Thank you for sharing your time with me and guest, Teresa Younkin today on Alopecia Life. I met Teresa at a conference last year. We were talking about healthcare reform and what she does, and I was super impressed. What started out as personal advocacy for her family has led to something more expansive around healthcare. Teresa is super excited about the health information exchange, and she shares more about that with us today, along with how to ask for what we want to make the most of our doctor's appointments. Her life mission is to leave the healthcare industry in a better way than she found it, and she's certainly succeeding. 

Thank you for listening to this episode of Alopecia Life. Check out the show notes for all the resources Teresa has provided, informing us about what has been put in place since the beginning of the year, along with what is coming up. If you have additional questions about what we talked about today, her contact information is here too.

https://teresayounkin.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresayounkin/

https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises/consumers/new-protections-for-you

https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises/consumers/understanding-costs-in-advance

https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises/consumers/notices-you-may-get-whether-you-should-sign-them

This is a link to the form referenced in the link above: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/notice-and-consent-form-example.pdf

https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises/consumers/understanding-costs-in-advance

https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises/consumers/payment-disagreements  This is important if you are paying for medications or services that are not covered and you are paying for them out of pocket.

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, and for sharing your time with me and our guest, Susan McLemore, today. A couple months ago, I was searching for something on Facebook, and I discovered Susan and a really cool thing she organized. I wanted to find out more, and we were both excited to talk about the community that supported her family after they were diagnosed with alopecia. I hear so often, after children are diagnosed, that parents want to do something, anything really...to support their child. They feel helpless and confused, and they want their child to be seen as amazing kids, not as someone who is lacking in any way. In this situation, a bond with a student led to building community around alopecia, and Susan's here to talk about it with us today.

Thank you for listening today. If you're interested in finding out how to organize a ponytail cut-a-thon, Susan's contact information is here in the show notes. 
[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/

Today, our guest is Chel Campbell, who in 2010 after 12 years of being a parent of a son living with alopecia, led her to create the Australia Alopecia Areata Foundation and build on her passion for unconditional acceptance and appearance diversity. In today's episode, we discuss the how and why behind AAAF, what they are looking to accomplish this year, how they've adjusted their outreach during the pandemic, and how she hopes that one day in the future there won't be a need for the foundation. You'll hear a lot of laughter during the interview, and we also spend some time acknowledging the sides of alopecia that aren't often talked about. 

*Please be aware that we discuss some mature & potentially triggering topics during this episode.

Thank you for sharing your time with Chel and me today. Something really cool that they do, and that we talked about off-air, was their amazing sponsorship program. Each year, they reserve funds to donate to applicants who want to pursue an interest that would otherwise be unachievable without their financial assistance. It's a combination of awareness & empowerment. You can check out past sponsorships over on social media. If you're looking to get in touch with AAAF, Chel's contact information along with their social media handles can all be found here in the show notes.

https://aaaf.org.au/
https://www.facebook.com/aaafonline
https://www.instagram.com/alopeciaaaaf/

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. A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about Jada Pinkett Smith and submitted it to a couple different news outlets. Although it didn't get picked up, I thought I'd share it with all of you. 

After writing this article and recording for this episode, I can see that there have now been over 2 million interactions and views on her Instagram post that made the headlines. That is 3 times more than almost any other Instagram post she has had in over a year. Alopecia is certainly newsworthy!

Here are the resource links mentioned in the article. 
https://www.childrensalopeciaproject.org/ 
https://www.naaf.org/ 
https://www.alopecialife.com/ 

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. We have 3 guests here with us today, Frank Lombardo, the National Photography Manager and two of his team, Erin & Steve from Inter-State Studio & Publishing Company.

Frank and I connected a few years ago when I was reminded of my own school photo experience after hearing numerous discussions come up about the unpleasantness of school photos. It may be strange to hear how traumatic a school photo can be, especially if your own experience was only one of fun anticipation and excitement. 

While I was extremely bummed out to hear kids still having the same kinds of things come up - photographers asking them to remove their hats, support staff not being knowledgeable about alopecia, no real communication between home and school, and the results being a photo where it's evident the child is just not a happy camper - I wanted to know who to talk to and what could be done to change things.

I found Frank, and the follow-up conversations I had with him, and his whole-hearted openness to make school & sport photos a better experience for children with alopecia was so easy. I'm happy to have all three team members share with all of us today. 

Thank you for listening to Alopecia Life today. Thank you to those who wrote in and shared your own school photo experience with me. Listening to what was a problem back in the day, and continuing to hear similar stories today is something that needs to change. Thank you to Frank, Erin, and Steve for helping be a catalyst of change. We appreciate you.

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 Week 3 of December giveaways. If you haven't yet entered, and still want a chance to win any of the items I've talked about over the last 3 weeks, please sign up and choose your top 3 at the link found on the Alopecia Life Facebook group or in the BIO on Instagram. Enter to win until December 20th. https://alopecialife.ck.page/23a8dee253

The month of December has some very interesting days of celebration. In light of National Cupcake Day on the 15th and National Cover Anything with Chocolate Day on the 16th, this week's winners will have a choice of a copy of Jessica Rose's What to Bake When...A Baking Handbook for the Basic Bitch. Jessica's interview back in Season 1 Episode 11 Love Sweet Mess shared about her life with alopecia along with the origin of her cookbook. I must say, opening the book to read the entertaining recipe titles didn't disappoint, and they also delivered on taste. Super yummy! I'll post that episode link here to listen for the first time or to have a re-listen. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e011-love-sweet-mess-with-jessica-rose-ward/id1479093384?i=1000458781715

This week, we also have more awesome children's books. These titles are all great for taking into the classroom to share about alopecia with classmates or just adding it to the local or school library to help raise awareness. My Two Brows was so generous to donate a number of eyebrow tattoos in multiple colors. So definitely add those to your wishlist if you've been wanting to try them out. I can send you multiple color options too. I have a few head scarfs from Inspirational Head Coverings that were donated. They have elastic and tie at the back, and should fit a range of head sizes. 

Please come on over to choose your top 3 items (whether they were announced in week 1, 2, or today). I want you to get something you have put on your list.

Follow this link to do that. https://alopecialife.ck.page/23a8dee253

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 week two of December giveaways.                                   .

We have some more awesome stuff this week, but you can enter and choose your top 3 items (no matter when they're announced). I have multiples of most items, and I want you to get the item of your choice if you are a winner. There's no need to be worried about seeing massive emails from me in your inbox either. Although I love having you on my list of people to contact when I have a cool giveaway or something amazing to announce and offer, you can always choose to unsubscribe at any time. 

This week, I have autographed copies of Head-On, Stories of Alopecia. Six years ago, I collaborated with amazing people from around the world who wanted to share their stories so that others who were being diagnosed with alopecia, their families, and communities would know more about this autoimmune condition that really isn't talked about. Growing up, I never saw anyone who looked like me around my city, on television, or in magazine articles, and I didn't want that to be the way it was for those who were newly diagnosed. Head-On, Stories of Alopecia is a great addition to your coffee table or local library to raise awareness. All you have to do to enter for a chance to win is follow the link on the Alopecia Life FB Group or in the BIO on Instagram. 

I also have more brows from Jason of My Two Brows, more children's books, headwash from Melissa from C3, and a HeadBlade razor. For those of you who are trying to keep your regrowth or loss even looking, I've heard this is the best blade for that. 

Thanks again for listening and for being such great listeners.

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. It's the month of December 2021. Traditionally, across much of the globe, December has been a season of family and friend gatherings and gift-giving. For the first 3 weeks of this month, I'll be doing some of my own gift-giving to Alopecia Life listeners, courtesy of some awesome donors. Over the past 3 seasons, I've collected super cool items from guests who wanted to share with all of you. Everything from cookbooks from Jessica Rose, to headbands from Chris Healy and the LongHairs, headwash from Melissa of C3, and eyebrow tattoos from Jason of My Two Brows, and so much more.  https://alopecialife.ck.page

This seems like the perfect time to share all of this abundance with you. Throughout the month, I'll be sharing about what is available for the week, and you can sign up at any time for an opportunity to win. Choose your top 3 items between now and December 20th. If you win, I will select one of those items for you and pop it in the mail. Come on over to The Alopecia Life Facebook group to find the link in the show notes or the link in my BIO on Instagram, and remember to check your email for a confirmation. https://alopecialife.ck.page

This week's giveaways are Headbands from the LongHairs, Children's books from authors who have alopecia and/or have main characters with alopecia like Francie Puts on her Courage by CAP co-founder Betsy Woytovich or My Hair Went on Vacation by Paula Quinn amongst others, and eyebrow tattoos from My Two Brows. I'll also feature those episodes in the comments for the week. 

I'll contact you in person, and I'll also give winners a shout-out! Listen in each week to hear and watch for what is being offered up. I look forward to hearing and connecting with each of you. Happy December! 

Thanks for listening.

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 Dr. Britney Hale Koehler (known as Dr. Hale). She is a residency trained optometrist and fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. As the spouse of an Army optometrist, she has practiced in Florida, Texas, Washington state and Hawaii over the past 8 years. Her connection to the alopecia community began 6 years ago when she was diagnosed with alopecia areata, resulting in an ongoing and challenging journey of hair loss and regrowth. We are talking about eye health and alopecia today. The loss of our brows and lashes play an important role in eye health, and Dr. Hale is giving us ideas on how we can help improve our own eye health now and for the future. 

Thank you for spending your time with Dr. Hale and me today. She has provided some great resources, and there are even more in the show notes. Please feel free to leave comments over on the Alopecia Life Facebook page or on Instagram. Dr. Hale is happy to answer any questions that come up after listening. 

https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/eye-and-vision-conditions/dry-eye?sso=y

https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/hair-loss/types/alopecia/treatment

https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/why-are-my-eyelashes-falling-out

https://www.naaf.org

https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hair-loss/ss/slideshow-alternative-treatments-for-hair-loss

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6388561/

https://www.verywellhealth.com/alopecia-areata-remedies-88328

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 Jason Berndt, the founder and creator of My Two Brows. If you've lived with alopecia areata that has progressed to totalis or universalis, you have probably experienced the loss of your eyebrows. In past research I've done, it was discovered that the loss of eyebrows and lashes were almost more devastating than the loss of head hair. In today's episode, Jason and I talk about his company, My Two Brows, his own alopecia story, and how a deep dissatisfaction around what was being offered to people without eyebrows, especially people with alopecia, led him to start his own company.

Thank you for sharing your time with us today. To find out more about Jason's story, take advantage of the discount ALOLIFE Jason has provided to Alopecia Life listeners, or to reach out and find more information about My Two Brows, check out the links in the show notes. If you have any questions, post them in the FB group or on Instagram for Jason to answer. He's very receptive to answering questions and finding answers for those who are asking. 

https://mytwobrows.com/

https://www.facebook.com/MyTwoBrows

https://www.instagram.com/my_two_brows/

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/