Episode 109 - Why The DIY Approach to Healing Alopecia Does Not Work

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the Alopecia Angel podcast. I'm your host, Johanna Dahlman, and today I am very, very excited to be with you. I have just come back from doing a presentation at Paul Mitchell here in Boise, Idaho, and at the school, Paul Mitchell. For those of you who don't know, Paul Mitchell is a world renowned international beauty school that has curriculum for hairstylists, barbers, cosmetologists estheticians makeup artists, and so much more.

And at this presentation I was hosting to over 60 students, I was telling them about alopecia, about alternatives to healing and how they have so much power being the stylist, they have so much power being the beautician, being the barber, being the person who does your hair, because it really is the first step, that first introduction, that first diagnosis to the alopecia world. For those of you who were diagnosed in the chair, like I was, that has so many ramifications and so many stop gaps in many ways.

But in others, you were diagnosed through some other means, whether it was through a friend, a family member, or maybe a parent was, you know, washing your hair and saw this or something of that nature, but when you're diagnosed in the chair and the stylist is only giving you one options, like, hey, you know, you have alopecia, go see a doctor, that one option is a slippery slope as most of you know. I've been there, you've been there and you know, we've come out to the other side.

But today's topic is much more than that. Today's topic is the do it yourself approach, and this approach is timely, it's costly and it's filled with misinformation, with distractions with not getting to the results that you want, it lacks guidance. And again, there's just too much out there to really understand what's correct, what's right, and what would work for you or for your child. And for those of you considering the do it yourself, which many are considering this option or are on this track of doing it yourself and trying to figure out the self. It's not all what it's cracked up to be.

And I say this from experience because I did it myself for over 4 years until I cracked the code on my alopecia and then I cracked the code on all my clients alopecia. But I actually just had a recent run in with a lady and she had the consultation call, the free consultation call that I offer, because she's considering doing the Hair N' Heal program, and she was really, really funny. We, we actually got along really well and she was telling me: Johanna, I've been doing this for 5 years, I've been trying to tweak every area of my life. I've done this and this and that.

And she went through this whole laundry list of things that she's done for her hair, of things that she's done for her health, of things that she's tweaked and modified. And she told me, she's like: WTF, Johanna, what's going on? How come I'm not seeing results? And, you know, she didn't say it like that, she said it actually with the full verbiage of the WTF. I understand her pain and frustration. I couldn't help but laugh because of the way she said it, she was actually very comical about it, but I could sense her frustration. And throughout the conversation that we were having, at the end of it, I saw many things that were holding her back, just right then and there, just through the conversation.

But in any case, I already started to see some of these blind spots. And it's quite interesting because these blind spots will persist, will persist until you overcome the resistance. And even in that small amount of time that we had together, I was able to see how her own heart and mind were at conflict, how her own like logic and then like what her heart was saying was not on the same page to move forward. And I could also see where her ego was stepping in and being like: Oh no. Let's call her Sally, that's not her real name. Oh, Sally, you know, you can do this on your own.

And like these whispers and these voices, you know, cause she was giving me a play by play step by step situation of what was going on in her head and what she was feeling and what she was thinking and you know how this whole alopecia situation has persisted for so many years and she's been trying to deal with it and heal it on herself. I will say many of us type A people if you resonate, we need to let go, raise our hand and say: It's okay to ask for help, It's okay to be like, I don't have all the answers. I'm missing something, let's go to somebody who can help.

And she did, she came to me, we did the consult call. She hasn't signed up yet, but that's again, her ego, and she told me at the end of the conversation, she's like, you know what? You're right, it is my ego that's not allowing me to move forward because I think I can do it all. I think I can be that superwoman. And I will say is that Rome was not built in a day, and Rome was not built alone. Just like the pyramids, just like anything great, whether it's companies, whether it's health, whether it's people, whether it's movements or activism of any sort. It's not done by one person. It's done by a team of people.

Just like I help, I healed myself, but I healed myself with a team of knowledge. Alopecia Angel is run with a team of people, I can't do this by myself. And many times, that type A person wants to say, I can do this on my own. And what I would say is that, there's probably very few of you that will be able to accomplish this on your own, 100% on your own. Why is that? Well, there's a lot of things that are going to trip you up. First is time, you need time in order to do this. And that's one resource that we all only have 24 hours of in each day.

But on top of it, how many distractions, how many responsibilities, how many children, how many jobs, how many things that you have to do, responsibilities do you have to get done? Time is not with you. It's against you because time is slipping through your hands. You're trying to figure this out on your own and then now it's like 3 years in, 4 years in, 5 years in, just like this girl is taking in order to heal herself when she could get all the answers in less than 2 months. She can get all the answers in less than 8 weeks. And probably even less because just with the intake form alone in less than 24-72 hours. I'm getting you my recommendations back to you, with a lot of the blind spots that are there.

So that's one thing, money, money's against you because time can only go so far as your money as well. And I don't know about you, but for me, when I was going through my journey of healing this on my own, yes, it took a lot of time, it took 16-18 hour days time for over 4 years. Plus a lot of money because I was traveling from Europe to America and back seeing doctors, you know, staying at hotels, staying at friends house, you know, Ubering and trying to like figure this out. It takes time and money, but it also takes resources. And I don't know how many of you can put your life on pause to try to fix this.

I will patient just focus it and go all in, because, again, that's also what's needed, you need to go all in. If you try to do a little bit here, a little bit there, a little bit here, and then a little bit like in 6 months, this isn't a renovation project, this isn't, like, you flipping a house, this is you healing your hair loss. Does that make sense? This is gonna look very different than flipping a house. And then in terms of guidance, like, where are you getting your guidance from? Where are you getting your next steps from?

And many times, this is so priceless. When I'm able to speak to a client like I did the other day, I was speaking to a client who did my program a year ago, and he started with me at Universalis. He's a gentleman over 40 years of age, he's had this his whole life, over 40 years with Universalis. And guess what? We had a call and he has over three fourths of his hair covered in hair. Three fourths, that's fantastic. 75% of his hair is back. Now, there's a little bit left to do, because there's a little bit more work to do.

And, you know, I told him exactly. Because he's like that, that person who's like: Just tell me exactly what I need to do. And I told him exactly what he needs to do and he's off to the races. Sometimes that's what we need, we need somebody to see right through us and tell us: Tell me exactly what to do in order for me to get from A to B. Because many times, we think we need to do A, then F, then G, then Z, then Q, when really, it's just A to B, when really, it could just be streamlined, when really, it could just be so minimal. Or, again, so strategic. And I can't wait to see his updates. Because, you know, he's on the task, I gave him a timeline. We really, like, hashed it out exactly what he needed to do, so I'm very, very thrilled for him.

On top of everything that I already mentioned, what about the distractions? You have social media, you have friends, you have holiday parties, you have vacations, you have corporate work related functions to attend, you have family things to attend, it's endless. What about all those distractions? It's endless. And then on top of everything, it's the longevity situation.

So, for example, I came across a lady in a forum and she had said: Hey, my child healed with A, B, and C, we did this and all her hair grew back. Now, the problem that I see with her solution, and I'm just going to just say in quotations, there's many problems to her solution. a) She has her kid on medications, which her kid, who's younger than 5 years old, cannot sustain and cannot be on medications long term. Because at some point, those medications are going to backfire. Even if it's medications that are over the counter. So that's first and foremost, which she's not taking into consideration.

So okay, maybe she got the hair now, but what's going to happen when that child is 10 years old or 20 and doesn't know her blind spots and doesn't know how to mitigate this on her own and doesn't know how to fly with her own wings and doesn't know what to do. She's just going to end up being in that vicious cycle situation because her mom put her on medications and on some supplements thinking like: Boom, that was it. When it's not it, there's so much more to it. Does that make sense?

She's sacrificing longterm results for short term wins, this is like gambling in Las Vegas with your savings, thinking you're going to hit the jackpot and not investing in your future retirement. So, yes, okay, she hit a small jackpot for today because she's got, she's got hair, she's got some wins, but taking these over the counter meds, plus a bunch of supplements, is not going to be a long term solution for this child because things are going to change and evolve, and it's not sustainable. You can't be on meds for your life. And you know what? When you are, we have problems, when you are, we see more issues and more health issues.

You can ask anyone who's on any medication long term, has it helped them? I can guarantee you it has not, it's only made things worse. You see this in diabetes patients, you see this with the typical weight loss medications that we're seeing now like Ozempec. Anyone heard of Ozempec? Anyone heard of all these other weight loss, you know: Let's lose 5 pounds in one weekend situation. Yeah, okay, they're giving you the weight loss, but guess what? Now you are tied to this medication for life It's just like minoxidil. You have to use it for the rest of your life for it to work and many times It's gonna backfire.

Oh, and by the way Ozempic also causes hair loss for those of you who don't know for those of you who are just you know come into the conversation Ozempic is a weight loss drug amongst other weight loss drugs and now they're all being tied to hair loss. So not only do you lose the weight and not only do you have to be on it long term to lose the weight and keep the weight off, but you also get to lose your hair. FYI for any of you who's on Ozempic or any of these other weight loss drugs. Medications long term is not the solution. Point Blank. It's not.

You're doing yourself a disservice, and in this aspect, this mom, without knowing it, is hindering her child, right now, even with full hair, is hindering her child because she's setting her up for failure. Does that make sense? So the longevity aspect of going on a weight loss drug, or going on, let's say, an over the counter medication or any medication for alopecia, is setting you up for failure. Because more than likely, you're going to have to be on it for a lifetime. Second, it'll probably bring more health issues and conditions later on. And thirdly, you're not getting to the root cause.

The other concerning aspect of trying to do it yourself, in terms of healing alopecia, is again, all the conflicting information. You know, because the thing is, it's like you could find yourself at a desperate moment trying to say: Okay, I'm going to take the medication, okay, I'm going to do this. Okay, I'm going to do that. But again, at what price? It's not just the price of the drug, it's also the sacrifices that you're doing now for those short wins. And of course, then we also have conflicted information because your child, you know, may be doing okay with such and such medication or such and such protocol, but what about this other child who's got like 3 different autoimmune diseases and a bunch of other stuff going on? It's going to look different. It's going to look different for everybody. This is why the conflicting information is not a one size fits all.

And then it's just like, who are you getting your information from? There's a lot of forums out there, and this is really scary, but these are just like regular people giving out information when there hasn't been any evaluation, when there hasn't been any consideration, when all they know about you or your child is that you've got hair loss and they're putting you in the same bucket as everybody else and they're like: Oh, you should do this or you should do that. I cringe, I cringe when I see this and I feel for the parents or people who are on these forums, because you're taking random advice, which means zero, and then on top of it, you're rolling the dice, you're rolling the dice there, you really are.

The other aspect of trying to do it yourself is that with all these things that I've mentioned, The time, the money, the resources, the lack of guidance, the immense distractions, the lack of longevity, the lack of personalization, the conflicting information, is that at the end of it, you don't know who to believe, and you don't know what to do. So you could actually be stuck in analysis paralysis instead of getting the information that you need tailored to you with a strategic plan to move forward.

And yes, I am tooting the horn of Alopecia Angel and the Hair N' Heal program because yes, we've seen results. Yes, we've, we have the case studies. Yes, we've seen success in so many different types of alopecia. And yes, I continue to grow, but also grow the awareness, grow the healing in more than 66 countries. And now we are growing the education for beauties beauticians, for hairstylists, for cosmetologists, for the hair professional in different schools. We've spoken to Paul Mitchell, we've spoken to Aveda, we've spoken to Barber Colleges, we've spoken to so many others and the list just keeps growing.

And more importantly, I don't know if you know, but I will be presenting at the Biohacking Conference, which will be in Dallas of this year. So I'm very, very excited to do that. The Biohacking Conference is one of the top premier health and wellness. conferences in the world. And it's, it's hosted by Dave Asprey himself, someone who has hacked their health in order to thrive, in order to be better, in order to reverse all their ailments and be a younger, better version of themselves in the most optimal health. And this is a great avenue for those of you who want to learn more.

But going back to today's topic about trying to do this on your own, this is why people have come before you. This is why there are proven strategies out there because doing it yourself will take a lot longer having you not go through an avenue such as the Hair N' Heal program where it can shorten that lifespan, where it can take out your blind spots, where it can show you the road that you need in particular, because potentially and more than likely what I need, what you need, what your neighbor needs, what the girl down the street needs is all going to look very different. It really is. It's not a one size fits all.

And so this is key, this is really key, but this also goes along tied in with the ego. Just like Sally, who I mentioned earlier, she wants to do the program, she doesn't understand where she's going wrong. She wanted to have a little conversation and banter about this because she's trying to figure this out. She's been 5 years and she's like tired and I get it. She's tired. I was tired too. I didn't give up and I don't think Sally is going to give up either. But I also know that there's a better way, I also know that there's a more streamlined avenue and this is what, what's key.

Because when I see people, or when I hear them speak, or see them in forums, and they're going back and forth of, you know, trying to figure out their blind spots, trying to figure out how to do ABC, and trying to figure out, and trying to test, and you're wasting time, you're wasting more money, and you're wasting more resources, and it's like, you could have been here ages ago, and yet you, you're still waiting, you're waiting, I don't know, for what? To do it yourself, and to get the gold medal?

Asking for help is okay, being vulnerable is okay, understanding that there is more knowledge to learn, understanding that there is more that is needed for you to heal. If you've been on this do it yourself road for months or years, I'd say you're better off joining the Hair N' Heal program than you are to spend more time, more money, trying to figure this out on your own.

I had a client and she had done many, many different types of treatments, such as laser cap therapy, such as red light therapy, such as PRP, such as doing this European therapy that Ricki Lake did, Ricki Lake is a celebrity, for those of you who are not in the US. She used to have a talk show host, or she used to be a talk show host. So, she did her treatment, and still didn't get results. And then she came to me and within that intake form, she was able to pick out her blind spots and see exactly what was going on. So in less than one week, she had the answers as to why she was going wrong as to why she wasn't seeing the results that she wanted and that she craved.

And so sometimes this is what it takes. It takes an outside perspective looking in, and this is something that you're not going to get in any forum or with friends or with family or with anything else. This is why the do it yourself approach is really, really difficult. Is really, really difficult and it's not for the faint of heart, and it's not for those who are just going to give up. I would say, where I'm at now, not just with my hair, not just with my health, but in general, in life, in business.

Like, if there's an easier way to do this, if there's somebody who can help me, let's say, understand how to do my taxes or you know what I mean? if there's something that I need to get done, I go to the professional. I no longer try to do this myself. When I was a kid or let's say when I was younger, I would and I just had, let's say one W-2, which is a tax form here in the US and it was just very, very simple, it's just like: You made X amount and you, you know, gave X amount of taxes, to the government and that was it. It was very easy.

And so when I was straight out of high school, I had a job and I would do TurboTax. TurboTax is a software, you plug it into computer, you do your taxes and boom, you know, everything's done, it tells you exactly how much you owe and it's very easy. It's very A to B, very simple. But then, you know, as you get older and as, you know, more and more taxes become more confusing as you get married, have a child and have all these other ancillary situations, taxes become a little more confusing.

So now guess what? Now I have somebody who does my taxes because it's no longer that simple. When I lived in Japan, I can tell you taxes were not simple, when I lived in Europe, they were not simple. There's much more like line items and many more paperwork that you have to show. So now I just go straight to the professional tax person does it and I forget about it. And this is the way that I see services. If someone can help me, somebody who knows more, whether it's about TikTok, social media taxes, or let's say creating a will or anything else that's needed in today's life, I'm going to go straight to somebody who knows.

Just like as I'm opening my non profit, I'm not trying to do this on my own. Forget that. I already know that's harder. I already know that's gonna take a lot longer. Instead of me hiring somebody who has more than 20 years experience, and boom, can do and open my non profit for me, can guide me, and can show me the ropes of the pros and cons of what to do and how to do it, etc, etc.

And this is the way things are done with people who've been there, done that. And this is the best way to go about it. So if this is Sally, and if you're listening, Sally, you know who you are or anyone else that's on the fence of doing the program, I would say: Look at those reviews, look at those case studies, and again, you have the power in your hands to do that. Because again, the do it yourself approach, it's arduous. It really is. It's like trying to do a master's degree in 8 years, when it can take you one year, it doesn't need to be long and arduous. It doesn't need to extend itself more than it should.

And this is why Alopecia Angel was created, to get to the answers in less time, to get you to hair growth in less time and to get you moving forward, because action reaps rewards because action reaps success because action gets you the answers that you're looking for, gets you the hair that you're looking for. The one last thing that I wanted to talk about in terms of the do it yourself is that when you don't allow someone to come in and help, more than likely, not only are you going to be stuck in analysis paralysis, but you're also going to be stuck with this situation of the ego telling you and trying to keep you safe.

That's what the ego does, it tries to keep you safe. Oh, you don't need that. Oh, that's not for you. Oh, you know, you can do it better or whatever the those little voices are telling you. And the problem is that most of the time the ego actually holds us back. It holds us back from living our life. It holds us back from being who we want to be, and having all the control and the power and living our happiest and best self.

So this is up to you, for all of those who want to do it yourself, I commend you. It's not for the faint of heart. It's like trying to climb Mount Everest without a map and without gear, that's really what you're up against, and I say this from experience. I say this because the struggle was so hard, the struggle was so deep, and so was the pain. The pain was so deep that that's exactly what I want to avoid for all of you.

I don't want you to have to suffer, not even one day, or one hour more, not even one month more, or anything else. I want you to cut the chase, cut the misinformation, I want you to cut the time. I want you to save more money, put it where it's worth it, and not just spend it frivolously in different areas, but directed and guided specifically strategically for you. I want you to have the long term results without sacrificing for short, short term gains. And I want to set the stage for what the information looks like, for what the true information looks like, because it is a jungle out there in terms of misinformation.

And again, a full resource of what you need, not just for today, but for the rest of your life to thrive with a full head of hair. If you have any questions, let us know, you can always reach us at [email protected] We have a free training going on, we will put the link in the show notes for the free training. And again, I look forward to helping you in any way we can.

Take care.