses, so regrowth can happen. But the trigger underneath was never addressed, so when the medication stops, the cycle picks up where it left off.
She talks through what she has seen across ten years and thousands of families in more than 68 countries: the first flare often responds, sometimes the second does too, but the third and fourth tend to return more aggressively. She also explains why a dermatologist almost always reaches for a prescription — not dishonesty, but a toolkit that contains medication and very little else, shaped by a training system that devotes roughly four hours to nutrition across an entire medical degree.
The episode then covers what rarely comes up in the appointment itself: the real out-of-pocket cost of staying on these drugs long term, the fertility questions Johanna weighed before declining medication herself, and why she is especially cautious about children and anyone under 30.
What you will learn:
• Why suppressing the immune system pauses hair loss without resolving what caused it
• What tends to happen by the third or fourth flare, and why the cycle gets harder to break
• Why a dermatologist’s answer is almost always a prescription, and what that reflects about how doctors are trained
• What long-term medication actually costs out of pocket, with and without insurance
• The fertility and long-term health questions Johanna weighed before saying no to steroids
• Why she urges extra caution for children and anyone under 30
• How to tell whether you are treating a symptom or addressing a cause
• Why root causes are plural and individual, and what blind spots and triggers look like in practice
Who this episode is for:
Anyone with alopecia areata, totalis or universalis who has been offered steroid injections, minoxidil or a JAK inhibitor and wants to understand the trade-offs before deciding. It is also for parents weighing medication for a child. And if you have already been through a course of steroids and watched the regrowth disappear afterwards, this episode explains the mechanism behind that.
About the show:
Awaken to Hair Growth is hosted by Johanna Dahlman, who reversed her own alopecia areata and telogen effluvium and has since worked with adults and children in over 68 countries. New episodes weekly on root causes, client stories and the research behind natural hair regrowth.
If you want to understand what is driving your own hair loss rather than managing it, the Hair N’ Heal Program is where that work starts.
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Check out our Free Downloads to learn the truth about Alopecia
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Connect with Johanna for a one-on-one session and receive personalized guidance on your healing journey. Schedule your consultation here.
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HELP IS WITHIN YOUR REACH!
Alopecia Angel is dedicated to those seeking a holistic, natural, and safe approach to healing Alopecia from the inside out! The main force behind Alopecia Angel is a deep desire to help individuals achieve what I achieved with a natural treatment option, a well-rounded approach to health, wellness, and reversing Alopecia naturally without antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, cortisone shots to the head, or embarrassing creams.
After seeing results with my multi-tiered natural Alopecia treatment, targeting mind, body, nutrition, environment, and other elements, I decided I wanted to share my findings and let others know that a natural, safe, and holistic method does in fact exist to regrow hair from alopecia.
