Hello everybody and welcome back to the Alopecia Angel podcast. I'm your host, Johanna Dahlman. Today, I just wanted to wrap up the end of the year, I wanted to talk about a couple things that are on my mind. But at the same time, I also wanted to announce that I will be on 2 summits coming up on panels with doctors and other health care practitioners, and I'm really honored and excited to be on these panels.

One summit is all about moms and their hair loss, postpartum hair loss in general with moms, but all about moms and moms with toddlers, moms with kids, moms with high schoolers, teenagers, et cetera, and their health and their hair. The other summit I will be on is about ladies and menopause or just about getting ready to go to menopause and everything, in that area of perimenopause and menopause and how to mitigate, avoid a lot of the symptoms that come along with it. But then also how to have a smooth transition into menopause and then how to be your best within that situation. That's a natural life cycle that all women are going to go through at some point in their lives.

And so I plan to speak at more conferences, but at these two summits, more information is going to come out soon so that you can join and see. They're both free the summits. Again, I will be speaking with panels of doctors and other healthcare practitioners, and I will also be on other renowned podcasts. So I will be sharing those here soon. And at the same time, again, I plan to speak at multiple conferences and I'll let you know as those confirm and come up. Which leads me to my next shout out last night, I had a coaching call with clients and I wanted to go ahead and give a shout out to Lana, who she's only been in the program for a couple of weeks and all her hot flashes have gone away absolutely, completely, and it's only been about 2 or 3 weeks.

And again, all her hot flashes are gone, she has much more energy and on top of it she's already seen and noticing eyebrow regrowth, which is huge. And so this is such a great opportunity because again, it's only been a couple weeks. The other congratulations that I wanted to give is to Renee, who has seen hair all over her body, armpits, legs, etcetera, all over her body. And she's absolutely thrilled, she's lost some weight and she feels so much better and she is getting healthier as we speak, so I'm really excited for her.

And Katerina, of course, cannot forget to mention you as well. Katerina has also seen eyelashes and eyebrow hair growth, and she's also feeling amazing. So imagine what just a few weeks can do for you. Imagine being one of these ladies, whether, you're in menopause, feeling the hot flashes or whether you're somebody like Katarina who's younger and not into menopause just yet, but also seeing and feeling the hair growth also seen and feeling and experimenting the opportunity of more energy, feeling better, having better digestion, more hair growth, and understanding your health, your blind spots, and where you go from there.

This is huge because once you have that understanding of you and what this personalized plan takes you, then you're able to mitigate and say: Okay, I don't need to go through postpartum hair loss. I don't need to go through menopausal hair loss. I don't need to go through stressful hair loss. I don't need to go through any type of hair loss ever again. And I'm the first one to say that's me. After having going through my own journey, I didn't have to go through postpartum hair loss, I don't plan on going through menopausal hair loss, I don't plan on going through any of these things because I'm already knowing exactly what I need to do in order to have the best hair and health possible.

Speaking of hair, I have I just had an appointment and I feel actually pretty amazing with my hair. Right now it's really thick. I actually cut off like a good 2-3 inches off of it, but it still looks very healthy. The color is great and I'm very thankful for, being able to showcase and being That guiding light for you, because I know it's possible for you at any age. And I'm in my mid 40s, so age is not a factor. Let's just throw it out. Age is not a factor. So if you think, oh, the doctor said it was because of my age. It's not. This is not about age. This is not about genetics. This is about you and a tailored plan so that you can overcome your blind spots, your humps and your challenges in order to get to that hair growth, in order to have the longevity and all the hair that you want because you can't. And I'll tell you now in my 40's, I actually have better hair than when I was in my 20's.

There was a period of time in my 20's where my hair was just ugly and not as healthy and I didn't understand why. Until of course, then I did. And so it's one of those things where you don't know until and then when you know, you do better. So have some grace and have some compassion because there's always room for improvement in any area of life, including hair and health.

So after that, I also wanted to talk about and let you know about some free trainings coming up. I have free trainings coming up in the beginning of the year. And so if you are not on my subscriber list, you need to be subscribed in order to be in the know of all the free trainings and all the free goodies that I'm giving away. And this would be where to sign up, this is on the website. So you need to go to alopeciangel.com, sign up there. Go to the Hair N' Heal, up at the top, and at the bottom of that page, there's a form enter in your information and you will be notified for the free trainings and for anything else that's coming up, including these free summits, including the conferences, including everything else. You need to be subscribed to know, and if not, then you'll be missing out.

Along those lines, I also wanted to let you know that the scholarship is official. We had a wonderful intake of a lot of people who are interested in the scholarship and we've already chosen somebody that's Priya out of India to be our last quarter of the year scholarship recipient. I do plan on doing more scholarship recipients for next year and every purchase of the Hair N' Heal program moving forward, 10% of those proceeds will go towards funding the scholarship so that we can help people in need, just like Priya in India, and we will also be helping people in different countries as well, because that's what I want to showcase. I want to showcase people in all different countries in all different walks of life. Going through hair loss, but then also overcoming it just if you've seen on my podcast, just like you've seen in the interviews. But now I also want to do it with the participants in the scholarship. So this will be fantastic to understand a little bit of who they are, how they came about and where they are going to go next.

So this also leads me to next week's podcast. I just wanted to give you a little hint and a little sneak peek. We will be talking about your 10, my top 10 podcasts of the year. And we will be showcasing this all next week. So if you're new to the Alopecia Angel podcast, please share it with a loved one, share it with your friends and family, even if they're not going through hair loss, it's so wonderful to hear other people overcoming such battles that potentially you had no idea or no clue that was possible. And so just adding and giving that opportunity to somebody else to see that: Hey, you can reverse it. It's a game changer. So I know I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but maybe about 3 months ago, I was in Phoenix, Arizona. I ran in to an influencer completely bald influencer.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but I introduced myself, we were at the supermarket in the veggie aisle and I introduced myself. I was visiting Phoenix, Scottsdale area at the time for these 2 conferences that I was attending and and I started speaking to her. And when I told her that she could reverse and heal her alopecia, she looked at me startled, she looked at me like I was almost saying blasphemy saying something that wasn't true and I told her that I myself had alopecia and that, all my clients have had alopecia and, they overcome it just like I have and she looked at me like, I had 3 heads.

And I think in many ways when we're not told that door is a possibility to walk through, that door isn't open, then we limit ourselves by default without knowing that we're limiting ourselves. And so this is part of the mission to allow people to know that possibility is an option, that the healing is an option, that hair growth is an option and an opportunity for anyone and anyone, everyone around the world. This is key, because if we're not given that opportunity and we only think and know what, the internet search is telling us or what our doctors are saying, then we're only going to be limited by their experience or by their personal opinion. That's not fair, because we can be living our best life with hair, with health, with all of everything that we want and need. It's just finding the right person to help you through it.

If you find the podcast valuable, please share it with friends and family, because the more people who know the better it is. So the state of our health, the state of our health is very, sad in many ways because. And when I say by the state of our health, I mean by how health insurance, healthcare providers, doctors, healthcare practitioners, how this big umbrella of healthcare aspects come together. It's not always going to be a pretty sight. It's not always going to be very helpful. But I will say that, statistics show that more than 70% of Americans feel failed by the health care system. And a week and a half ago, almost 2 weeks ago already the CEO of a large, huge health insurance company was shot dead fatally on the streets of New York.

For those who haven't heard much of the details, especially maybe for those of you abroad, this actually signals a deeper problem, not just within the US but maybe even worldwide. People are upset, they're disgruntled, they're lacking the proper care and the health insurance and of course, health insurance that cares. Doctors that care, that want to do more. Many times it's not the doctor's fault. Many times they too are within a boundary of a box of what's possible for them or what they can do. Either they're limited by the insurance that they work for, the hospital that they work for, or they're limited by what's possible or whether you fit in a certain box, whether you can escalate your situation to a new provider, a private provider or a specialist of any sort.

And so there's a lot of nuances when it comes to healthcare. And having lived in the Netherlands, having lived in Japan, having lived in Brazil and in Argentina, I understand how healthcare works abroad. And I will say coming back to the US, yes, it's more expensive, but at the same time there is more choice and I am happy with choice, even if it's more expensive. Because when I wanted choice and options, I didn't have them readily available to me in the Netherlands or in Japan or anywhere else. I felt like I was asking for, I don't know, like an arm or a leg or a kidney transplant, when sometimes I just needed a little extra help, I needed an extra, voice or concern or next step or something and I wasn't given that. It was very distressing not to have options, not to have possibilities. And to be gate controlled and put boundaries because my situation, my case didn't rectify or didn't warrant a next step or to see a specialist or to even see a doctor when I was pregnant at 40.

And so these are the things that, mattered to me, of course, because they happened to me, but I know for a fact that healthcare abroad, for those of you Americans not as great as many Americans think. It's a double edged sword. Their universal health system is not that great. And I say this having lived it myself, but also having the clients from Canada, from the UK, from Australia, from Norway, from Netherlands, from Germany where they have this universal health care system, and it's failed them, and it has failed them over. Over again, and not to say that the US health care system hasn't also failed people because obviously it has in many ways, but that's also like a minefield. There's just so many different. ways of obtaining health care here in the US where it varies state by state, county by county, city by city. And it's just all very subjective.

I will say it's always been very expensive. Even back in 2016 when I was single, I was paying over $400 a month just for me. One person and that's expensive. I think that's also somewhat of the average. And that was pricing from 2016, that was pricing from way back when. So I know it looks different for everybody, I know the situation wherever you're located is going to be different. However, the one thing we all have in common, the one thing we all can do is to advocate for ourselves, empower ourselves, and take action for ourselves, for our health, for our hair and for anything else that we are concerned about. There are alternative practitioners like myself that help others. And when I needed it the most, I too went to other practitioners, when I had a miscarriage in the Netherlands, the doctors in the Netherlands, the midwives in the Netherlands were no help.

So I ended up talking to a lady in Australia who was somewhat like the queen of miscarriages. At that time, she had already gone through 10 of them herself and she had a lot of knowledge to share. And so I paid for that consult, it was also during COVID, it was also necessary to be able to get in touch with somebody without having to fly anywhere without having to be restricted with these nuances of COVID and of everything shutting down. Other practitioners have always helped me and always thinking outside the box. I think that is one thing we can all leverage in order to protect ourselves and not be failed by any one system, if that makes sense.

I will say that other statistics that alarmed me is that between 5 million and 8 million deaths each year are attributed to poor quality health care each year in low and middle income countries, low and middle income countries. That's a lot of deaths just because of a lack of funding or a lack of care or a lack of possibility. And not to mention that, anecdotally, I know people who have gone through horrific and atrocious occurrences and medical mistakes abroad and within the US and this shouldn't be the case. And the problem is that it's not so much about the health care, but it's more about the system and how the system is built and how the system is at a deficit with quality and abundant amount of health care providers because they've all left the system many times, especially after COVID from burnout or from their own health issues.

According to research, Saudi Arabia and Singapore are the most satisfied with their health care. This was from a poll research that has been conducted. And I can see why that potentially Singapore and Saudi Arabia are the most content. I've been into both countries and I will say Singapore is stunning, from the airport to all around, it's absolutely stunning and it's a very wealthy nation. It also has the best passport for those of you who own a Singaporean passport, it's also the best one worldwide. According to research, however, Norway and the Netherlands have the best healthcare. And again, I would hesitate to even say that this is even possible only because we're comparing and you can't compare. And this is the thing we need to not compare apples to apples because they're not apples to apples.

Let's say a country like Canada is huge or a country like the US is huge, not just in land mass, but also in population. And so you can't compare that to the Netherlands, which only has 17 million people. 17 million people, that's the size of Manhattan alone for the whole country of the Netherlands. So think about that. It's supplying health care for Manhattan, essentially, versus the whole of the United States. So there is no comparison and I'll say that even living in the Netherlands for 6-7 years that I did. It wasn't that great and it was tricky to maneuver. And again, at 40 years of age, I wasn't able to see a doctor not once during my pregnancy, which I know for those of you in other countries, you guys are probably appalled and probably scratching your heads. And, but, for the Dutch, this is actually quite normal because they are all trained to go through the same conveyor belt of health insurance, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily right or bad.

And just because you don't complain or, sign up to do a poll research, this could also sway those numbers in terms of how satisfied people are. Because, having lived there I've heard the complaints from the expats, I've heard the complaints from the locals, from the Dutch and, it's not perfect. Nowhere around the world is healthcare perfect. And so this is why this episode is really geared towards you taking back your health, taking back your hair loss, taking back your hair growth, taking back that possibility, and not looking for answers on the outside of you, not looking for answers on the outside with doctors and, acupuncturists and healthcare specialists because they're not going to give you the answers that you're looking for and they're not going to give you the results that you're looking for, right?

You've already been in this tailspin of chasing your tail and chasing answers. And it hasn't come. So if you're not seeing results, then your strategy needs to change point blank. The other side to this is that the US loan spends 3 trillion, if not more in healthcare. In 2022 I know the US spent 4.5 trillion on healthcare. We spend the most by far and large around the world on healthcare. And yet. We also have the worst health care and many levels when you start comparing or when you start, taking these polls or doing the research, we tend to fall last in how great our health care system is, which accounts for nearly 18-20% of the nation's GDP.

The bigger problem is that the health insurance business is a business. Healthcare is a business. And again, I cannot reiterate how important it is to find help where the results are clear and concise and asking the right questions. I actually have a friend who's on a fertility journey right now, and she's seen an acupuncturist and she's seen a bunch of specialists who've raised their hand saying: Yeah, we can help with fertility, we can help you with fertility and she's been paying out of pocket for all these things and yet she hasn't had the results she's looking for because none of these people can really deliver.

I'll say that with the idea and with also the caveat that getting pregnant is a bigger thing. It's not just hormones, it's not just, stress. It's not just, needing, I don't know, Chinese medicine and herbs. It's not just, doing testing, it's much more than that. And just like hair loss, it's much more than what you are, led to belief, it's much more, there's so many other factors. It's not just diet, it's not just stress, it's not just supplements, it's not just, doing minoxidil or a one size fits all treatment or IVF or anything else. The thing is whether it's weight loss, hair loss, fertility, or anything else, any other medical situation, it's more than just one thing. It really is and there's numerous factors that pertain to each person, that pertain to each case, that pertain to each patient, that pertain to each situation. And we need to acknowledge these in order to overcome them and to ensure that everything is top notch.

For example, if we're always focused, and I'm just going to go back to fertility ever so slightly, if we're always focused on the female and maybe what the female egg quality and her age and this and that what about the guy? What about the sperm? What about, the motility? What about all these other factors that the guy who's 50% of the puzzle contributes to having a healthy baby? Does this make sense? It's never just one thing. It's never just the female, and it's never just the male, it's never just the egg quality, it's never just one thing. And in terms of hair loss, it's never just one thing either.

And so this is it. It's just like my friend who's been seeing multiple people. There's 2 lessons here that I wanted to share is that she's been chasing her tail, trying to go to different avenues, alternative avenues, mind you, of trying to get pregnant. But none of these people at the heart of it can get her to that next step, but they've left crumbs every step of the way, if that makes sense. They left crumbs. And so it's hard not to be disheartened. I know this sounds very familiar to you and to your friends and to your family members, probably in the same situation or similar instance of alopecia, whether you've seen a dermatologist, your GP, a trichologist, a functional medicine doctor, a this, a that, an acupuncturist, you've seen a lot of specialists without the results.

You've paid a lot without, getting exactly what you need. And I'm here to tell you that every step of the way is leading you to the final end of your marathon. Every step of the way is leading you to, you crossing that banner of the finish line. And so have patience, have heart and go with somebody who has results and then also ask better questions. So for example, in my friend's case, she wants to know: Can you prescribe hormones? Can you do this? Can you do that? Can you read reports? Can you do testing? Can you do this? What are your alternatives instead of IVF? And so she's asking harder questions now before she is investing her time, money, and energy. And to seeing somebody about fertility and in regards to hair loss, you should also be asking those same questions because that's also very important.

And also think about this, the flip side, right? Think about your year of 2024 with hair loss. What have you done? And what has moved the needle in terms of your hair growth? Have you seen hair growth? If you haven't seen hair growth and you are stuck, this means you need to change your strategy, this means you need to do something different, this means you need to switch it up. And so either get the coaching that you need, come get the guidance, the expert guidance with the Hair N' Heal program. Come see me, get a free consult. Let's talk about it because whatever you're doing right now isn't working. And it could be for various reasons, but the only way to get to the finish line is to cross it with somebody who's been there, done that. That's really how this works. And take heart, have grace, and understand that everything that you've done in the past is not in vain, it's always led you to where you need to be, and you are exactly where you need to be.

And sometimes, even if you're stuck, it's okay to be stuck, because we can unstuck ourselves once we decide that next step once we decide: Okay I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that. No one likes to be stuck, whether it's in a health goal, hair goal, personal goal, or any other type of goal. We want to be unstuck, we want to be moving forward. Many times in order to move forward, we need to either sit still and evaluate, or we need to sit back and see what the options are and then move forward. But I will say the sooner the better. Take action. Because seeing more people isn't always theanswer, it's seeing the right one. It's getting the right person with the right strategy, with the right results.

Lastly, I wanted to talk about and end on a note of gratitude. I love love gratitude. I love recapping the year and reviewing my 2024 and being so grateful for what I've accomplished. All the changes and everything that's been going on. And I'm grateful for you, for my listeners, my followers, I'm grateful for my clients, I'm grateful for everyone who's putting in the work to heal their alopecia, I'm grateful for everyone I've met all the conferences that I was able to speak to, all the summits and podcasts that I've been able to share my story on. We already know it's possible and it just takes a little action.

Part of that is also consistency, like how consistent are you just going to the gym? We need to be consistent. We need to keep going and do our best each day, every week, every month. And that's how we see more and more results is being consistent. For those of you who have not started, I highly recommend that you plan now, right now for your 2025. Plan now what those hair goals look like, what those health goals look like, what your personal goals look like and start to plan out and brainstorm. What it is you need to do to get to that next level, what it is you need to do, who it is that you need to talk to, which circles do you need to be into, who do you need to be mentored by, and take action.

Because when you start taking actions now and you start preparing now, then you also start 2025 running, you start 2025, fired up and lit up, because this is when we need to get going. I will say, when you start making the plans, when you start, setting yourself up for achieving all these health goals, because I do have my health goals, I do have my personal goals, I do have, goals that I want to accomplish. This is all possible, but you need to attack it with a plan and then with the mindset to conquer it and to keep going, even when you're tired, even when you know you're sad and you want to take a day off. Take the day off, but then get back up the next day and keep going. The key to conquering anything is getting the help, the right help from someone who's been there and done that. Sometimes also it's your own motivation. How motivated are you to get that help? How motivated are you to stay on the plan? Consistency and making yourself the priority is so key. And I know this is hard for busy moms, busy people, but everything is possible.

And so when we do coaching and I'm able to coach you and see what's going on, I'm able to give you that exact strategic plan for you. This is possible for anyone and we need to stop making excuses, take responsibility for our action, take responsibilities for our stuckness, for our hair loss and move, keep moving forward in action and in the directions of our dreams. We can live our best life, we can have our hair, we can have our health and live and be symptom free and do this, not just for a short period of time, but for the rest of our lives. It really is, it's all up to us. We can create the change we want to see in every area of our life.

So I'm grateful for you, and I'm grateful for those of you who come forward and share your stories because that's part of it too. I'm not a unicorn, I'm not, anyone necessarily who's done anything radical because this is possible and you can copy, paste, copy, paste, copy, paste. For anyone else who wants to also achieve that hair growth, you can also do the same. This is possible for everybody in any country or city that you live in. I'm here to help, we have tons of free resources, share this podcast, visit our website, and I look forward to helping you next year, this year in our free trainings and much more.

Thank you so much. Take care. Bye bye.