Welcome to this episode of Alopecia Life. Today, our guest is Alyssa Carpenter. On social media, you may know her as Clean Conscious Bald Beauty. Alyssa is a proud wife, entrepreneur, and alopecia warrior of over 10 years. As both an Alopecia Awareness and Clean Beauty Advocate, she uses her platform to share her passion for learning & educating about unnecessary toxins in our everyday world. After getting a diagnosis of alopecia, many of us jump to cleaning up our diet, looking to eliminate harmful foods that may be causing inflammation. One thing that many of us don't even consider is what we are putting on our bodies. Today, Alyssa gives us some helpful hints on ways to easily start a practice of clean and conscious living.

Thank you for sharing your time with Alyssa and me today. For ways to find out more about Alyssa, toxin-free living, and about Crunchi products, check out the show notes for all those links. 

www.cleanconsciousbaldbeauty.com

Shop Crunchi: www.crunchi.com/alyssacollier
IG: @cleanconsciousbaldbeauty
FB: Alyssa Carpenter
FB Group: Clean Conscious Bald Beauty

These resources can also be helpful getting started:
www.safecosmetics.org
ewg.org
Yuka (app)
Think Dirty (app)

Support the show

Alopecia Life provides free resources for school and home education, including a growing list of alopecia books, education videos on YouTube, links to support groups within the US, UK, Canada and more. You will also find access to Head-On, Stories of Alopecia, the Alopecia 101 free course, paid Alopecia Roadmap course for parents of children living with alopecia, and personalized coaching. Together, we can make a difference. To find out more, https://www.alopecialife.com/

Welcome to this episode of Alopecia Life. Today's guest is Summer Yang. When Summer developed alopecia in kindergarten, she also met one of her best friends. Years later, when they were both experiencing hair loss - one from alopecia, and the other from leukemia - their friendship became even stronger from their shared experiences. Summer is here today to share about her alopecia, along with the Student Visionaries of the Year Campaign to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Her campaign ends on Friday, March 10th.

Summer is a sophomore in high school who finds a passion in learning multiple languages. She enjoys reading, traveling, listening to music and shopping for the perfect jacket. After school, she volunteers with the Asian Hall of Fame, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and AAPA (Asian American Professional Association), while preparing for her fundraising campaign for Student Visionaries of the Year with LLS (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society). In her free time, she creates YouTube videos on her Channel, Worship Asian Drama, focused on various Chinese and Korean drama suggestion lists and Chinese phrase tutorials.

She hopes to share her story to inspire other girls to love themselves for who they are. She wishes to spread confidence and support within the community and create a safe environment to talk about alopecia.

Thank you for sharing your time with Summer and me today. For those who would like to support the campaign or reach out to Summer with questions, those links can be found here in the show notes. It's awesome to see how much time, energy, and passion she has put into this, and I know she will appreciate hearing from you. 

Fundraiser: https://events.lls.org/calso/svoyla23/syangi
LLS' link: www.lls.org
[email protected]

Support the show

Alopecia Life provides free resources for school and home education, including a growing list of alopecia books, education videos on YouTube, links to support groups within the US, UK, Canada and more. You will also find access to Head-On, Stories of Alopecia, the Alopecia 101 free course, paid Alopecia Roadmap course for parents of children living with alopecia, and personalized coaching. Together, we can make a difference. To find out more, https://www.alopecialife.com/

 Thank you so much for sharing your time with Alopecia Life today. Our guest is Erica Vargas. Erica is a relationship expert who went on a journey of self-love, self-discovery, and self-worth to support people to reveal and claim their heart's truest desire. Although this particular episode is lined up right near Valentine's day, love and relationships is a topic that resonates with us any time of the year. Throughout the episode, Erica shares about the importance of activating healthy relationships, especially when we are living with something, like alopecia, that often shifts who we are within those existing relationships with a partner, family members, and friends. Whether you're already in a relationship, looking to attract someone new, or wanting to know how to help your child as they approach dating in the future, this episode has some phenomenal advice for looking inward as a first step to a healthy relationship. 

Thank you for listening today. Throughout this episode, I shared a little more about my relationship with my husband, Cedar, than I ever have before. As I spoke to Erica, I realized there was a component of being "lucky" so-to-speak, to be with someone who gets me and was understanding of these changes that were happening. Although I actively chose someone who was compassionate and I thought knew could love me through anything, I don't think any of us really knows what loss of self really does to a relationship until it happens. The words "grace period" and "allowed" are ones that can be triggering for some. Is there a time limit on figuring it out? Not really. Whether we call it a grace period, or a period of growth, it's all the same - time that we each take to re-assess as we move forward. If our partner is with us through this process, they are also doing the dance as we figure it all out. I love the advice that Erica gives, saying "I don't know what this is going to look like, or how long this is going to take." There's so much power in saying, "I don't know." and having those around us patiently wait until we do.

For those who are interested in working with Erica, she has a free masterclass coming up in just a few days, on January 23rd. She also has a February workshop that starts on February 12th. All those links are here in the show notes. Erica is happy to answer any questions by DM on Instagram or by email too.

January 23rde - https://erica-vargas.mykajabi.com/man-menu-masterclass

February Workshop - 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericaovargas/

Email: [email protected]

Support the show

Alopecia Life provides free resources for school and home education, including a growing list of alopecia books, education videos on YouTube, links to support groups within the US, UK, Canada and more. You will also find access to Head-On, Stories of Alopecia, the Alopecia 101 free course, paid Alopecia Roadmap course for parents of children living with alopecia, and personalized coaching. Together, we can make a difference. To find out more, https://www.alopecialife.com/

Welcome to this first Alopecia Life episode of 2023. Today, our guest is Natalie Diasti. We talk about one bold experience that many of us have already gone through, and one that so many others are still wanting to have, but just don't quite know how. The first time we choose to publicly be out in the world without anything on our head. The questions of, "What will people think?" or "How will they respond?" are all still there, but so is the perfect timing that sometimes calls to each of us. That moment that says, "If I don't do it now, I might never do it at all." This interview was filled with the realness of the moments of preparing to go out. The doubts that creep in, and that twist of emotions that builds that we are all so familiar with when learning to walk in the world in this new way. I'm so thankful Natalie chose to share her experience here with all of us on Alopecia Life today.

*More from Natalie - "Hello there! “MOM!” is what my kids call me, but you can call me Natalie. I am an artist and a writer living in beautiful Tampa, Florida. I enjoy photographing nature, laughing with my improv friends and movie nights with my family. I love a good adventure just as much as I love some good snacks in bed with Netflix. I am what I call, the “back row kid.” In a stadium full of people, I have always loved to slink my way into the back row, unseen, and observe. Being a six foot tall woman has not made my “blend in with the crowd” lifestyle very easy. Now I am a bald, six foot tall woman and pretty much forced to get out there and not be ashamed or embarrassed of who I truly am. Throughout my alopecia journey I have often heard myself say, “this is not ME.” It’s true, being bald is not me, but being bold IS and I am slowly learning how to move myself from the back row to the stage. Being bald does not define me. Being bold does. Funny how becoming bald has reminded me who I truly am and forced me to come out of my shell. I always try to find the silver lining in things and alopecia has made that rather hard. Negatives aside, I have learned that I don’t need hair. I may want it, but I don’t need it. No one does. Unless you live in the Arctic, then you would benefit from it. I am more than hair. You are more than hair. Looks do not define me. My actions, the way I treat others, my attitude, my heart and the way I live my life defines me. My hope is to take a bad situation, toss some glitter on it and brighten someone else’s dark day. My Instagram is nellid11 and I would love to connect with you."

After listening to this interview, I think we can all agree that sometimes it's not a one and done experience. It's a personalized process that each of us gets to decide on, without pressure from our co-workers, best friends, or family. It's completely up to us in our own time. I've heard thousands of stories of these first moments, and each of them is so special even if it didn't turn out the way we had hoped. I remember the first time I said to myself, "It's gotta be now." I was actually driving down to California to the NAAF conference with my daughter, my sister, and my mom. It was the first time anyone would be seeing my newly published book, Head-On, Stories of Alopecia. I did feel a sense of accountability... 

Support the show

Alopecia Life provides free resources for school and home education, including a growing list of alopecia books, education videos on YouTube, links to support groups within the US, UK, Canada and more. You will also find access to Head-On, Stories of Alopecia, the Alopecia 101 free course, paid Alopecia Roadmap course for parents of children living with alopecia, and personalized coaching. Together, we can make a difference. To find out more, https://www.alopecialife.com/

It's the end of 2022. However you celebrate this holiday season, I'm wishing you happy memories and good company. Alopecia Life is taking a short break until January, and I look forward to sharing new episodes with you then.

Support the show

Alopecia Life provides free resources for school and home education, including a growing list of alopecia books, education videos on YouTube, links to support groups within the US, UK, Canada and more. You will also find access to Head-On, Stories of Alopecia, the Alopecia 101 free course, paid Alopecia Roadmap course for parents of children living with alopecia, and personalized coaching. Together, we can make a difference. To find out more, https://www.alopecialife.com/

Welcome to Alopecia Life and part 2 of the Iron Protocol interview with Caitlyn Hartigan. Many of you have already gone over to the FB page to read the protocols, check your symptoms, understand what lab work to ask for, and how to read that lab work. Others have started looking at the information, and even more have started to wonder what ferritin has to do with their fatigue and anxiety. Thank you for hanging tight as we waited to release this next episode. At the end of the last one, Caitlyn was telling us about the myriad of symptoms that come with an iron deficiency, and she continues with that right here.

Thanks again for listening to the 2nd part of the series on Iron, and for asking questions and looking for answers. As many of us do, including myself, sometimes we wait until a crash happens to spur us into action. Keep this information and resource in your back pocket for future reference for yourself, a friend, or a family member. You never know when you might need it. Caitlyn and I discussed future episodes covering a specific topic around iron, and we would love to hear from you about what that might look like. Come on over to the FB Alopecia Life group or @alopecialifecoach on Instagram to ask any questions and share your iron story. The links to find out more are here in the show notes. 

https://theironprotocol.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3412143085483810

https://www.instagram.com/theironprotocol/

Support the show

Alopecia Life provides free resources for school and home education, including a growing list of alopecia books, education videos on YouTube, links to support groups within the US, UK, Canada and more. You will also find access to Head-On, Stories of Alopecia, the Alopecia 101 free course, paid Alopecia Roadmap course for parents of children living with alopecia, and personalized coaching. Together, we can make a difference. To find out more, https://www.alopecialife.com/

Welcome to this 2 part series of Alopecia Life around the topic of iron deficiency. A couple years ago, living with "low iron" caught up with me. I found myself unable to do simple tasks like walk my dog, go up a flight of stairs without feeling like my heart was beating out of my chest, and I had an incessant cough that wouldn't go away. I soon discovered that my Iron had dipped to an alarmingly low level, but there was more to the story than I realized. I didn't fit the puzzle pieces together until April of this year when my symptoms resurfaced, with additional ones that were perplexing. 


I had seen multiple general health care providers and a hematologist, and we still hadn't identified what the cause was. I'd been given a standard suggestion on how to take iron, every other day with some orange juice. It just wasn't cutting it. I soon found the Iron Protocol (for Iron Deficiency with or without anemia) on Facebook, and it was a total lightbulb moment. I had always wondered why I had low iron, and also why it didn't seem to ever bother my doctors over the years. I also wondered if it was deficient because I had two autoimmune conditions? Was it a factor in these conditions? 


I'm pleased to have Caitlyn Hartigan here to share what the Iron Protocol is, what ferritin is, how to identify some of the signs of low ferritin, how iron moves through our body, and quite a bit more. We've broken it down into two separate episodes because it's a lot of information, and we wanted to have time for questions that may have come up between episodes.

This is a reminder that neither me or Caitlyn are medical professionals. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Let's welcome Caitlyn Hartigan to Alopecia Life.

Thank you for listening to this first episode talking about iron and ferritin. After our interview, I jumped on the support pages I run and am part of and asked questions of the group members living with alopecia or who have a child with alopecia. For the past decade I've heard a large percentage of folks living with alopecia areata saying they had low iron. So it didn't surprise me that the poll revealed over 42% mentioned they have "low iron", and that a good portion of the group didn't know what ferritin is, or even that some had high iron. I hope those of you with iron and ferritin issues have your wheels turning, know what questions to ask of your healthcare providers, and are feeling hopeful. 

To find out more about Caitlyn and to check out the protocols on Facebook, the website, or to follow on Instagram, check out the links provided here in the show notes. 

https://theironprotocol.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3412143085483810

https://www.instagram.com/theironprotocol/

Support the show

Alopecia Life provides free resources for school and home education, including a growing list of alopecia books, education videos on YouTube, links to support groups within the US, UK, Canada and more. You will also find access to Head-On, Stories of Alopecia, the Alopecia 101 free course, paid Alopecia Roadmap course for parents of children living with alopecia, and personalized coaching. Together, we can make a difference. To find out more, https://www.alopecialife.com/

Welcome to this episode of Alopecia Life. Thank you for spending your time with me and our guest, Angel Rosario, Jr., today. Angel was born and raised in Chicago. Both of his parents were born and raised in Puerto Rico. He started acting back in 2015, and credits his distinct look and presence that have given him amazing opportunities to alopecia. This interview was filled with a lot of laughter, moments of seriousness, insights about coping mechanisms while living with alopecia, and so much more. Angel's dog, Icee and my dog, Noodle both did some voice work throughout the episode.

There's a lot of work that goes into pre and post production of a podcast. There are times when I am listening to a guest where I have a burning follow-up question and the moment passes by. After the interview, I may ask them these questions. When he said, everybody told him he just needed to "ignore them," I wanted to know what he got from that experience, or what he wished he would have heard. He sent a message on to all of us toward the end credits.

Thanks again for listening. To find Angel on social media, you can find those links in the show notes. Check out his previous roles in Chicago Med, Mayans MC, Law & Order SVU. You'll be seeing a lot more of him this year, with the recent release of Black Adam & Cobra Kai,  and a still yet to be known hush hush project. 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelrosariojr/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelRosarioJr91
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7639977/

Support the show

Alopecia Life provides free resources for school and home education, including a growing list of alopecia books, education videos on YouTube, links to support groups within the US, UK, Canada and more. You will also find access to Head-On, Stories of Alopecia, the Alopecia 101 free course, paid Alopecia Roadmap course for parents of children living with alopecia, and personalized coaching. Together, we can make a difference. To find out more, https://www.alopecialife.com/

 Today's guest, VJ Hamilton, shares about her journey with multiple autoimmune conditions, and how it led her to pursue a combined passion of science, nutrition, and helping others as an autoimmunity nutritionist. The conversation took a couple twists and turns around the gut, cellular health, and an online community where others with autoimmunity can share their tips, tricks and bounce ideas off of each other. 

*More about VJ:  After 25 years of suffering from multiple autoimmune conditions that affected her energy, skin, hair and joints, VJ discovered after studying immunology, Functional Medicine and training as a Nutritionist that by uncovering the root cause of her issues, she was able to transform her health, and now lives free of symptoms.

VJ now uses these same principles in her nutritional therapy clinic, The Autoimmunity Nutritionist, to help strong-willed women with autoimmune disease regain their strength and live a whole and symptom-free life. VJ is a keen health writer and has been featured in Cosmopolitan, The Telegraph, Glamour magazine, and many health magazines. VJ has also co-authored a book with other wellbeing therapists, called Empowerment in Health & Wellness, which provides practical wellness tips to thrive after a life challenge. In her free time, VJ seeks out culinary experience at home and away, and loves to recreate dishes at home with her friends and family. VJ is dedicated to her two twin pups and enjoys long walks in the country, Pilates practice, and singing with her local choir.

Thank you for listening to today's episode. To learn more about VJ, join her online community, or be part of her self-paced online or LIVE Hair Growth Reviver Program which happens twice a year, check out the show notes for those links below. Feel free to ask any questions or comment in the Alopecia Life podcast FB group or on Instagram. VJ is tagged in those posts.

Website: http://www.theautoimmunitynutritionist.com/

Hair Growth Reviver Program: https://bit.ly/Hairgrowthreviver

FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theautoimmunitycommunitie

IG: https://www.instagram.com/theautoimmunitynutritionist/

Support the show

Alopecia Life provides free resources for school and home education, including a growing list of alopecia books, education videos on YouTube, links to support groups within the US, UK, Canada and more. You will also find access to Head-On, Stories of Alopecia, the Alopecia 101 free course, paid Alopecia Roadmap course for parents of children living with alopecia, and personalized coaching. Together, we can make a difference. To find out more, https://www.alopecialife.com/

Today's guest is Jannica Olin. You may remember her from a bonus episode back in Season 1. I am so glad to have her back, talking about an exciting opportunity where she will perform her one-woman show, (IM) Perfekt next week in NY City. Jannica is a Swedish born actress and TEDx speaker, and is known as Hollywood's Bald Blonde. I'm super excited to share this interview with you, and to have you learn more about all Jannica is doing to encourage her audience to examine disempowering thoughts about identity, beauty and labels. 

*More About Jannica - A graduate of The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York, Jannica has worked extensively in theatre, film, commercials and music videos in the US, UK, Australia and Sweden. In 2014, Jannica lost all her hair to Alopecia and went on an inward journey of finding her place in the world again, as a woman, and as an actor. What she uncovered through that journey, led to the TEDx Talk; Welcome To My New Normal, and centers around the idea: If I Am Not My Body, Who Am I? - when that which defines you is gone.

Jannica’s journey with Alopecia also inspired the one-woman show; (IM)PERFEKT which had its world premiere at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in June 2019 to sold-out houses and took home the Producers’s Encore Award; the Critics' Choice Award and the Audience Choice Award, as well as a nomination for The Diverse Diva Award by The Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival. (IM)PERFEKT has been invited to perform twice at Santa Monica Playhouse, and at the 28th annual Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival. Jannica received a BroadwayWorld Regional Theatre Award nomination in 2020 for Performer of The Decade and Production Of The Decade. In 2017, Jannica was nominated for the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Women’s Summit; an event that recognizes and honors outstanding professional women who have made significant contributions to their professions and the Los Angeles community.

Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you happen to be in NY city or the surrounding areas, and want to go see Jannica's show next week on Friday, October 14th - the United Solo ticket sale link is here in the show notes for your convenience. To learn more about Jannica, watch her Tedx Talk, or read her interview with the Hollywood Reporter, check out the show notes below for all those links. I've also attached a link for Andy Grammar's music video, "Damn It Feels Good to be Me" where Jannica is featured being all she's worked to become. What a fun video to watch.

Tickets to (IM)PERFEKT in United Solo: https://unitedsolo.org/imperfekt/
Instagram: @jannica.olin
website: www.jannicaolin.com
TEDx talk: https://youtu.be/rbyzkul4JIk
Interview with the Hollywood Reporter: "Actress Jannica Olin Shares Her Personal Journey Living With Alopecia: “How Can This Become My Superpower?”
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/actress-jannica-olin-alopecia-imperfekt-1235127608/
Watch Jannica’s TEDx talk he

Support the show

Alopecia Life provides free resources for school and home education, including a growing list of alopecia books, education videos on YouTube, links to support groups within the US, UK, Canada and more. You will also find access to Head-On, Stories of Alopecia, the Alopecia 101 free course, paid Alopecia Roadmap course for parents of children living with alopecia, and personalized coaching. Together, we can make a difference. To find out more, https://www.alopecialife.com/