Episode 155: Listener Questions

Hello everybody and welcome back to the Alopecia Angel Podcast. I'm your host, Johanna Dahlman. Today we're gonna be talking about some of the listener questions that I've been receiving. I've been receiving these on social media via Instagram and also within the week I've been receiving some questions here and there as well. If you have any questions for me, feel free to always email us at [email protected] or send us a message on Instagram or Facebook and I'd be happy to answer your questions directly but then also via the podcast.

So the first question I received was, how did I manage to ignore doctors that were saying that there's nothing you can do? And this is a couple things, it takes almost an out of body experience to really evaluate because as I'm going through the alopecia myself and I'm seeing different doctors and I'm seeing different, professionals on what to do, how to do it, what if anything there's any. Possibility, cures, options, etcetera. I took what everyone was telling me with a grain of salt. I was seeing doctors first in the Netherlands and then came over to the doctors in Colorado and in California and other doctors after that. Then it was almost where the ones in the Netherlands had nothing to offer, absolutely nothing. They're so forward and they just shrugged their shoulders. And once they did that, I was like: okay, you're the wrong person to be talking to. Let's move on. Thankfully this was before COVID, so you know, traveling to the US was easily done, and then of course, seeing all these different doctors.

But at the same time, each doctor gave me their own rendition of what was possible and how you can turn this around and how you can almost take yourself out of it, and really analyze of what they were saying was that they were only giving you, they were in this case, me, they were only giving me their experience, their expertise and their know how, which for each professional, regardless of any degrees or any letters behind your name, etcetera, your experience counts for the majority and breadth of your expertise. That's really how this happens, because you can be book smart and you can, for example, read all you want about swimming, but until you get in the water and start to paddle yourself, you won't be able to help somebody else who was paddling for their life.

Does that make sense? So you have to be in it. You have to have skin in the game. You have to be really involved and have that breadth of experience to be able to have expertise. Because your expertise and your education only of just medical textbooks will only take you so far. This is what I was seeing from these health practitioners, right? From these doctors of all different types, that their experience, let's say with the ones from the Netherlands, they shrugged their shoulders because they had nothing to offer. They didn't have any experience with it. Yes, they've seen it before, it was a classic alopecia areata bald spot. And at the same time, they had nothing to give me nothing to offer.

Now I will say that having lived in Europe and having gone through this healthcare system, that was their response for a lot of things, including strep, including, pregnancy at 40, including many things. It's just they had nothing for me. But that's actually going to be another topic for another podcast, the whole situation with healthcare. Coming to the US I found a divergent type of options, it was either this banquet of pharmaceuticals that they were like: yeah, come every month and let's do the injections and let's do this and let's do that, or it was like: you can try some creams, you can try some minoxidil, you can try this, you can try that. Their confidence in their own suggestions allowed me to see and hear that they had been treated people with alopecia before and that their guarantees or that their results were actually fulfilling of any sort.

And so the same went ahead with the injections. Now, This doctor who offered me the injections, he was actually much more confident and said: yeah, we get you a round of injections, you're going to need these every month for the next 12 months. When I heard that, I was like: whoa, let's stop this. Because coming every month from Europe, for a whole year was not feasible. Traveling back and forth didn't make sense to me for just injections. And then on top of it, when I started doing my research, then I was really against it. So then that didn't happen. But at the same time, going back to this initial question from the listener, how did I manage to ignore the doctors that were saying that there is nothing that they could do for me?

And you know what? For some of my clients, they actually hear those words. There's nothing we can do for you. For me, they didn't say that technically, but their actions, their emotions, their suggestions, their offerings told me that, if that makes sense. So it was just the reverse. Some people said: yeah, we can give you a cream and they think that's enough. The other person said: we can give you injections and we can do this and we can do that and they think that's enough. But deep down, I knew that wasn't it and that wasn't gonna move the needle. And so that's when I had to block everything out, and say there's got to be a better way and I just need to find it.

And so that's when you know, it led me on this path on this trail of my own healing journey and thankfully I did because had I, you know, just tried to google up my recommendations or suggestions of what I should be doing. I probably would be bald by now. So I'm so happy I didn't for many reasons trust the doctors that I was seeing. I knew deep down that I could get my hair back. And to me that meant much more than what anyone else would tell me about me. Because again, when you know yourself, when you know what's possible for you, then everything just opens up. That's what I think the core of all this is that you need to believe in yourself and you need to believe that it's possible for you, you need to believe that you are worthy of it, you need to believe that this is your birthright. But I can't make you believe that, no one can make you believe that.

And so if you're believing the doctors and what they're telling you, what your options are and what your possibilities are, you've come to the wrong person. No one's telling me what's possible for me and what my options are. Like, I'm always going to find something better that is aligned with me, that suits me, that makes sense to me because none of these doctors, whatever they said, none of it made sense to me. And of course when I want something, I press people for questions. And so I was pressing my doctors with all these questions and I think that's actually a very good technique for whatever it is that you're looking for, whether it is to reverse your diabetes or lower your cholesterol or whatever it is that you have, including the hair loss, like press for questions.

Do you have results? How many people have you worked with? What has been your mode of working with their clients? What's been a difficult case? And just start pressing for questions. And of course, for those results, because results speak volumes and really, it's like, if you're going to find and talk to somebody about menopause, but let's say they've never been through menopause and let's say they're just fresh out of medical school, maybe that's probably the wrong person that you're working with. If I was wanting to talk to somebody about menopause or even fertility, I would want somebody who has potentially gone through, having a baby and maybe, on the other side too of menopause, who's actually gone through it to me, the experience of having gone through it and then worked your way out of this bowl, gives you a different perspective, but then also validate so much more the meaning of your work.

So for example, I was at a health conference not too long ago, and I met 2 or 3 doctors who they themselves went through breast cancer. And lo and behold, because of their own journey with breast cancer, they have focused now only solely on breast cancer, but then also they're changing the game on what's needed, what's not needed. And guess what? What they're saying that mammograms are actually not needed, and they're saying that it actually due to research, you can, research this, it shows that mammograms are actually hindering our health and causing more people to have breast cancer.

And so it's these types of things where, you know, from someone in their case that they've been through it, these 2-3 lady doctors that I met and they're changing the game, like that's revolutionary. That's a beautiful thing because that's exactly what's needed in order for practices, the standard of care to change and to also do things better, so that you can lower the risk but then also let's say rapidly heal and reverse this quickly and you know get on with your life. And I feel like when people have gone through themselves and then are, using that to empower others, that's huge.

But then also start questioning, are you taking weight loss advice from someone who's obese themselves? That would be a critical issue. And even when I'm looking for a personal trainer, when I'm looking for pilates instructor or whoever it is, I want them to emulate to walk the walk and talk the talk. And so if I'm looking to you to lose weight, this means you can't be obese, this means you can't be overweight. Does that make sense? Because then it's not in alignment of what you're teaching of what you're talking about and of what you're trying to do. So everything should be in alignment, right? And so I value that so much more.

And so when you start digging into the statistics of doctors and how they truly live in their diet and their lifestyle and the fact that so many are smokers, then you start to question and ponder and even see, what's valuable to you. But going back to this question, how did I manage to ignore the doctors that were saying that there is nothing you can do? Quite simply, it's because I knew there was a better way. Deep down my gut feeling told me like this wasn't right and there was something better and we all have that intuition, we all have that gut feeling. We all have that little voice that tells us that something more can be done, that something more is possible, that this rejection or this closed door or that this level of stuckness isn't permanent.

That's what I was reading, that's what I was feeling, I had this inner knowing. And so from there, you just keep going on that path of the inner knowing, because obviously the pharmaceuticals wasn't the path, the doctors in the Netherlands were no help. And the doctor in Denver was also helpless and not helpful at all. So, because of this, then you just keep going, you bypass and keep going. Like when someone says: no, you can't do it. Who are you to tell me I can't do it? Watch me and I will. And that's the mental toughness. That's the mental agility that many people need is a little more grit to say. Stand back and watch me because it will happen.

Next question from a listener. What did you look like when you had alopecia? And in many ways, when I answered and responded to this person on Instagram, I did it with various categories, the physical aspect of me, I probably looked the same to other people, but to me, I noticeably saw a bigger receding hairline. I saw my eyelashes going, my eyebrows going. I saw multiple spots in the back of my head connecting, I also saw that the girth of my ponytail was a lot thinner. I lost over 50% of my hair and I actually had 2 different types of alopecia at the same time. I had telogen effluvium and I also had alopecia areata, which is the autoimmune type. Because of everything that was going on, I was already seeing the signs of going into totalis.

That was the physical aspect. But the mental aspect was strong yet with times of weakness, times of doubting times of fear, times of uncertainty. The physical aspect, I had a tsunami of symptoms, everything from dry eyes to dry hair to brittle nails. I had, insomnia. I had brain fog, intense brain fog, where I couldn't even remember the list of groceries that I needed to buy. And at the time, in my apartment, there was a grocery store underneath my apartment building. So it was the apartment building, the grocery store, and then the garage where people parked their cars, and literally, I couldn't remember just a small list of groceries that I needed to buy that day to go downstairs and get it. And so it was these types of things where I knew that wasn't me because my memory, my agility, mental agility was always very strong.

Always one of those things that I was actually proud of because again, I could memorize, I could remember things. Almost, but a graphically so easily. And yet I was having lack of motivation. There was a gym in my building and I couldn't get up for the life of me to even make it to the gym. I didn't have the motivation and do anything, which is again so unlike me. That was the physical aspect. The emotional aspect was a roller coaster because it was these ups and downs of these ups and downs of working towards something yet not seeing results, working towards something and not crossing the finish line. It's a grueling process, it's so grueling. This is why I created Alopecia Angel because out of that grueling process of 4 years, where I finally began to see just a little bit of hair growth and just a little bit of the symptoms fall off.

This is why and how I created this so that other people didn't have to suffer for this long. Other people didn't have to, go crazy trying to find a solution, or spend tons of time and money on trying to figure this out on their own, because figuring it out on your own is a long haul process. It's like the cartoon where you have the fork in the road. You can go the fast way and get to where you want to go faster, or you can take the long route. And potentially, both routes get you to the end result. But at the same time, there could be issues, obstacles, hurdles, setbacks with the long route.

And I'm the first to tell you that I took the long route and I don't wish it upon anybody. I took the long route and I know there's a better way, I know there's an easier way, and I know there's a more straightforward way. When you look at any books on marketing or business or anything else on success they show you normally like this cartoon of stairs that gets you from next level to the next level to the next level in success in life, in education etc. But at the same time with alopecia, it was almost like 2 steps forward, 5 steps back. One step forward, 2 steps back, and 3 steps forward, 10 steps back. It was like this constantly for those 4 years.

And so I will say is that when I had alopecia, it was the biggest learning lesson ever, it was my biggest Mount Everest ever. And in many ways, it probably looks like similar to many other health conditions that people are going through today, whether they're battling cancer or infertility or something else. I will say that everyone's health journey, whatever that health concern is going to look very unique. Just because everyone has the same health concern doesn't mean the results are going to be the same, and it doesn't mean that, that we're all going to get there in the same way or in the same shape or manner. But I will say that there's so many people who have gone before you.

And so we need to look to those people who have, who've conquered this and who can help you, which leads me back to that first question that the listener had asked me, how did I manage to ignore the doctors? It's because I knew there's had to be a better way and there normally is. So if you want to fly to the moon, if you want to beat cancer, if you want to lose 30 pounds, if you want to reverse your diabetes, if you want to grow your hair, if you want to reverse your autoimmune disease, if you want to reverse your alopecia, if you want to reverse your female pattern baldness and all these other things, guess what? There's a better way and someone has already done it before you. So we need to look to them to help us. There was nobody out there doing this, and so I decided to become that person because I know that there's millions of people in so many countries around the world dealing with alopecia with no help. The same help that I got in the Netherlands. The: we got nothing for you, shrugging off the shoulders. That's not going to get the people anywhere. And so this is why I've made this really available worldwide online, so anyone can access it.

The other thing I would say is that if you are looking to become the Alopecia Angel in your country in Romania in the Czech Republic, in Nigeria, in Switzerland, in Germany, in anywhere else. Australia, Canada, etcetera. I am beginning next year, a new certification program to make you the Alopecia Angel in your country. I know that there's a gazillion people out there and they don't all speak English. They speak French and they speak German and they speak Italian and they speak Russian and they speak Spanish and they speak, lots of languages and potentially you would want to be that person for them.

So I'm having the certification program. If you are interested, I will have the link in the show notes so that you can show us your interests and then we'll follow up with you. And so that's something I wanted to mention now that I'm on this topic.

The last question I had from a listener was if I wanted to support my body during a period of stress, what would you recommend? So let me just preface this question just ever so slightly. It's somebody who has met me in person locally here where I live. And we've had lots of talks about what I do and hair loss and my story and this and that, and apparently she's going through hair loss right now. She texted me, she said: hey Johanna, I'm about to try Nutrafol and I'm about to try Minoxidil, for my hair loss. It's just a stress, it's just a period of stress. And I told her, we'll call her Brittany. Her name's not Brittany, but I'll call her Brittany. She was telling me: hey what would you recommend? Would you recommend minoxidil or Nutrafol? If you know me, which apparently she doesn't as well, I don't recommend either because I told her at the end of the day, it's not getting to the root cause.

What happens is that you may think it's just stress and it's just a period of stress, but guess what? Did you know that you can mitigate that? Did you know that you can. Mitigate all aspects of stress for the rest of your life. And I'm asking you that, did you know that? Because back in the day before alopecia, I didn't know that. And I'm telling you now you can. So even if you think that your hair loss is just stress, I'm telling you, it's much more than that. And for you, there's probably numerous factors and it's not just stress.

And the other thing I'd like to say to that is that once you learn how to mitigate the stress for you and learn how to support the body for you, then you don't have to experience hair loss ever again. And I say this very confidently because it's been over 9 years that I've had my hair full grown, happy, healthy. And the thing is, it's like life is going to happen. Life is going to have its ups and downs. Life is going to be a roller coaster. And you can't control life. But what you can control is how you support your body during these times. Does that make sense?

So it's almost like your car. Your car changes out the tires for winter, for snow. Sometimes you put on chains when you're up in the mountains, right? And so then you also have your summer tires. Then you also have your all year round tires. And depending on the season of life, you may need to switch out the tires, you may need to switch out some things. And the same thing goes for your hair and your stress and anything else that you think is really going on. Because I can tell you, if it was just stress, we wouldn't be here. This is actually more than just stress, because many of you say: oh, it's just stress, but yet it's been going on for decades, it's been going on for years. Stress doesn't happen for years and decades. Does that make sense? And so there's always something more. It's never just one thing. I'll say that, it's never just one thing, it's many more factors to create this big puzzle of healing, to create this big puzzle of the fabric of your health and your hair.

So going back to the season, when you need something to support you, this is what we teach you inside the Hair N' Heal program, because what you need to support yourself with is going to look different than what I need to support myself with. It's going to look different than the child or the 60 year old or the 45 year old or anyone else. We're all going to look different because what triggers us, what bothers us is all going to look so different. And so this is why it's so important to get ahead of it so that you don't have to experience the hair loss ever again. So I'll use myself as an example. So let's say after healing my alopecia, have I seen hair loss again? No. After my alopecia, I got pregnant. Not right away, but years later, I got pregnant and many people think that postpartum hair loss is a must is, something normal and natural and for many people it is. But guess what? I was able to mitigate it. I didn't have that postpartum hair loss. I kept the thick hair and it keeps growing.

If you've seen my reels, you've seen that I can grow my hair an inch a month, and I can calculate this because I have highlights that I do and you could see the gray hairs coming in and there's gray hairs on both sides and it's time to get it done. In any case. An inch of hair on a monthly basis, and I'm in my mid 40s. So you tell me, is this something that's age related? No. Is this something that is because I'm some special unicorn? No. It's because I know exactly what to do to support my body. In every season of life. And that's the end game here, that is the end goal. Understanding yourself to the point where we can support ourselves, our body, our hair, our health, and every season of life, whether it's winter, summer, spring, whether we need snow tires, chains, or an extra muffler or anything else, we can support ourselves at every season of life.

And this is the key here, because whether it was COVID: no hair loss, whether it was, postpartum with the baby: no hair loss, whether it was, stressful times, moving from the Netherlands to Japan, from Japan to the US: no hair loss. Whether it was, the stress of having to, get back and reacquainted into the US system: no hair loss. I gotta tell you, all these things were stressful, all these things, it's not like there is no stress in my life. There's the normal amount of stress in my life, there is probably in yours and everyone else's and granted. Everyone has their different levels of stress.

And again, it's how well we support our bodies in order for that stress to not really affect us and our hair to keep growing, right? And so this is what we teach you inside the Hair N' Heal program and this is how you're able to level up heal and reverse what's going on, but then also obtain and maintain your hair growth for the rest of your life. Cause it's not just about healing and reversing it that's possible inside the program, but it's also about maintaining it and keeping it for life. That's what I want for you. I want you to maintain it and keep it for life. So in many ways, this is a one and done program so that you can see the fruits of your labor, but then also understand like nothing can touch you from here on out.

You are bulletproof on so many levels and that's the beauty of it, because no one is teaching us this, and at the same time, it's like when you go to the doctor, they're like: yeah, you can take minoxidil. Yeah, you can take a jack inhibitor. Yeah, you can take, hair, skin, nail supplements. Yeah, you can take injections to the scalp. Oh, and guess what? It's for life. Oh, and guess what? You're going to need this for the next 15 years or so. No one's telling you that, no doctor is going to be really open about that. I've met so many people who've been on Jak inhibitors, who've been on minoxidil for years, who've been on these injections until, lo and behold, it all backfires.

I'm very happy that I took the route that I did, that I took the stance that I did, and the results show for themselves. Because unfortunately for those people who've gone the other routes of the minoxidil, of the Jak inhibitors, of the injections, of the pharmaceuticals, all of that backfires. It backfires in a very bad way. Not just for the hair loss that comes with it, but also in other areas of health too. And so this is something to acknowledge that this is something to heed and something to really consider because especially for those of you who have children who may be going through this or young adults in your life who may be going through this.

Pharmaceutical is not the way, it really isn't. It's not going to lead you to the healing long term and also it's not getting you to understand your root causes, and then also how you can support your body through life, because life happens. Life is an up and down situation. We're not always on the high, riding life like an elevator. Life is not like that. Even for those, who are in different, economic or socioeconomic or political or, different statuses, it's not always an elevator ride up. Sometimes you gotta go down and sometimes you get to go up and it's a back and forth up and down situation.

You all know that, but the beauty is that we can still learn to support ourselves and hair loss doesn't have to be part of the equation. It really doesn't. So those were my listener questions that I wanted to answer. And if you have any more questions, I'm happy to answer them directly, personally, however you contact me, but then also via the podcast.

So feel free to email us at any point [email protected] I will have in the show notes, the link to the certification program and I look forward to hearing you next week. Do me a favor, share this podcast with anyone who is going through hair loss and let them know that healing is possible. I would also ask that you please rate and review the podcast so that more people can learn about it.

Thank you so much. Take care. Bye bye.