Episode 221
Johanna Dahlman:How One Woman Went from Devastating Alopecia Diagnosis to Growing Hair an Inch per Month
Johanna Dahlman:
How One Woman Went from Devastating Alopecia Diagnosis to Growing Hair an Inch per Month
Johanna Dahlman, known as the Alopecia Angel, shares her journey from devastating hair loss diagnosis to helping thousands regrow hair naturally.
She reveals how 90% of her clients see growth in under 8 weeks through personalized root-cause healing approaches.
She reveals how 90% of her clients see growth in under 8 weeks through personalized root-cause healing approaches.
First Aired on: Dec 8, 2025
Episode 221
Johanna Dahlman:How One Woman Went from Devastating Alopecia Diagnosis to Growing Hair an Inch per Month
Johanna Dahlman:
How One Woman Went from Devastating Alopecia Diagnosis to Growing Hair an Inch per Month
Johanna Dahlman, known as the Alopecia Angel, shares her journey from devastating hair loss diagnosis to helping thousands regrow hair naturally.
She reveals how 90% of her clients see growth in under 8 weeks through personalized root-cause healing approaches.
She reveals how 90% of her clients see growth in under 8 weeks through personalized root-cause healing approaches.
First Aired on: Dec 8, 2025
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents:
In this episode:
In this episode:
Introduction
Johanna Dahlman is a health and high-performance hair growth coach who follows functional medicine practices. She's also known as the Alopecia Angel and is on a mission to help people reverse hair loss naturally. In this episode, she joins me to talk about her personal journey from devastating alopecia diagnosis to growing hair an inch per month and how she's now helping thousands of others do the same.
Episode Highlights
Johanna's Devastating Alopecia Diagnosis
Johanna's journey began over 10 years ago when her hairstylist diagnosed her with alopecia areata during a routine salon visit.
- Started with a dime-sized spot that grew into multiple connecting spots
- She had never heard of alopecia before and was heartbroken learning what it meant
- Doctors offered either no solutions or pharmaceutical treatments with potential side effects
- She chose to avoid medications due to wanting to start a family
- It took her 3-4 years of research and lifestyle changes to regain control
The Whole-Health Approach to Hair Loss
Hair loss is a symptom of whole-body dysfunction that requires addressing multiple root causes simultaneously.
- Hair health depends on cellular optimization, metabolic health, and gut health
- Emotional and mental wellbeing play crucial roles in recovery
- Each person requires an individualized approach based on their unique situation
- It's not about perfection but learning to ride the waves life gives us
- Foundation must be solid before adding biohacking or advanced interventions
Common Hidden Drivers and Blind Spots
Many hair loss triggers remain unidentified because people don't realize the connection between seemingly unrelated factors.
- Medications: birth control, SSRIs, steroids, JAK inhibitors cause hair loss as side effects
- Hair products: some shampoos and styling products are involved in ongoing lawsuits for causing hair loss
- Breast implants: can trigger autoimmune responses leading to hair loss
- Environmental toxins: location matters, from water quality to chemical plant proximity
- Over-exercising: can drive chronic inflammation and contribute to hair loss
Rapid Results Through Personalized Assessment
90% of Johanna's clients see hair growth in less than eight weeks by identifying and addressing their specific blind spots.
- Some clients are primed for success and already halfway to recovery
- Others need to start from ground zero with foundational health building
- One gut health coach stopped her 20-year hair loss in 24 hours
- Results come from taking the "parachute off" by removing hidden obstacles
- Success requires honest assessment and willingness to make necessary changes
The Urgency of Scarring Alopecia
Certain types of alopecia can cause permanent damage if not addressed quickly.
- Scarring alopecia is like having termites or mold in your house
- Delayed treatment can result in completely scarred scalp where nothing will grow
- Even hair transplants won't work on scarred areas
- Early intervention is critical to prevent irreversible damage
- Time is of the essence - yesterday was the best time to start
The Psychological Impact of Hair Loss
Hair loss affects identity, confidence, and how people show up in both personal and professional settings.
- Teachers dealing with kindergartners pointing at bald spots
- Corporate professionals unable to wear hats to cover patches
- Hair loss often motivates people more than invisible health symptoms
- Identity crisis is common, especially for those who always had thick hair
- Recovery affects how you show up as a spouse, parent, and professional
Moving Beyond Quick Fixes to Lasting Solutions
Conventional treatments like minoxidil and hair transplants don't address root causes and often backfire.
- Minoxidil requires lifelong use and can cause scalp irritation and rejection
- Stopping minoxidil causes loss of all gained hair
- Medications may provide temporary relief but don't heal the underlying issues
- Natural healing takes longer initially but provides lasting results
- It's a marathon approach that creates bulletproof health for life
Notable Quotes from this Episode
The only time it won't happen is when you give up. That's what I truly believe. If you give up, game over. If you keep going, it will happen.
Johanna Dahlman
It's not about if, it's about when, and so the only time it won't happen is when you give up. That's the prerequisite to getting on the bus to getting you to your destination.
Johanna Dahlman
Being proactive is not just a mindset, but it's also an action. It's an action verb, and so once we start having this proactive approach towards everything, then you really do become unstoppable with your health and your hair.
Johanna Dahlman
Other Resources:
Other Resources:
Connect with Johanna Dahlman
Connect with Johanna Dahlman
Watch this interview:
Watch this interview:
Episode Transcript
Johanna Dahlman: we're not gonna understand the full grasp of how. Detrimental medications are for hair loss. Mm-hmm. Or autoimmune diseases in general, because they're not healing us.
Julie Howton: Welcome back to The Inspired Living with Autoimmunity podcast. I'm your host, Julie Houghton, and today we're joined by Johanna Dalman, AKA alopecia Angel. Johanna is a health and high performance hair growth coach who follows functional medicine PR practices. She's also a professional speaker and podcast host of the Alopecia Angel podcast, awakened to hair growth, and she's a mama and a wife as well.
Having helped thousands of clients in over 67 countries, Johanna can attest that healing alopecia, no matter the type is possible and sustainable. And in today's conversation, we are talking about how to effectively and permanently reverse hair loss and how that approach. Will support whole health long term.
Johanna, welcome to the podcast.
Johanna Dahlman: Thank you so much, Julie, for having me. It's such a pleasure.
Julie Howton: I am so excited for this conversation. But of course, we have to start with how did you become the alopecia angel?
Johanna Dahlman: Long ago I had alopecia otta when I was diagnosed in the salon while getting my routine highlights.
Uh. My hairstylist told me, you know, Johanna, you have alopecia. And I didn't understand what he meant by this word because I've ne I just never came across it. This was over 10 years ago, and at the time, you know, we did have internet, so I googled quickly what this was and I just started crying right there in the chair.
It was the first time that at the salon, you know, I left heartbroken, I left not feeling good. I left with. Almost like a lump in my throat and, and a knot in my stomach. It was gut wrenching to read what alopecia was, which for those of you who don't know, it is the medical term for hair loss. So if you have any type of hair loss, whether that's postpartum, uh, tolog, andif, flu, diffuse androgenic scarring, alopecia, areata, totalis, universal, it's all under the same umbrella of alopecia, which is hair loss.
Um, so then after that day. You know, I figured it would be quick. I had always been taught to go see a doctor. You know, take their medications and then do I need, they'll fix it. Do it. Yeah. Right. Uhhuh and, and I just figured, you know, it's like going to the mechanic type situation, you know, you have, yeah, a check light, you get a diagnostic and you're off to the races with that solution.
And after seeing doctors in Denver, after seeing doctors in California, and then of course I had met my fiance, so we moved to the Netherlands, so I saw doctors there as well. I realized that there was a huge array of options. And no options. No options in Europe. It was, you're gonna just live with this and this is part of who you are now versus let's give you all the pharmaceuticals that we have, all the creams, potions and pills and let's see what happens.
And you know, I just had my fiance, we wanted to get married, have kids, do the whole family thing. Yeah. And doing the conventional medicine route was not for me. I. Dove hard into data research and it took me, you know, 2, 3, 4 years to really get this under control and start seeing hair growth. And today, now at almost 45 years old, I have thick, thick hair and it grows an inch a month.
And wow. I can track this with my grays that are covered right now. They're popping out though I can track this with my highlights, of course. And it's that compounding effect of doing what I need to do to have the hair growth, have the health, and you keep compounding just like a savings account. Sure. So it didn't happen overnight.
Not the hair growth nor the inch a month. But this is where I am today. You know, 10 years post alopecia free. And right after I started feeling those symptoms, 'cause it's more than just hair loss, there's a numerous amount of symptoms that every individual going through an autoimmune disease will experience regardless of the exact diagnosis.
And so because of that, uh, once I felt this veil. This like tsunami of symptoms just kind of subside. I was just like, you know what? People need to know. People need to know that they don't have to struggle, that there's an option. There's a choice to heal, and it's not gonna be through medications and it's not gonna be doing nothing.
It's about right. Taking a proactive approach. Yeah. Diving deeper into what needs to happen, making those changes, being committed, patient, and keep going. Yeah. It's a marathon. Well, and
Julie Howton: I, I so resonated with you when I first heard you interviewed, um, because that's what you do, what you do from your passion, from your healing journey, as do I, and I, I think I've heard you say it took you about four years to figure out four you what lifestyle changes you needed to make to, to support, you know, your, your inner wellness, which expresses in this beautiful head of the care eventually, right.
Um, and I, you shortcut for your clients. Just like I say, my healing approach was throw spaghetti at the wall. So it took me years because I didn't know, I didn't have a guide, I didn't have somebody to, um, and, and I think that was one of the reasons I was so excited to have you on a. And I wanna kind of talk about, a little bit about the, the different kinds of alopecia we'll just touch on, on them.
But I, I, and because I know I've heard you say, you know, it doesn't really matter that you can help with, you help your, your clients with hair loss, whether it's doesn't have to be autoimmune. It, it can be, you know, um, any kind of hair loss that they're facing. Um, I don't think people realize like the importance of nutrients and wellness for hair health.
Right. And I lo actually love the fact that you still highlight your hair, right? Because that's not where the wellness is coming from. It is not coming from the hair, it's coming from the inside. Um, and so I know we, we have such similar approaches. Um, because what you do is it's, you have a framework, like I have a framework and, but it's personalized.
Right? It's not a one size fits all.
Johanna Dahlman: Correct. It has to be because
Julie Howton: yeah,
Johanna Dahlman: no one person, even if we all had the same al. One person to everyone else is gonna look so different. I mean, my clients, they're, they're just so vastly different. A, they're in 67 different countries. The ages range from eight months to 82 years of age.
Yeah. And the other thing is that many people don't even live in homes. Some of 'em live in hotels. Some of 'em live on cruise ships. Some of them are living in dorms at college. Some of 'em. You know, it is just so you have to
Julie Howton: figure out what, what'll work for them, you know? So when, when, when your hairdresser told you you had had alopecia, had you noticed hair loss or No.
You hadn't noticed yet. Okay. No hair loss,
Johanna Dahlman: but it started with like a dime size spot. And then little by little I got more and more spots and they started connecting. And it's also possible to have the two different types of alopecia at the same time. So I had, not just Tata, but I also had Tolog and Effluvium.
I've had clients, male clients who have alopecia areata plus androgenic, which is male pattern, female pattern baldness type of hair loss. You can also have, let's say, women who have female pattern baldness. Plus Tolog flu or diffuse or, or even right now I have a client who's going through postpartum.
She's three months postpartum plus alopecia, Tata, so you've got multiple. You know, things and factors to, to look at, deal with and, and kind of integrate all in once. 'cause again, as to your point, it's never a one size fits all, and it has to be tailored. You know, not everyone's breastfeeding, not everyone is postpartum or even looking to get pregnant.
Julie Howton: Right, right. And I, I, so I applaud, you know, it's always. The, the kindness of just the timing, right? If you know, who knows what road you would've gone down, if you weren't forward thinking to, I wanna have a family, you know, I don't know what I wanna put into my body. Um, I wanna touch on, I, I believe you have on your website still.
Uh, I wanna just talk about some of, and again, this is whole health. We've got toxins and stress and diet and sleep and, you know, I heard you say that's when I was like, I love her. Um, you know, sometimes people are over exercising and driving chronic inflammation that way. So, um, it's not all I know. You were seemingly healthy.
When you first experienced this, right, you were fit and working out and, and conscious living, consciously making conscious choices. Um, what, what are, uh, some of the, the big drivers, what I started to refer to with were the, you have a list of medications, which of course, I'm sure there are many. Too many to possibly ever list anywhere.
Right. Of we don't realize, we think we're treating one thing and we're causing another problem. You know? Um, I know with all the medications, when I first went down the, the traditional route for my rheumatoid arthritis, I experienced a ton of hair loss. Um, to the point that, I mean, my hair is, had always been long.
And when I got healthy and all this healthy, crazy, curly hair was going in, I had to cut my hair short. 'cause I had like literally two different heads of hair. You know, I had like this stringy, what's left over And thank God like the, you know, this full head of, of wild hair. Um, so what, what are some, and we'll, we'll circle back to highlight again.
This is a complete lifestyle. That you do? It's, it is not, there's not one thing like everybody's, cause you know, lifestyle's different. Everybody's, maybe root causes are different. But, um, there are things that you see, patterns that contribute to alopecia. Um, what, what are some of the big ones? 'cause I, I think.
People tend to, to have blinders on. Mm-hmm. And they're just, sometimes to me, things are so obvious and they just don't consider them.
Johanna Dahlman: Yes. There's a lot. Um, you know, we look at cellular optimization, we look at metabolic health, we look at, uh, diet and lifestyle. Of course. We also look at gut health. We also look at emotional and mental wellbeing.
There are so many factors that come into this. And if you think about this, you know. It's almost like a home, you know, I live in an older home. It's about 40 years old, if not more. And you know, whether it's a new home or a brand new home, or let's say a home that's been a hundred years old, or 50 or 20, or even just five, there's always some sort of maintenance.
Even with a brand new home. There's always issues. Nothing's perfect. Yeah. And so this is kind of the same way that I look at our own bodies. You know, we need to maintain our cars and our homes and in the same way. I may have a plumbing issue today, but then my next door neighbor may have something else or maybe nothing at all.
And so each home requires its own inspection, requires its own type of maintenance. And then also it also has weak spots, right? We, we all have our weaknesses and our strengths, and so it's also looking at where am I weak? Where am I weakest, and where does this weak area. Where can I focus more on it so that it, I can strengthen it.
So that I can improve it. So just like the weeds in the garden, the weeds are gonna be there every month, every year. Yeah. Type thing. And so it's not just a one and done. This is a lifelong marathon. And, and I think that's what a lot of people wanna think, that this is just, oh, you know, quick fix, a couple weeks, a couple months, and I'm done.
And it's like I got my hair back, but then lo and behold, it's just like I wouldn't be here today. Right. If I don't breathe my own program and on top of it, not only do I live and breathe it, but then I also incorporate biohacking and I do more, I do the extra credit that you would do in graduate school, in college, right?
All that extra credit I continue to do, and this is why I've seen that extra return on investment when it comes to my, to my health. Even at 44 with a toddler at home, you know, with any and all type of. Normal day-to-day stressors or whatever life gives me, it's like I'm still able to ride the wave and I think this is what.
What we need to have as an understanding. It's not about perfection, it's about learning to ride the waves that life gives us into the best of our ability so that we are not, you know, whitewashed doesn't take
Julie Howton: us down. Yeah, I love that you said that. 'cause people, I, I've had so many people say, well, do you say you don't have RA anymore?
Did you never have ra? Did you, I said, I don't say first of all, but I will say if I. If I went back to the lifestyle that contributed to me being symptomatic and declining for over a decade, I would be symptomatic and declining again. Right? Instead of feeling better, better. You know, just wait. I'm 56. I feel the best I've ever felt like it.
That's what's possible. And again, same thing. It's because, you know, I got into functional medicine from biohacking, so. Um, but it, but it is the extra credit. And, and we were having a conversation in the clinic yesterday about foundation, right? You can't just go to the fancy biohacking, shiny, fun, cutting edge.
Cool. Fill in the blank. Without addressing all those things you just mentioned as, as foundational.
Johanna Dahlman: Yes, there is a foundation and it's just like the house. Yeah. If it's built from straw, we already know what's gonna happen. If it's built on, you know, bricks, we have a solid foundation and that's what we need to look at first.
Like where are we going wrong with our foundation? And to many people, this seems very superficial or maybe even obvious because they could do a quick Google search. But I'm telling you, I've had functional medicine doctors come to me. I've had nutritionists, physical therapists, uh, personal trainers, pharmacists.
Nurses, you name it. I've had the gamut of healthcare practitioners and workers come to me for their own hair loss, for their child's loss. 'cause they can't figure it out. And so this is the thing is like what you don't know, you don't know. And that always holds you back. So going back to blind spots, this is a huge blind spot, is that if you continue to think that you know it all.
Well, then you're gonna continue to get the results that you've been having. So this is why opening yourself up to different modalities, different ideas of thought, different opportunities to learn and grow is, is huge and will only lead to your success. And I know sometimes that's frustrating because in my own case, and probably in every client who I've spoken to.
They see one doctor and two and three and four sure. 15 doctors and they try acupuncture and Ayurveda and this and that, and then everything else at the drugstore and nothing's worked. And then they come to me and they're like, you're my last hope. And I'm like, well, this is it. You've arrived. We're gonna get to the hair growth.
And so the thing is it's, you have to look at your journey as as just that it's leading a journey direction. Yeah. It will happen. It's not about if, it's about when, and so the only time it won't happen is when you give up. That's what I truly believe. If you give up, game over, if you keep going, it will happen just like you persevered.
That resilience, the perseverance, the tenacity that you and I had and so many others, that's a requirement. That's the prerequisite to getting on the bus to getting you to your destination.
Julie Howton: Absolutely. Oh my goodness. Yes. And you, you do something re I I find remarkable 'cause. Everybody knows, like, I know the body is designed to heal.
I, you know, I've helped thousands of, of people with autoimmunity, reverse symptoms. I see it every day. Right. We're all special in our own right. Um, but you know, I, it's, I didn't heal, you know, but nobody else can. Like we, we all can. Um, but you, I have, it's always. You do it fast. I just, I, I have. So let's talk about that a little bit because, um, how, other than the fact that, that, you know, you're, you're looking at Whole Health, right?
And, and making an individualized plan to meet people where they are. How are you getting hair to start growing back so fast for your clients?
Johanna Dahlman: Yeah, that's a great question. For those of you who are new to me, alopecia Angel, um, 90% of my clients see hair growth in less than eight weeks. And many times I can guarantee this because it's really, once I have that initial conversation, I'm looking at the whole person.
I'm already, you know, understanding where their weaknesses are, and I'm. Enabling lean and empowering them to move the needle quickly. 'cause they want it. It's almost like weight loss, right? They want it and so I'm here to help. Well,
Julie Howton: same like by again, back to the, by the time they find you or show up at your virtual doorstep, like they, they've tried all of the conventional stuff.
Johanna Dahlman: It's incredible. Some are just primed for it and they're already, yeah. More than halfway there. Others, they need to start from ground zero. You know, we're all at a different level of health and wellness and what we consider to be truly healthy and wealthy. In that sense. So for example, I've had a gut health coach come to me and in 24 hours her hair loss stopped.
She's in her sixties and you know, she helps people with gut health and all different types of, uh, pathogens and, uh, bacteria. And she's been having this hair loss for over 20 years. In 24 hours, she was able just to stop it and it was incredible. But she too had her own blind spots. And that's the thing, we all have blind spots.
It's like we're running uphill with a parachute on our backpack. So. That delay will always hold us back until me, I'm able to take it off, snip the parachute and say, here, run. Yeah. And then that's where the magic happens, is that I'm there to showcase the root causes, the blind spots, to see if we need testing, to see, you know, what more needs to happen and to have those.
Hard, honest, candid conversations. And I don't sugarcoat it. Like when I see something,
Julie Howton: that's why I like you.
Johanna Dahlman: It's what it's, you know, and that I give tough love. Yeah. You know, and I wish somebody would've given me that, um, I guess throughout my whole life, throughout my whole journey. 'cause I prefer it very straight and narrow versus.
Beating around the bush or telling me, oh, you know, it'll happen. Or just, you know, fluffing over it. Yeah. And putting underneath the rug. Like, tell me exactly what I need to do so I can get to my results. This is what I am, I'm results driven. I came from Apple. So in Apple working in corporate, there was no wiggle room.
It was either results or nothing. Progress or nothing. And many times if you didn't show results or progress, well guess what? That cost you your job, so, so having
Julie Howton: so many years at Apple, but that also helped you on your healing journey too, say, okay, there's a problem that just that that perspective, that things are solvable.
Johanna Dahlman: Yes. Right.
Julie Howton: You, you just might have to, you know, like come up with an idea, an approach that might seem crazy at first, you know, or, or just really different than what anybody else is doing because what other people are doing isn't working.
Johanna Dahlman: I will tell you that mindset, that culture of working at Apple.
Absolutely played a, an immense part in my healing because I had my bad days as well. I had the days I crawled up in the, on the floor crying endlessly and feeling hopeless, feeling like what I'm doing, what nothing's working, and it is just continuing to. You know, shed, and I'm continuing to look bald and this was very heartbreaking for me as someone who's always had big, curly hair.
It's, it was pretty traumatic in many ways, but that mindset of getting back up there is a solution. Just keep going. And it didn't matter what any medical textbook said or any doctor like, I knew deep down that there was. A possibility. I just needed to keep listening to that intuition and keep moving forward.
And, oh, yes, thank God I never, I never quit. Um, I'm not a quitter to begin with. Um, and I think doubt is actually a good indicator or even fear. That you're on the right path, right? Because once you start questioning yourself, once you start evaluating and having even a fear to let's say, invest in yourself for this program, for this or for this help, then you start to see like, do I really want this?
That's actually the universe testing you. Do you really want this? Right? Guess what? It's gonna take all of you to get there. Just like the Olympic. We haven't all gone to the Olympics, and there's a reason for it, right? Not everyone gets the gold medal at the end, but because it takes a lot of work, dedication, and effort, and in the same case, you know, if we're rebuilding your body from the ground up, there's a lot of, you know, processes and, uh, things to follow, protocols to follow, and rules to follow.
And then once you, once you, you work through every facet, you get the gold medal, you get your hair, you get your health, you get so much more. That you even thought or bargained for.
Julie Howton: Yeah. Uh, s it's so true, and sometimes we need, sometimes we need a kick in the pants or a, you know, and we, we, I, I, I know you're, you do what you, you know, you wish you had a, a, you right that guy that, that detective, the, the support, the all the things.
Um, and that's why I do what I, you know, I, I didn't. Have a me to guide me through. And oh my gosh, if I could have accelerated my healing journey because there was like a systematic approach to, to getting me to where I wanted to go, um, wouldn't that have been amazing? And that's why we're here, right?
Because, you know, we both know that, that we can get results faster. Then we had to experiment and figure out for ourselves, um, which is, is amazing. I, I wanna talk about, um, I know you, you all work with men as well as women. It started really mostly with women. And, and I, I think that women have so much, and men to some men too, to be fair.
But there's so much emotion and identity tied into you. You know, you said you always had big curly hair, right? I always had big curly hair. I didn't embrace it when, as a, as a, a child, um, or even a young adult. Uh, but, and, and I think that's typical for women too. You know, people with curly hair, like straight hair, you know, like there's a, uh, that's an interesting phenomenon.
But, but the, everybody has different motivations. Um, and for a lot of women. No matter how much pain they're in, how fatigued they may be, what other, you know, GI distress, like name any other internal symptom alopecia is one of the, the more, you know, a lot of autoimmunity you, you can't see from the outside.
Um, right. But it's, it's, but when our hair starts to fall out, we wanna fix that. Like, it, it, I mean, it, it's a, and I'm not talking about, I don't mean it in a vanity, like I'm not even just talking about 'cause we wanna look good. It's just really a big piece of our identity often. Um, and, and we see, and I've heard you talk about, and, and listeners have heard, you know, these, when you get one autoimmune, you tend to get, you know, multiple, if you don't go after the root cause.
That that started the first one, you know, 'cause the diagnosis is really just a label for the symptom. It's not like the, the autoimmune process is the same. Like what was driving my RA could have very well easily driven alopecia instead. Um, but a lot of women, you know, I feel like Hashimoto's, is that like most common crossover for people where they have Hashimoto's and Right.
Um, or sometimes they. Through. They're trying to, you know, a addressing their auto, whatever their first autoimmune is, they realize, oh, they also have undiagnosed Hashimoto's. Um, and people tend to think of Hashimoto's and hair loss again, as going hand in hand too. Everybody
Johanna Dahlman: up, they do hashi's, but a ligo ra.
There's a lot, even ms, they, they all like to buddy up to alopecia. Um, anything skin like psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, and I actually do see clients with, let's say alopecia areata or total or universal, the autoimmune alopecia, plus a second and a third autoimmune. Or even let's say if you have female pattern baldness, which is just like right here on the crown and maybe some thinning all around.
But they also have IBS or they also have Crohn's, or they also have, you know, a different type of, uh, you know, health situation. So all of this can be healed. It's not just the hair. It's also Right. The hair's the symptom. Yeah. The hair is your, your, you know, everyone's after the hair and I get it. Yeah. But that is definitely the, the whipped cream on top of the pie.
You know, it will happen. Everything else also needs to be in line, and that's what we're talking about, where it's really alignment. It's, it's, it's an orchestra. All of the body is an orchestra and everyone needs to be on tune on point. Yeah.
Julie Howton: Because if you just have one great strong brass section or whatever, you know, or just the strings are great, but, or, you know, it's still not gonna sound good until you've got that harmony.
With everything going on. I love that we use, we use the, the symphony analogy a lot for the body because it's true. And, and that's why when people try this thing and then that thing and then that it doesn't, they don't get the results. 'cause they're, they're not addressing the whole picture. So true. Um, do you see, um, 'cause I, I'm thinking of some past clients that back to, didn't matter how bad they felt on the inside.
Um, they did not want to take the blinders off and admit that perhaps their breast implants were one of the big drivers of their autoimmune symptoms. Um, but if, if I, I think. A lot of them, if you connect it to the hair loss, they'd have more motivation to explore that possibility. Um, do you see, do you know, is there a, do you have a fair amount of clients that have had breast implants or breast implant illness?
Johanna Dahlman: Um, I actually have a podcast episode about it that I did maybe about two, maybe three years ago. And so I actually, they come to me, they're like, I already took out my breast implants, so they're go-getters. So the people who I attract are type A, they want the results. They're, you know, eating up every blog post or podcast episode, and they're just doing as much as possible.
Yeah. And until the time is right or until like the next opening or whatever it is to, to start working with me. And so I think once, once you yourself have that motivation and gogetter ness, I think that is already leading you at the head of the pack in terms of healing. Because we can't be an ostrich.
Now are some clients, of course, you know. Resisting Sure. Certain things Absolutely. In different areas. And the breast implants, I don't think people resist so much. They, they already see the correlation. It's, it's been on the news, you know, there's so much data on it where it's just, it's obvious. And so in many cases too, when I talk about, let's say cortisone shots, steroid injections, or um, any type of JAK inhibitors.
I correlated to breast implants. You know, when I was 18 in California, all my friends were getting breast implants. I never needed them or wanted them. And, um. You know, it takes a good 20, 30, 40 years for us to realize what these breast implants are doing or the side effects of this, or even a C-section or whatever the latest, you know, vaccine or what have you.
Right? It's not so decades later we're not gonna really realize what's happening, but we already have these medical mistakes in history. It's just looking back and then also. Being open to that because sometimes people are new to the medical world, or let's say they've never had a diagnosis or never had any major surgeries.
I'm one of 'em. I never had a broken bone. Sure. I never had any surgeries. Like I was a healthy kid in general for the rest, for my whole life. And then all of a sudden at my healthiest, I'm diagnosed with this and I'm just like, huh. You know? So it just took me aback. And so maybe there's people out there that.
Resonate with that word. They were always healthy, and then they get a diagnosis out of nowhere, right? They, it's not outta nowhere. And so then you start to have to, uh, reevaluate what's happening and kind of like reassess, like what is going to work, what's not gonna work. And so maybe after so many years of Jax or whatnot, it starts to backfire.
And this is, this is why I, I'm so passionate about it because we're not gonna understand the full grasp of how. Detrimental medications are for hair loss. Mm-hmm. Or autoimmune diseases in general, because they're not healing us. They're maybe maintaining, maybe, you know, covering up a situation more of a bandaid, but just like minoxidil, just like neutrophil, just like viviscal.
Just like anything else, it can not work. It can backfire, it can have side effects, and I don't think the regular population or even public is. Cognizant of this and they just want, oh, my kid needs this. My kid needs this, or I need this, or I need this, or My husband needs this. And okay. But at the same time it'll come back.
So it's like, what do you want? Do you want to actually heal naturally and and be bulletproof, or do you want this quick fix shortcut that could potentially. Have, you know, huge harmful ramifications. And then of course, losing the hair all over again. Like, which is it?
Julie Howton: Yeah. Ama it, it's, it's like you said, it's back to the journey, you know?
And, uh, is it the bandaid? It's interesting just to highlight. Uh, the, I've had, I've had a handful of clients that I, I really suspected that breast implants were driving their SIS symptoms. And this is fascinating to me. This is a psychology thing I guess. But, um, a couple of them literally within like a week of getting their implants.
Either they had encapsulation, they had like massive inflammation and, and you know, but yet they left them in for 10 20, you know what I mean? Like, so it's like, no, they, they actually know they've been a problem the whole time, but they, they don't connect it to their, the ongoing chronic stuff, which is, is kind of wild.
Um, even though your, you know, approach is individualized for people, is there a like. Never, ever, uh, kind of across the board and, and maybe, you know, there's always like that, that one or two people that it doesn't apply to. But are there things that you, and again, I know like what's right for your lifestyle might not be right for somebody else's today, but.
Um, things we should not be doing. Like, like, you know, that this is really not good for, I'm not even, I would say hair. I mean, we're talking about the alopecia, but really health, right? Like, do you have a Never, ever.
Johanna Dahlman: It's hard to say, you know, as someone who's lived in so many countries, it's gonna look a little different for each country.
Um, and I think the concerns would be bigger depending where you live. And that's even within the us.
Julie Howton: Yeah.
Johanna Dahlman: You know, I think those, those health markers would be drastically different, let's say in Flint, Michigan. For people drinking water there compared to people in the Swiss Alps or, you know what I mean?
And so it just, where you live to have these, oh no, no, we don't do that here because of this situation. And so I've spoken to people, let's say they live in Ohio and they live right next to some sort of, um, plant or chemical factory. And so. You have to take into consideration your environment and where you live.
And the beautiful thing is just like I've chosen to move and, and uproot me and my family, not just me. It's possible for anyone. And so I think also looking at your environment, like where do you live? Like do you really thrive there? Do you really love it there? Uh, it, it's one of those things where. I question, and I saw this, uh, social meme the other day where the kids, apparently they did research on this, the kids apparently who questioned adults and who just kind of questioned authority a lot.
Yeah. Uh, you know, have more success rates than the ones who are Sure. Obedient with, with what needs to happen or whatever, rules and laws. And not to say that, you know, I, I, I. I have like a bad driving record or anything. 'cause I don't, but what I'm saying is that I've always questioned, you're a self thinker.
I've always questioned like, why are we doing this? Why is this being, um, you know, but that's
Julie Howton: why you're, you're doing what you're doing. That's why you, I was thinking that like when my kids were little, I had, you know, three within four years and you know why, what you think of any child's favorite question.
Why, why, why? And and I really do think that that's the difference. The ones that don't get that squashed. I mean, that's what I do for a living. That's what you do for a living. You ask why, right? Why? Why is, why is, you know, why are you feeling this symptom? Why do you have the autoimmunity? Why are you losing your hair?
And not taking the, because I just had a baby or because I have Hashimoto's or, but you know. As well. Okay. But, but why? Um, and, and so it makes perfect sense to me that you're like, no, you know, I, I am a questioner. I'm a self thinker. I, I, because that's what it takes sometimes to, to get to the, okay, what is really gonna work for this person in this case?
Johanna Dahlman: And really, you know, at the end of the day, you can get as much. Help or guidance from so many different avenues. But at the end of the day, each person needs to walk that journey. They have to take the action. It's like going to the gym. The personal trainer is there to guide you, but the one doing the pushups, running on the treadmill, lifting the weights.
Is, is you, is that person. And so this is something that I think everyone across the board needs to understand. 'cause it's not like you're gonna go get a medication or a shampoo or a surgery and like you're all done. It's up to somebody else's hands. No. This is you taking full responsibility, taking ownership of your future and of your health and making those changes, whatever it is.
And I think without those changes, then you're not gonna see the results. So just like if you don't do the homework, you won't graduate. Same thing. There's consequences to all our decisions. So if we wanna continue being in denial, 'cause that's just it, a lot of times we are in denial that this and this or correlated to each other, or can this really be a blind spot or can this really be a situation?
And I, I'm not here to convince people, I'm telling you the answers. Right. You do it with what you want.
Julie Howton: Well, and, and again, it comes back to motivation too. Um, you know, I, I actually wouldn't identify as somebody who questioned much when I was younger. Right now I question everything. Not in a, uh, hopefully I'm, I haven't gone too far, but, you know, and I, I actually think that's part of why I ended up with so many diagnoses and declining, you know, starting in my early thirties is, you know, um.
So I, I think mindset is so important. And, and take, like you said, taking ownership. You can't, you can guide somebody, but you can't make the changes for them.
Johanna Dahlman: Exactly.
Julie Howton: Yeah. And nor can I, and nor would I do, I want to anyway, but that's not how we create lasting change, you know? So do you have any like pet.
Practical, like daily habits that, that you think are just essential for wellness, for energy, for growing hair back, for, for all of it.
Johanna Dahlman: Yeah. For anyone who's experiencing hair loss, there's a couple things to start with. Um, I have many, many free PDFs on my website where you could see any medications that you're currently taking because there's a long list that do cause hair loss.
Everything from birth control to SSRIs, you name it. There are medications out there where the side effect is hair loss, so I think that's the first. Uh, place to start. There's also hair products that have been in lawsuits and who are known to have hair loss as a side effect. And their hair products, they're shampoos, they're mose and they're still out
Julie Howton: there for sale.
They're still,
Johanna Dahlman: yeah, absolutely. They're still out there. There's, um, equipment that we use, you know, styling equipment, and so being aware of these things and, and sometimes they don't even just cause hairless, they also cause cancer. And so it's these types of things that we need to be aware of. So that's another.
Uh, free PDF that you can grab on the website. Uh, another one is also understanding the ramifications of alopecia meds, hair loss meds, what that looks like. You know, even if it's not a medication and it's just minoxidil or RO gain from the drugstore, well, guess what? That type of situation is lifelong.
They want you on minoxidil for the rest of your life. But at some point, like I said, it either has. A side effect. You know, you'll get maybe little blisters or bumps on your scalp. Maybe it'll be itching. Maybe it'll get red and inflamed, or maybe it's your body rejecting the chemicals and the toxins that are in this product.
And at some point too, once you stop the monoxide on the Rogan, what do you think is gonna happen? Well, you are gonna lose all the hair. So this is also, uh, something to consider because it's not just, I have this problem, I'm gonna remedy it now. And so let's say just like birth control, you wanna get off in a year.
Well, you're gonna lose all the hair, so why even start? And so it's these types of questions that I want people to think through before they even take the next step. So it's really gathering your thoughts, understanding. What's happening right now and take a full assessment of yourself and then move forward.
I also offer a free consultation so people can have, uh, a free consult with me so we can talk about their situation. Uh, the other thing too is understand that it's not just me and Julie here, you know, saying, Hey, we've healed and we're all good, but there's. My podcast that has so many client interviews from the horse's, mouth of people from all different countries, races, ethnicities, moms, parents, professionals of all sorts.
And so this is where you're gonna get your inspiration. This is where you're gonna get your. Really the guiding light. Lean into those, lean into the stories of people who've made it, not the naysayers, not the people who are angry or bitter or you know, and not
Julie Howton: the big corporations who spend, you know, tons of marketing money to get you to use their products.
Either, you know.
Johanna Dahlman: Thank you. That's a big one. Yeah. And so this is, part of it is really doing your due diligence, really understanding that it's just more of all of the factors, even the factors that you don't think that are necessary to heal. They are. And so I actually walk through this in a free training that I offer.
Um, so this is another option for your listeners or for anyone else out there because. I know everyone knows somebody with hair loss. Everyone does.
Julie Howton: Oh gosh.
Johanna Dahlman: Yeah, and so this is the thing. It's like, even if it's long COVID hair loss, even if it's postpartum for five years, or even if it's, you know, X, Y, Z hair loss and you haven't been able to resolve it for over 10 years, you know, or three decades or what have you, I believe there's still always a hope and it's about attacking it correctly strategically.
In a tailored approach as soon as possible. The sooner we get to that, the sooner the better. And this is why I think the sense of urgency is a huge one, especially for scarring. Alopecia scarring. Alopecia is one of those, uh, situations. It's like having mold in the house or termites where if you don't get to it, you're gonna be left with.
Damage a zero livable home. And so it, you need to attack it as soon as possible, right? We don't want mold in the house, we don't want termites in the house. Same thing. This infestation can lead to the detriment of the whole facility, of the, of the whole structure. And so in the same manner when you have a diagnosis such as scarring alopecia, I actually just recorded yesterday with a lady with scarring alopecia.
Her whole head is scarred over. So at this point, PRPA, hair transplant, none of these things would work for her and they won't work for her because it's completely scarred. And so in the same manner, if you have a diagnosis or a suspicion that it could be scarring, alopecia, act faster.
Julie Howton: Now, yesterday was the time.
Johanna Dahlman: The faster the better, because even with companies who I've seen with scarring, alopecia, maybe they have one little spot here that's scarred, but everywhere else it's growing. Okay. So maybe you comb your hair this way. Sure. Or maybe a different hairstyle, but maybe this, if it's already scarred, maybe it won't come back, but at least everything else we can promote.
Sure. And I think, I think the biggest, the biggest driver here is that it's up to us to take our, our health into our own control. And, and even the hair growth, it's, it's up to us really for everything because again, that sense of urgency is on us.
Julie Howton: Uh, amen. I, I liken it to, it's the same with, you know, I mean, if you look at my hands, you won't know that I declined with rheumatoid arthritis for 11 years.
Um, I'm really lucky, a a and so before the damage to the joints was irreversible, right? Like, I don't have hand pain. I can open jars, I can do all the things I couldn't do in my thirties and forties. Um, but. There, there's is a, a point of no return either with joints or with scalp, with scarring with, you know, um, which doesn't mean you don't.
Wanna stop the progress. I always say like, wherever you are, you can feel better and get better. It's just, we have to be realistic, um, about, you know, and, and I, I think when you, you talk about doing the inspection, taking the assess, you know, just really assessing your life, your self, your history, um, which is still gonna be more difficult to do than, than getting Johanna to, to assess with you because she'll see, you know, right through those blind spots.
Um. But it's like, you know, what am I, am I willing to do the work because it does take work. Um, and I, I do think, again, it, it is a fascinating, like the, the psychology of it. I, I think people. If, if they connect, I think there, there's more motivation regarding hair loss than there is regarding other damage to the body.
That's, that's, you know, other people can't see. Um, and so, but, but what I love about what you're doing is that it it, because you're addressing whole health, it's less about. What kind of alopecia it is. Uh, what other, you know, do you also have hashi? Do you have this, you have, you know, um, is that your approach works like amazingly across the board?
Johanna Dahlman: It does. It does. It really does. And I love seeing. That statistic of so many people seeing hair growth, seeing progress, their joint pain going away, their headaches, their migraines, the PMs, the menopause, the hot flashes, the this, the, that, all these things are going away. You know, um, girls that are 25, 26 with hemorrhoids or, you know, having this or having that like done, all of it is gone.
Yeah. And yes, that's a huge thing because it was debilitating. But then on top of it, they're getting the hair growth, which is Right. Like I said, it's that whipped cream on top of, uh, the cupcake. And so it's, it's such a big deal because it sets them up for success for the rest of their life. Yeah. Like if you think about it, once you have the answers, you're golden.
You have, yeah. It's almost like it's so
Julie Howton: empowering.
Johanna Dahlman: It's,
Julie Howton: and we, we all have to shift. Like you said, you know, you're, you're, now you're in the extra credit phase, right? But the healing journey never ends life. You know, there are always different waves to, to roll with, right? And, and so our wellness routine needs adjusting as we go along the journey.
Uh, but once you have the tools and you, you really understand, like you said, like then you have the power to just continue choosing health. A
Johanna Dahlman: hundred percent. I agree. Yeah, and once you start working with me, you'll understand that being proactive is, is not just a mindset, but it's also. An action. It's an action verb.
Being proactive is an action verb, and so once we start having this proactive approach towards everything, then you really do become unstoppable with your health and your hair. So since having alopecia, Tata. Because what a lot of people have said to me before in the past, in the beginning of, especially of starting Alopecia Angel, is that oh, but then there's a certain number and percentage of people who get alopecia and it, you know, it resolves within one year.
And I was like, really? Mine lasted for a lot longer than just one year. It's not a, a sporadic situation, you know, just like in a garden, if they're gonna have weeds, they're always gonna come back. So it's also about protecting that garden and ensuring that everything is healthy. And so that's what I've done, not just since having my, to
Julie Howton: prevent that second or third diagnosis and, you know, like it's, yeah, it, it's not the, it, it really isn't rocket science.
If you don't fix what caused the problem, the bandaid isn't gonna last You.
Johanna Dahlman: So just like you, I'm assuming your RA has been gone and in remission and you're done, and it doesn't have to come back. Just like my hair loss. And it doesn't matter whether I've, you know, moved three times to three different countries in a year and a.
Or, you know, whether I had my first baby at 40 or, you know, life's Yeah. Trials and tribulations. It's gonna happen, but it's all about us, um, undertaking and really having that proactive approach saying, okay, well if I need to cut back here and then do this and do that, you shift your sales. Yeah. You, you shift and you, this is where the flexibility comes in because every season is gonna be different, especially for women where we have puberty, we have, uh, perimenopause, we have menopause, we have, uh, you know.
In the age or season of, of having babies and postpartum Yeah. All these fluctuations, especially in hormones. Uh, yeah. It can, you know, lead to an opening, you know, a little cr crack that's open crack in the wall Yep. For us to go in and just have a Hashimoto situation or an alopecia situation. And so this is where everything needs to be like, like an army really tightly enforced.
And so once it's enforced, nothing can penetrate.
Julie Howton: I love that. Uh, it's so good. Um, I wanna ask because listeners are leaning in 'cause they know I ask every time for one thing people can do starting today to improve their health. One thing. Yeah. I know. It's such a hard question.
Intuition. What popped up?
Johanna Dahlman: I would say ask for help. Ah, love it. Ask for help with the right. Help. Um, you know, if this resonated with you, grab that free consultation. If you know you want more help and you're trying to do it yourself. 'cause that's the other thing. I see people trying to do it all themselves.
Julie Howton: Yep.
Johanna Dahlman: And in your case it was over five, 10 years. In my case, it was over four years. Don't, don't do it by yourself. This is why we've created shortcuts. Yeah. This is why you get healing in less time within a year's time. In a year is actually sounds like a lot. Mm-hmm. Less than a year. You can be good to go with a huge bill of, you know, full health and full hair and full remission of RA and so many other things.
Like you can get this done in less time. So. At what point is this costing you, costing you your wellbeing, your mental health, your emotional health, how you show up at work with family, with friends, you know, how do you wanna show up for the rest of your life? 'cause it's not just about now in this episode, it's about the rest of your life as well.
Like who do you wanna be? Like do you wanna be a better wife, parent? Um, you know, absolutely. Et cetera. There's just so much here. I can count numerous people who. Yes. Having alopecia, having a big bald spot right here affected them as teachers in kindergarten because the kindergartners were pointing at the teacher.
Sure. Or how does this affect you when you have to go to a corporate setting? I had a gentleman who was, was 50 years old at the time of working with me. He had 19 bald spots on his beard and on his head he worked in corporates, but he had a full head of hair. But these bald spots, like they, they look unprofessional.
Like you can't wear a baseball hat to work. It's, it's this type of scenario where it's gonna affect more than just.
Julie Howton: Than just the hair. It's how you show up in the world and whether it's, you know, the hair loss piece or the pain fatigue, whatev, whatever symptoms people are dealing with. We, we can't consistently show up as our best selves.
When we don't feel well, and we don't have the energy resources, we just can't. And so we can make that contribution. We can be, like you said, the better wife. The better mother, the better partner, the better business leader, the better. Fill in the blank, the better human. Thank
Johanna Dahlman: you.
Julie Howton: By taking care of, of, like you said, our house, our body, what's going on in here.
And then we, we get to, to show up and life gets bigger instead of smaller. It
Johanna Dahlman: does. It does. Yeah. This adulting situation, it always, it's always like a new era. Yeah. Milestone, a new something to look into, you know? Yes. There's always more, it's never, it never, you know, lessens, there's just always more to Yes.
Like, and so this is something to take into consideration, but I'd say get the help. Don't delay. Because even with clients who said, oh look, I was in transitional thought about it. Yeah, it was finances. It was just shoulda,
Julie Howton: would've coulda.
Johanna Dahlman: And they waited four years, five years. I didn't have a recent client who joined with me seven years.
She's been following me.
Julie Howton: She's working isn't, she wasn't ready. But I know it's, it's unfortunate because like you said, with all of it, the, the sooner is better. Um, and, but someone has to show up, committed and ready to, to do the work as well, you know?
Johanna Dahlman: Do you know how much like people kick themselves in the, of course.
Nobody ever
Julie Howton: said, I got healthy too soon. Like, who would never would you say that? I know for people that are like I am and they listen on the go, where's the best place? To find you, and I know you make it easy because you're consistent with your
Johanna Dahlman: alopecia angel.com. You'll have all the links to all my social media, my podcast, YouTube, everything is there.
Uh, the free training is there right on the homepage at the top right. You'll also see all the free PDFs on the homepage. Success stories. Videos, testimonials so much more. And of course all the other areas that I can help you in, whether it's hormone, thyroid, or also with, um, hair of course. And, um, all the news and events that are coming up.
I'll be speaking, uh, December 6th in Arizona. So I also do a lot of live in person events and looking to do more.
Julie Howton: Great. Well, you should. This, the world needs it. Um, everybody. Also really be sure to check out the podcast Alopecia Angel podcast. Like you said, so much inspiration, motivation, um, and just like you did today, you share so much gold.
Um, but anybody who is intrigued and leaning in, definitely go to the website. Get those resources and, and book a consult because Johanna is changing lives and you wanna be, you wanna be on that list.
Johanna Dahlman: Thank you, Julie. I appreciate you,
Julie Howton: so appreciate you. For everyone listening, remember, you can get the transcripts, links, and show notes by Visiting Inspired Living Show.
I hope you had a great time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I'll see you next week.
Julie Howton: Welcome back to The Inspired Living with Autoimmunity podcast. I'm your host, Julie Houghton, and today we're joined by Johanna Dalman, AKA alopecia Angel. Johanna is a health and high performance hair growth coach who follows functional medicine PR practices. She's also a professional speaker and podcast host of the Alopecia Angel podcast, awakened to hair growth, and she's a mama and a wife as well.
Having helped thousands of clients in over 67 countries, Johanna can attest that healing alopecia, no matter the type is possible and sustainable. And in today's conversation, we are talking about how to effectively and permanently reverse hair loss and how that approach. Will support whole health long term.
Johanna, welcome to the podcast.
Johanna Dahlman: Thank you so much, Julie, for having me. It's such a pleasure.
Julie Howton: I am so excited for this conversation. But of course, we have to start with how did you become the alopecia angel?
Johanna Dahlman: Long ago I had alopecia otta when I was diagnosed in the salon while getting my routine highlights.
Uh. My hairstylist told me, you know, Johanna, you have alopecia. And I didn't understand what he meant by this word because I've ne I just never came across it. This was over 10 years ago, and at the time, you know, we did have internet, so I googled quickly what this was and I just started crying right there in the chair.
It was the first time that at the salon, you know, I left heartbroken, I left not feeling good. I left with. Almost like a lump in my throat and, and a knot in my stomach. It was gut wrenching to read what alopecia was, which for those of you who don't know, it is the medical term for hair loss. So if you have any type of hair loss, whether that's postpartum, uh, tolog, andif, flu, diffuse androgenic scarring, alopecia, areata, totalis, universal, it's all under the same umbrella of alopecia, which is hair loss.
Um, so then after that day. You know, I figured it would be quick. I had always been taught to go see a doctor. You know, take their medications and then do I need, they'll fix it. Do it. Yeah. Right. Uhhuh and, and I just figured, you know, it's like going to the mechanic type situation, you know, you have, yeah, a check light, you get a diagnostic and you're off to the races with that solution.
And after seeing doctors in Denver, after seeing doctors in California, and then of course I had met my fiance, so we moved to the Netherlands, so I saw doctors there as well. I realized that there was a huge array of options. And no options. No options in Europe. It was, you're gonna just live with this and this is part of who you are now versus let's give you all the pharmaceuticals that we have, all the creams, potions and pills and let's see what happens.
And you know, I just had my fiance, we wanted to get married, have kids, do the whole family thing. Yeah. And doing the conventional medicine route was not for me. I. Dove hard into data research and it took me, you know, 2, 3, 4 years to really get this under control and start seeing hair growth. And today, now at almost 45 years old, I have thick, thick hair and it grows an inch a month.
And wow. I can track this with my grays that are covered right now. They're popping out though I can track this with my highlights, of course. And it's that compounding effect of doing what I need to do to have the hair growth, have the health, and you keep compounding just like a savings account. Sure. So it didn't happen overnight.
Not the hair growth nor the inch a month. But this is where I am today. You know, 10 years post alopecia free. And right after I started feeling those symptoms, 'cause it's more than just hair loss, there's a numerous amount of symptoms that every individual going through an autoimmune disease will experience regardless of the exact diagnosis.
And so because of that, uh, once I felt this veil. This like tsunami of symptoms just kind of subside. I was just like, you know what? People need to know. People need to know that they don't have to struggle, that there's an option. There's a choice to heal, and it's not gonna be through medications and it's not gonna be doing nothing.
It's about right. Taking a proactive approach. Yeah. Diving deeper into what needs to happen, making those changes, being committed, patient, and keep going. Yeah. It's a marathon. Well, and
Julie Howton: I, I so resonated with you when I first heard you interviewed, um, because that's what you do, what you do from your passion, from your healing journey, as do I, and I, I think I've heard you say it took you about four years to figure out four you what lifestyle changes you needed to make to, to support, you know, your, your inner wellness, which expresses in this beautiful head of the care eventually, right.
Um, and I, you shortcut for your clients. Just like I say, my healing approach was throw spaghetti at the wall. So it took me years because I didn't know, I didn't have a guide, I didn't have somebody to, um, and, and I think that was one of the reasons I was so excited to have you on a. And I wanna kind of talk about, a little bit about the, the different kinds of alopecia we'll just touch on, on them.
But I, I, and because I know I've heard you say, you know, it doesn't really matter that you can help with, you help your, your clients with hair loss, whether it's doesn't have to be autoimmune. It, it can be, you know, um, any kind of hair loss that they're facing. Um, I don't think people realize like the importance of nutrients and wellness for hair health.
Right. And I lo actually love the fact that you still highlight your hair, right? Because that's not where the wellness is coming from. It is not coming from the hair, it's coming from the inside. Um, and so I know we, we have such similar approaches. Um, because what you do is it's, you have a framework, like I have a framework and, but it's personalized.
Right? It's not a one size fits all.
Johanna Dahlman: Correct. It has to be because
Julie Howton: yeah,
Johanna Dahlman: no one person, even if we all had the same al. One person to everyone else is gonna look so different. I mean, my clients, they're, they're just so vastly different. A, they're in 67 different countries. The ages range from eight months to 82 years of age.
Yeah. And the other thing is that many people don't even live in homes. Some of 'em live in hotels. Some of 'em live on cruise ships. Some of them are living in dorms at college. Some of 'em. You know, it is just so you have to
Julie Howton: figure out what, what'll work for them, you know? So when, when, when your hairdresser told you you had had alopecia, had you noticed hair loss or No.
You hadn't noticed yet. Okay. No hair loss,
Johanna Dahlman: but it started with like a dime size spot. And then little by little I got more and more spots and they started connecting. And it's also possible to have the two different types of alopecia at the same time. So I had, not just Tata, but I also had Tolog and Effluvium.
I've had clients, male clients who have alopecia areata plus androgenic, which is male pattern, female pattern baldness type of hair loss. You can also have, let's say, women who have female pattern baldness. Plus Tolog flu or diffuse or, or even right now I have a client who's going through postpartum.
She's three months postpartum plus alopecia, Tata, so you've got multiple. You know, things and factors to, to look at, deal with and, and kind of integrate all in once. 'cause again, as to your point, it's never a one size fits all, and it has to be tailored. You know, not everyone's breastfeeding, not everyone is postpartum or even looking to get pregnant.
Julie Howton: Right, right. And I, I, so I applaud, you know, it's always. The, the kindness of just the timing, right? If you know, who knows what road you would've gone down, if you weren't forward thinking to, I wanna have a family, you know, I don't know what I wanna put into my body. Um, I wanna touch on, I, I believe you have on your website still.
Uh, I wanna just talk about some of, and again, this is whole health. We've got toxins and stress and diet and sleep and, you know, I heard you say that's when I was like, I love her. Um, you know, sometimes people are over exercising and driving chronic inflammation that way. So, um, it's not all I know. You were seemingly healthy.
When you first experienced this, right, you were fit and working out and, and conscious living, consciously making conscious choices. Um, what, what are, uh, some of the, the big drivers, what I started to refer to with were the, you have a list of medications, which of course, I'm sure there are many. Too many to possibly ever list anywhere.
Right. Of we don't realize, we think we're treating one thing and we're causing another problem. You know? Um, I know with all the medications, when I first went down the, the traditional route for my rheumatoid arthritis, I experienced a ton of hair loss. Um, to the point that, I mean, my hair is, had always been long.
And when I got healthy and all this healthy, crazy, curly hair was going in, I had to cut my hair short. 'cause I had like literally two different heads of hair. You know, I had like this stringy, what's left over And thank God like the, you know, this full head of, of wild hair. Um, so what, what are some, and we'll, we'll circle back to highlight again.
This is a complete lifestyle. That you do? It's, it is not, there's not one thing like everybody's, cause you know, lifestyle's different. Everybody's, maybe root causes are different. But, um, there are things that you see, patterns that contribute to alopecia. Um, what, what are some of the big ones? 'cause I, I think.
People tend to, to have blinders on. Mm-hmm. And they're just, sometimes to me, things are so obvious and they just don't consider them.
Johanna Dahlman: Yes. There's a lot. Um, you know, we look at cellular optimization, we look at metabolic health, we look at, uh, diet and lifestyle. Of course. We also look at gut health. We also look at emotional and mental wellbeing.
There are so many factors that come into this. And if you think about this, you know. It's almost like a home, you know, I live in an older home. It's about 40 years old, if not more. And you know, whether it's a new home or a brand new home, or let's say a home that's been a hundred years old, or 50 or 20, or even just five, there's always some sort of maintenance.
Even with a brand new home. There's always issues. Nothing's perfect. Yeah. And so this is kind of the same way that I look at our own bodies. You know, we need to maintain our cars and our homes and in the same way. I may have a plumbing issue today, but then my next door neighbor may have something else or maybe nothing at all.
And so each home requires its own inspection, requires its own type of maintenance. And then also it also has weak spots, right? We, we all have our weaknesses and our strengths, and so it's also looking at where am I weak? Where am I weakest, and where does this weak area. Where can I focus more on it so that it, I can strengthen it.
So that I can improve it. So just like the weeds in the garden, the weeds are gonna be there every month, every year. Yeah. Type thing. And so it's not just a one and done. This is a lifelong marathon. And, and I think that's what a lot of people wanna think, that this is just, oh, you know, quick fix, a couple weeks, a couple months, and I'm done.
And it's like I got my hair back, but then lo and behold, it's just like I wouldn't be here today. Right. If I don't breathe my own program and on top of it, not only do I live and breathe it, but then I also incorporate biohacking and I do more, I do the extra credit that you would do in graduate school, in college, right?
All that extra credit I continue to do, and this is why I've seen that extra return on investment when it comes to my, to my health. Even at 44 with a toddler at home, you know, with any and all type of. Normal day-to-day stressors or whatever life gives me, it's like I'm still able to ride the wave and I think this is what.
What we need to have as an understanding. It's not about perfection, it's about learning to ride the waves that life gives us into the best of our ability so that we are not, you know, whitewashed doesn't take
Julie Howton: us down. Yeah, I love that you said that. 'cause people, I, I've had so many people say, well, do you say you don't have RA anymore?
Did you never have ra? Did you, I said, I don't say first of all, but I will say if I. If I went back to the lifestyle that contributed to me being symptomatic and declining for over a decade, I would be symptomatic and declining again. Right? Instead of feeling better, better. You know, just wait. I'm 56. I feel the best I've ever felt like it.
That's what's possible. And again, same thing. It's because, you know, I got into functional medicine from biohacking, so. Um, but it, but it is the extra credit. And, and we were having a conversation in the clinic yesterday about foundation, right? You can't just go to the fancy biohacking, shiny, fun, cutting edge.
Cool. Fill in the blank. Without addressing all those things you just mentioned as, as foundational.
Johanna Dahlman: Yes, there is a foundation and it's just like the house. Yeah. If it's built from straw, we already know what's gonna happen. If it's built on, you know, bricks, we have a solid foundation and that's what we need to look at first.
Like where are we going wrong with our foundation? And to many people, this seems very superficial or maybe even obvious because they could do a quick Google search. But I'm telling you, I've had functional medicine doctors come to me. I've had nutritionists, physical therapists, uh, personal trainers, pharmacists.
Nurses, you name it. I've had the gamut of healthcare practitioners and workers come to me for their own hair loss, for their child's loss. 'cause they can't figure it out. And so this is the thing is like what you don't know, you don't know. And that always holds you back. So going back to blind spots, this is a huge blind spot, is that if you continue to think that you know it all.
Well, then you're gonna continue to get the results that you've been having. So this is why opening yourself up to different modalities, different ideas of thought, different opportunities to learn and grow is, is huge and will only lead to your success. And I know sometimes that's frustrating because in my own case, and probably in every client who I've spoken to.
They see one doctor and two and three and four sure. 15 doctors and they try acupuncture and Ayurveda and this and that, and then everything else at the drugstore and nothing's worked. And then they come to me and they're like, you're my last hope. And I'm like, well, this is it. You've arrived. We're gonna get to the hair growth.
And so the thing is it's, you have to look at your journey as as just that it's leading a journey direction. Yeah. It will happen. It's not about if, it's about when, and so the only time it won't happen is when you give up. That's what I truly believe. If you give up, game over, if you keep going, it will happen just like you persevered.
That resilience, the perseverance, the tenacity that you and I had and so many others, that's a requirement. That's the prerequisite to getting on the bus to getting you to your destination.
Julie Howton: Absolutely. Oh my goodness. Yes. And you, you do something re I I find remarkable 'cause. Everybody knows, like, I know the body is designed to heal.
I, you know, I've helped thousands of, of people with autoimmunity, reverse symptoms. I see it every day. Right. We're all special in our own right. Um, but you know, I, it's, I didn't heal, you know, but nobody else can. Like we, we all can. Um, but you, I have, it's always. You do it fast. I just, I, I have. So let's talk about that a little bit because, um, how, other than the fact that, that, you know, you're, you're looking at Whole Health, right?
And, and making an individualized plan to meet people where they are. How are you getting hair to start growing back so fast for your clients?
Johanna Dahlman: Yeah, that's a great question. For those of you who are new to me, alopecia Angel, um, 90% of my clients see hair growth in less than eight weeks. And many times I can guarantee this because it's really, once I have that initial conversation, I'm looking at the whole person.
I'm already, you know, understanding where their weaknesses are, and I'm. Enabling lean and empowering them to move the needle quickly. 'cause they want it. It's almost like weight loss, right? They want it and so I'm here to help. Well,
Julie Howton: same like by again, back to the, by the time they find you or show up at your virtual doorstep, like they, they've tried all of the conventional stuff.
Johanna Dahlman: It's incredible. Some are just primed for it and they're already, yeah. More than halfway there. Others, they need to start from ground zero. You know, we're all at a different level of health and wellness and what we consider to be truly healthy and wealthy. In that sense. So for example, I've had a gut health coach come to me and in 24 hours her hair loss stopped.
She's in her sixties and you know, she helps people with gut health and all different types of, uh, pathogens and, uh, bacteria. And she's been having this hair loss for over 20 years. In 24 hours, she was able just to stop it and it was incredible. But she too had her own blind spots. And that's the thing, we all have blind spots.
It's like we're running uphill with a parachute on our backpack. So. That delay will always hold us back until me, I'm able to take it off, snip the parachute and say, here, run. Yeah. And then that's where the magic happens, is that I'm there to showcase the root causes, the blind spots, to see if we need testing, to see, you know, what more needs to happen and to have those.
Hard, honest, candid conversations. And I don't sugarcoat it. Like when I see something,
Julie Howton: that's why I like you.
Johanna Dahlman: It's what it's, you know, and that I give tough love. Yeah. You know, and I wish somebody would've given me that, um, I guess throughout my whole life, throughout my whole journey. 'cause I prefer it very straight and narrow versus.
Beating around the bush or telling me, oh, you know, it'll happen. Or just, you know, fluffing over it. Yeah. And putting underneath the rug. Like, tell me exactly what I need to do so I can get to my results. This is what I am, I'm results driven. I came from Apple. So in Apple working in corporate, there was no wiggle room.
It was either results or nothing. Progress or nothing. And many times if you didn't show results or progress, well guess what? That cost you your job, so, so having
Julie Howton: so many years at Apple, but that also helped you on your healing journey too, say, okay, there's a problem that just that that perspective, that things are solvable.
Johanna Dahlman: Yes. Right.
Julie Howton: You, you just might have to, you know, like come up with an idea, an approach that might seem crazy at first, you know, or, or just really different than what anybody else is doing because what other people are doing isn't working.
Johanna Dahlman: I will tell you that mindset, that culture of working at Apple.
Absolutely played a, an immense part in my healing because I had my bad days as well. I had the days I crawled up in the, on the floor crying endlessly and feeling hopeless, feeling like what I'm doing, what nothing's working, and it is just continuing to. You know, shed, and I'm continuing to look bald and this was very heartbreaking for me as someone who's always had big, curly hair.
It's, it was pretty traumatic in many ways, but that mindset of getting back up there is a solution. Just keep going. And it didn't matter what any medical textbook said or any doctor like, I knew deep down that there was. A possibility. I just needed to keep listening to that intuition and keep moving forward.
And, oh, yes, thank God I never, I never quit. Um, I'm not a quitter to begin with. Um, and I think doubt is actually a good indicator or even fear. That you're on the right path, right? Because once you start questioning yourself, once you start evaluating and having even a fear to let's say, invest in yourself for this program, for this or for this help, then you start to see like, do I really want this?
That's actually the universe testing you. Do you really want this? Right? Guess what? It's gonna take all of you to get there. Just like the Olympic. We haven't all gone to the Olympics, and there's a reason for it, right? Not everyone gets the gold medal at the end, but because it takes a lot of work, dedication, and effort, and in the same case, you know, if we're rebuilding your body from the ground up, there's a lot of, you know, processes and, uh, things to follow, protocols to follow, and rules to follow.
And then once you, once you, you work through every facet, you get the gold medal, you get your hair, you get your health, you get so much more. That you even thought or bargained for.
Julie Howton: Yeah. Uh, s it's so true, and sometimes we need, sometimes we need a kick in the pants or a, you know, and we, we, I, I, I know you're, you do what you, you know, you wish you had a, a, you right that guy that, that detective, the, the support, the all the things.
Um, and that's why I do what I, you know, I, I didn't. Have a me to guide me through. And oh my gosh, if I could have accelerated my healing journey because there was like a systematic approach to, to getting me to where I wanted to go, um, wouldn't that have been amazing? And that's why we're here, right?
Because, you know, we both know that, that we can get results faster. Then we had to experiment and figure out for ourselves, um, which is, is amazing. I, I wanna talk about, um, I know you, you all work with men as well as women. It started really mostly with women. And, and I, I think that women have so much, and men to some men too, to be fair.
But there's so much emotion and identity tied into you. You know, you said you always had big curly hair, right? I always had big curly hair. I didn't embrace it when, as a, as a, a child, um, or even a young adult. Uh, but, and, and I think that's typical for women too. You know, people with curly hair, like straight hair, you know, like there's a, uh, that's an interesting phenomenon.
But, but the, everybody has different motivations. Um, and for a lot of women. No matter how much pain they're in, how fatigued they may be, what other, you know, GI distress, like name any other internal symptom alopecia is one of the, the more, you know, a lot of autoimmunity you, you can't see from the outside.
Um, right. But it's, it's, but when our hair starts to fall out, we wanna fix that. Like, it, it, I mean, it, it's a, and I'm not talking about, I don't mean it in a vanity, like I'm not even just talking about 'cause we wanna look good. It's just really a big piece of our identity often. Um, and, and we see, and I've heard you talk about, and, and listeners have heard, you know, these, when you get one autoimmune, you tend to get, you know, multiple, if you don't go after the root cause.
That that started the first one, you know, 'cause the diagnosis is really just a label for the symptom. It's not like the, the autoimmune process is the same. Like what was driving my RA could have very well easily driven alopecia instead. Um, but a lot of women, you know, I feel like Hashimoto's, is that like most common crossover for people where they have Hashimoto's and Right.
Um, or sometimes they. Through. They're trying to, you know, a addressing their auto, whatever their first autoimmune is, they realize, oh, they also have undiagnosed Hashimoto's. Um, and people tend to think of Hashimoto's and hair loss again, as going hand in hand too. Everybody
Johanna Dahlman: up, they do hashi's, but a ligo ra.
There's a lot, even ms, they, they all like to buddy up to alopecia. Um, anything skin like psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, and I actually do see clients with, let's say alopecia areata or total or universal, the autoimmune alopecia, plus a second and a third autoimmune. Or even let's say if you have female pattern baldness, which is just like right here on the crown and maybe some thinning all around.
But they also have IBS or they also have Crohn's, or they also have, you know, a different type of, uh, you know, health situation. So all of this can be healed. It's not just the hair. It's also Right. The hair's the symptom. Yeah. The hair is your, your, you know, everyone's after the hair and I get it. Yeah. But that is definitely the, the whipped cream on top of the pie.
You know, it will happen. Everything else also needs to be in line, and that's what we're talking about, where it's really alignment. It's, it's, it's an orchestra. All of the body is an orchestra and everyone needs to be on tune on point. Yeah.
Julie Howton: Because if you just have one great strong brass section or whatever, you know, or just the strings are great, but, or, you know, it's still not gonna sound good until you've got that harmony.
With everything going on. I love that we use, we use the, the symphony analogy a lot for the body because it's true. And, and that's why when people try this thing and then that thing and then that it doesn't, they don't get the results. 'cause they're, they're not addressing the whole picture. So true. Um, do you see, um, 'cause I, I'm thinking of some past clients that back to, didn't matter how bad they felt on the inside.
Um, they did not want to take the blinders off and admit that perhaps their breast implants were one of the big drivers of their autoimmune symptoms. Um, but if, if I, I think. A lot of them, if you connect it to the hair loss, they'd have more motivation to explore that possibility. Um, do you see, do you know, is there a, do you have a fair amount of clients that have had breast implants or breast implant illness?
Johanna Dahlman: Um, I actually have a podcast episode about it that I did maybe about two, maybe three years ago. And so I actually, they come to me, they're like, I already took out my breast implants, so they're go-getters. So the people who I attract are type A, they want the results. They're, you know, eating up every blog post or podcast episode, and they're just doing as much as possible.
Yeah. And until the time is right or until like the next opening or whatever it is to, to start working with me. And so I think once, once you yourself have that motivation and gogetter ness, I think that is already leading you at the head of the pack in terms of healing. Because we can't be an ostrich.
Now are some clients, of course, you know. Resisting Sure. Certain things Absolutely. In different areas. And the breast implants, I don't think people resist so much. They, they already see the correlation. It's, it's been on the news, you know, there's so much data on it where it's just, it's obvious. And so in many cases too, when I talk about, let's say cortisone shots, steroid injections, or um, any type of JAK inhibitors.
I correlated to breast implants. You know, when I was 18 in California, all my friends were getting breast implants. I never needed them or wanted them. And, um. You know, it takes a good 20, 30, 40 years for us to realize what these breast implants are doing or the side effects of this, or even a C-section or whatever the latest, you know, vaccine or what have you.
Right? It's not so decades later we're not gonna really realize what's happening, but we already have these medical mistakes in history. It's just looking back and then also. Being open to that because sometimes people are new to the medical world, or let's say they've never had a diagnosis or never had any major surgeries.
I'm one of 'em. I never had a broken bone. Sure. I never had any surgeries. Like I was a healthy kid in general for the rest, for my whole life. And then all of a sudden at my healthiest, I'm diagnosed with this and I'm just like, huh. You know? So it just took me aback. And so maybe there's people out there that.
Resonate with that word. They were always healthy, and then they get a diagnosis out of nowhere, right? They, it's not outta nowhere. And so then you start to have to, uh, reevaluate what's happening and kind of like reassess, like what is going to work, what's not gonna work. And so maybe after so many years of Jax or whatnot, it starts to backfire.
And this is, this is why I, I'm so passionate about it because we're not gonna understand the full grasp of how. Detrimental medications are for hair loss. Mm-hmm. Or autoimmune diseases in general, because they're not healing us. They're maybe maintaining, maybe, you know, covering up a situation more of a bandaid, but just like minoxidil, just like neutrophil, just like viviscal.
Just like anything else, it can not work. It can backfire, it can have side effects, and I don't think the regular population or even public is. Cognizant of this and they just want, oh, my kid needs this. My kid needs this, or I need this, or I need this, or My husband needs this. And okay. But at the same time it'll come back.
So it's like, what do you want? Do you want to actually heal naturally and and be bulletproof, or do you want this quick fix shortcut that could potentially. Have, you know, huge harmful ramifications. And then of course, losing the hair all over again. Like, which is it?
Julie Howton: Yeah. Ama it, it's, it's like you said, it's back to the journey, you know?
And, uh, is it the bandaid? It's interesting just to highlight. Uh, the, I've had, I've had a handful of clients that I, I really suspected that breast implants were driving their SIS symptoms. And this is fascinating to me. This is a psychology thing I guess. But, um, a couple of them literally within like a week of getting their implants.
Either they had encapsulation, they had like massive inflammation and, and you know, but yet they left them in for 10 20, you know what I mean? Like, so it's like, no, they, they actually know they've been a problem the whole time, but they, they don't connect it to their, the ongoing chronic stuff, which is, is kind of wild.
Um, even though your, you know, approach is individualized for people, is there a like. Never, ever, uh, kind of across the board and, and maybe, you know, there's always like that, that one or two people that it doesn't apply to. But are there things that you, and again, I know like what's right for your lifestyle might not be right for somebody else's today, but.
Um, things we should not be doing. Like, like, you know, that this is really not good for, I'm not even, I would say hair. I mean, we're talking about the alopecia, but really health, right? Like, do you have a Never, ever.
Johanna Dahlman: It's hard to say, you know, as someone who's lived in so many countries, it's gonna look a little different for each country.
Um, and I think the concerns would be bigger depending where you live. And that's even within the us.
Julie Howton: Yeah.
Johanna Dahlman: You know, I think those, those health markers would be drastically different, let's say in Flint, Michigan. For people drinking water there compared to people in the Swiss Alps or, you know what I mean?
And so it just, where you live to have these, oh no, no, we don't do that here because of this situation. And so I've spoken to people, let's say they live in Ohio and they live right next to some sort of, um, plant or chemical factory. And so. You have to take into consideration your environment and where you live.
And the beautiful thing is just like I've chosen to move and, and uproot me and my family, not just me. It's possible for anyone. And so I think also looking at your environment, like where do you live? Like do you really thrive there? Do you really love it there? Uh, it, it's one of those things where. I question, and I saw this, uh, social meme the other day where the kids, apparently they did research on this, the kids apparently who questioned adults and who just kind of questioned authority a lot.
Yeah. Uh, you know, have more success rates than the ones who are Sure. Obedient with, with what needs to happen or whatever, rules and laws. And not to say that, you know, I, I, I. I have like a bad driving record or anything. 'cause I don't, but what I'm saying is that I've always questioned, you're a self thinker.
I've always questioned like, why are we doing this? Why is this being, um, you know, but that's
Julie Howton: why you're, you're doing what you're doing. That's why you, I was thinking that like when my kids were little, I had, you know, three within four years and you know why, what you think of any child's favorite question.
Why, why, why? And and I really do think that that's the difference. The ones that don't get that squashed. I mean, that's what I do for a living. That's what you do for a living. You ask why, right? Why? Why is, why is, you know, why are you feeling this symptom? Why do you have the autoimmunity? Why are you losing your hair?
And not taking the, because I just had a baby or because I have Hashimoto's or, but you know. As well. Okay. But, but why? Um, and, and so it makes perfect sense to me that you're like, no, you know, I, I am a questioner. I'm a self thinker. I, I, because that's what it takes sometimes to, to get to the, okay, what is really gonna work for this person in this case?
Johanna Dahlman: And really, you know, at the end of the day, you can get as much. Help or guidance from so many different avenues. But at the end of the day, each person needs to walk that journey. They have to take the action. It's like going to the gym. The personal trainer is there to guide you, but the one doing the pushups, running on the treadmill, lifting the weights.
Is, is you, is that person. And so this is something that I think everyone across the board needs to understand. 'cause it's not like you're gonna go get a medication or a shampoo or a surgery and like you're all done. It's up to somebody else's hands. No. This is you taking full responsibility, taking ownership of your future and of your health and making those changes, whatever it is.
And I think without those changes, then you're not gonna see the results. So just like if you don't do the homework, you won't graduate. Same thing. There's consequences to all our decisions. So if we wanna continue being in denial, 'cause that's just it, a lot of times we are in denial that this and this or correlated to each other, or can this really be a blind spot or can this really be a situation?
And I, I'm not here to convince people, I'm telling you the answers. Right. You do it with what you want.
Julie Howton: Well, and, and again, it comes back to motivation too. Um, you know, I, I actually wouldn't identify as somebody who questioned much when I was younger. Right now I question everything. Not in a, uh, hopefully I'm, I haven't gone too far, but, you know, and I, I actually think that's part of why I ended up with so many diagnoses and declining, you know, starting in my early thirties is, you know, um.
So I, I think mindset is so important. And, and take, like you said, taking ownership. You can't, you can guide somebody, but you can't make the changes for them.
Johanna Dahlman: Exactly.
Julie Howton: Yeah. And nor can I, and nor would I do, I want to anyway, but that's not how we create lasting change, you know? So do you have any like pet.
Practical, like daily habits that, that you think are just essential for wellness, for energy, for growing hair back, for, for all of it.
Johanna Dahlman: Yeah. For anyone who's experiencing hair loss, there's a couple things to start with. Um, I have many, many free PDFs on my website where you could see any medications that you're currently taking because there's a long list that do cause hair loss.
Everything from birth control to SSRIs, you name it. There are medications out there where the side effect is hair loss, so I think that's the first. Uh, place to start. There's also hair products that have been in lawsuits and who are known to have hair loss as a side effect. And their hair products, they're shampoos, they're mose and they're still out
Julie Howton: there for sale.
They're still,
Johanna Dahlman: yeah, absolutely. They're still out there. There's, um, equipment that we use, you know, styling equipment, and so being aware of these things and, and sometimes they don't even just cause hairless, they also cause cancer. And so it's these types of things that we need to be aware of. So that's another.
Uh, free PDF that you can grab on the website. Uh, another one is also understanding the ramifications of alopecia meds, hair loss meds, what that looks like. You know, even if it's not a medication and it's just minoxidil or RO gain from the drugstore, well, guess what? That type of situation is lifelong.
They want you on minoxidil for the rest of your life. But at some point, like I said, it either has. A side effect. You know, you'll get maybe little blisters or bumps on your scalp. Maybe it'll be itching. Maybe it'll get red and inflamed, or maybe it's your body rejecting the chemicals and the toxins that are in this product.
And at some point too, once you stop the monoxide on the Rogan, what do you think is gonna happen? Well, you are gonna lose all the hair. So this is also, uh, something to consider because it's not just, I have this problem, I'm gonna remedy it now. And so let's say just like birth control, you wanna get off in a year.
Well, you're gonna lose all the hair, so why even start? And so it's these types of questions that I want people to think through before they even take the next step. So it's really gathering your thoughts, understanding. What's happening right now and take a full assessment of yourself and then move forward.
I also offer a free consultation so people can have, uh, a free consult with me so we can talk about their situation. Uh, the other thing too is understand that it's not just me and Julie here, you know, saying, Hey, we've healed and we're all good, but there's. My podcast that has so many client interviews from the horse's, mouth of people from all different countries, races, ethnicities, moms, parents, professionals of all sorts.
And so this is where you're gonna get your inspiration. This is where you're gonna get your. Really the guiding light. Lean into those, lean into the stories of people who've made it, not the naysayers, not the people who are angry or bitter or you know, and not
Julie Howton: the big corporations who spend, you know, tons of marketing money to get you to use their products.
Either, you know.
Johanna Dahlman: Thank you. That's a big one. Yeah. And so this is, part of it is really doing your due diligence, really understanding that it's just more of all of the factors, even the factors that you don't think that are necessary to heal. They are. And so I actually walk through this in a free training that I offer.
Um, so this is another option for your listeners or for anyone else out there because. I know everyone knows somebody with hair loss. Everyone does.
Julie Howton: Oh gosh.
Johanna Dahlman: Yeah, and so this is the thing. It's like, even if it's long COVID hair loss, even if it's postpartum for five years, or even if it's, you know, X, Y, Z hair loss and you haven't been able to resolve it for over 10 years, you know, or three decades or what have you, I believe there's still always a hope and it's about attacking it correctly strategically.
In a tailored approach as soon as possible. The sooner we get to that, the sooner the better. And this is why I think the sense of urgency is a huge one, especially for scarring. Alopecia scarring. Alopecia is one of those, uh, situations. It's like having mold in the house or termites where if you don't get to it, you're gonna be left with.
Damage a zero livable home. And so it, you need to attack it as soon as possible, right? We don't want mold in the house, we don't want termites in the house. Same thing. This infestation can lead to the detriment of the whole facility, of the, of the whole structure. And so in the same manner when you have a diagnosis such as scarring alopecia, I actually just recorded yesterday with a lady with scarring alopecia.
Her whole head is scarred over. So at this point, PRPA, hair transplant, none of these things would work for her and they won't work for her because it's completely scarred. And so in the same manner, if you have a diagnosis or a suspicion that it could be scarring, alopecia, act faster.
Julie Howton: Now, yesterday was the time.
Johanna Dahlman: The faster the better, because even with companies who I've seen with scarring, alopecia, maybe they have one little spot here that's scarred, but everywhere else it's growing. Okay. So maybe you comb your hair this way. Sure. Or maybe a different hairstyle, but maybe this, if it's already scarred, maybe it won't come back, but at least everything else we can promote.
Sure. And I think, I think the biggest, the biggest driver here is that it's up to us to take our, our health into our own control. And, and even the hair growth, it's, it's up to us really for everything because again, that sense of urgency is on us.
Julie Howton: Uh, amen. I, I liken it to, it's the same with, you know, I mean, if you look at my hands, you won't know that I declined with rheumatoid arthritis for 11 years.
Um, I'm really lucky, a a and so before the damage to the joints was irreversible, right? Like, I don't have hand pain. I can open jars, I can do all the things I couldn't do in my thirties and forties. Um, but. There, there's is a, a point of no return either with joints or with scalp, with scarring with, you know, um, which doesn't mean you don't.
Wanna stop the progress. I always say like, wherever you are, you can feel better and get better. It's just, we have to be realistic, um, about, you know, and, and I, I think when you, you talk about doing the inspection, taking the assess, you know, just really assessing your life, your self, your history, um, which is still gonna be more difficult to do than, than getting Johanna to, to assess with you because she'll see, you know, right through those blind spots.
Um. But it's like, you know, what am I, am I willing to do the work because it does take work. Um, and I, I do think, again, it, it is a fascinating, like the, the psychology of it. I, I think people. If, if they connect, I think there, there's more motivation regarding hair loss than there is regarding other damage to the body.
That's, that's, you know, other people can't see. Um, and so, but, but what I love about what you're doing is that it it, because you're addressing whole health, it's less about. What kind of alopecia it is. Uh, what other, you know, do you also have hashi? Do you have this, you have, you know, um, is that your approach works like amazingly across the board?
Johanna Dahlman: It does. It does. It really does. And I love seeing. That statistic of so many people seeing hair growth, seeing progress, their joint pain going away, their headaches, their migraines, the PMs, the menopause, the hot flashes, the this, the, that, all these things are going away. You know, um, girls that are 25, 26 with hemorrhoids or, you know, having this or having that like done, all of it is gone.
Yeah. And yes, that's a huge thing because it was debilitating. But then on top of it, they're getting the hair growth, which is Right. Like I said, it's that whipped cream on top of, uh, the cupcake. And so it's, it's such a big deal because it sets them up for success for the rest of their life. Yeah. Like if you think about it, once you have the answers, you're golden.
You have, yeah. It's almost like it's so
Julie Howton: empowering.
Johanna Dahlman: It's,
Julie Howton: and we, we all have to shift. Like you said, you know, you're, you're, now you're in the extra credit phase, right? But the healing journey never ends life. You know, there are always different waves to, to roll with, right? And, and so our wellness routine needs adjusting as we go along the journey.
Uh, but once you have the tools and you, you really understand, like you said, like then you have the power to just continue choosing health. A
Johanna Dahlman: hundred percent. I agree. Yeah, and once you start working with me, you'll understand that being proactive is, is not just a mindset, but it's also. An action. It's an action verb.
Being proactive is an action verb, and so once we start having this proactive approach towards everything, then you really do become unstoppable with your health and your hair. So since having alopecia, Tata. Because what a lot of people have said to me before in the past, in the beginning of, especially of starting Alopecia Angel, is that oh, but then there's a certain number and percentage of people who get alopecia and it, you know, it resolves within one year.
And I was like, really? Mine lasted for a lot longer than just one year. It's not a, a sporadic situation, you know, just like in a garden, if they're gonna have weeds, they're always gonna come back. So it's also about protecting that garden and ensuring that everything is healthy. And so that's what I've done, not just since having my, to
Julie Howton: prevent that second or third diagnosis and, you know, like it's, yeah, it, it's not the, it, it really isn't rocket science.
If you don't fix what caused the problem, the bandaid isn't gonna last You.
Johanna Dahlman: So just like you, I'm assuming your RA has been gone and in remission and you're done, and it doesn't have to come back. Just like my hair loss. And it doesn't matter whether I've, you know, moved three times to three different countries in a year and a.
Or, you know, whether I had my first baby at 40 or, you know, life's Yeah. Trials and tribulations. It's gonna happen, but it's all about us, um, undertaking and really having that proactive approach saying, okay, well if I need to cut back here and then do this and do that, you shift your sales. Yeah. You, you shift and you, this is where the flexibility comes in because every season is gonna be different, especially for women where we have puberty, we have, uh, perimenopause, we have menopause, we have, uh, you know.
In the age or season of, of having babies and postpartum Yeah. All these fluctuations, especially in hormones. Uh, yeah. It can, you know, lead to an opening, you know, a little cr crack that's open crack in the wall Yep. For us to go in and just have a Hashimoto situation or an alopecia situation. And so this is where everything needs to be like, like an army really tightly enforced.
And so once it's enforced, nothing can penetrate.
Julie Howton: I love that. Uh, it's so good. Um, I wanna ask because listeners are leaning in 'cause they know I ask every time for one thing people can do starting today to improve their health. One thing. Yeah. I know. It's such a hard question.
Intuition. What popped up?
Johanna Dahlman: I would say ask for help. Ah, love it. Ask for help with the right. Help. Um, you know, if this resonated with you, grab that free consultation. If you know you want more help and you're trying to do it yourself. 'cause that's the other thing. I see people trying to do it all themselves.
Julie Howton: Yep.
Johanna Dahlman: And in your case it was over five, 10 years. In my case, it was over four years. Don't, don't do it by yourself. This is why we've created shortcuts. Yeah. This is why you get healing in less time within a year's time. In a year is actually sounds like a lot. Mm-hmm. Less than a year. You can be good to go with a huge bill of, you know, full health and full hair and full remission of RA and so many other things.
Like you can get this done in less time. So. At what point is this costing you, costing you your wellbeing, your mental health, your emotional health, how you show up at work with family, with friends, you know, how do you wanna show up for the rest of your life? 'cause it's not just about now in this episode, it's about the rest of your life as well.
Like who do you wanna be? Like do you wanna be a better wife, parent? Um, you know, absolutely. Et cetera. There's just so much here. I can count numerous people who. Yes. Having alopecia, having a big bald spot right here affected them as teachers in kindergarten because the kindergartners were pointing at the teacher.
Sure. Or how does this affect you when you have to go to a corporate setting? I had a gentleman who was, was 50 years old at the time of working with me. He had 19 bald spots on his beard and on his head he worked in corporates, but he had a full head of hair. But these bald spots, like they, they look unprofessional.
Like you can't wear a baseball hat to work. It's, it's this type of scenario where it's gonna affect more than just.
Julie Howton: Than just the hair. It's how you show up in the world and whether it's, you know, the hair loss piece or the pain fatigue, whatev, whatever symptoms people are dealing with. We, we can't consistently show up as our best selves.
When we don't feel well, and we don't have the energy resources, we just can't. And so we can make that contribution. We can be, like you said, the better wife. The better mother, the better partner, the better business leader, the better. Fill in the blank, the better human. Thank
Johanna Dahlman: you.
Julie Howton: By taking care of, of, like you said, our house, our body, what's going on in here.
And then we, we get to, to show up and life gets bigger instead of smaller. It
Johanna Dahlman: does. It does. Yeah. This adulting situation, it always, it's always like a new era. Yeah. Milestone, a new something to look into, you know? Yes. There's always more, it's never, it never, you know, lessens, there's just always more to Yes.
Like, and so this is something to take into consideration, but I'd say get the help. Don't delay. Because even with clients who said, oh look, I was in transitional thought about it. Yeah, it was finances. It was just shoulda,
Julie Howton: would've coulda.
Johanna Dahlman: And they waited four years, five years. I didn't have a recent client who joined with me seven years.
She's been following me.
Julie Howton: She's working isn't, she wasn't ready. But I know it's, it's unfortunate because like you said, with all of it, the, the sooner is better. Um, and, but someone has to show up, committed and ready to, to do the work as well, you know?
Johanna Dahlman: Do you know how much like people kick themselves in the, of course.
Nobody ever
Julie Howton: said, I got healthy too soon. Like, who would never would you say that? I know for people that are like I am and they listen on the go, where's the best place? To find you, and I know you make it easy because you're consistent with your
Johanna Dahlman: alopecia angel.com. You'll have all the links to all my social media, my podcast, YouTube, everything is there.
Uh, the free training is there right on the homepage at the top right. You'll also see all the free PDFs on the homepage. Success stories. Videos, testimonials so much more. And of course all the other areas that I can help you in, whether it's hormone, thyroid, or also with, um, hair of course. And, um, all the news and events that are coming up.
I'll be speaking, uh, December 6th in Arizona. So I also do a lot of live in person events and looking to do more.
Julie Howton: Great. Well, you should. This, the world needs it. Um, everybody. Also really be sure to check out the podcast Alopecia Angel podcast. Like you said, so much inspiration, motivation, um, and just like you did today, you share so much gold.
Um, but anybody who is intrigued and leaning in, definitely go to the website. Get those resources and, and book a consult because Johanna is changing lives and you wanna be, you wanna be on that list.
Johanna Dahlman: Thank you, Julie. I appreciate you,
Julie Howton: so appreciate you. For everyone listening, remember, you can get the transcripts, links, and show notes by Visiting Inspired Living Show.
I hope you had a great time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I'll see you next week.
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My Guest For This Episode
My Guest For This Episode
Connect with Johanna Dahlman
Johanna Dahlman
Hi! My name is Johanna (aka Alopecia Angel), and I’m a health and high-performance hair growth coach who follows functional medicine practices. I am also a professional speaker, and podcast host to the Alopecia Angel Podcast: Awaken to Hair Growth, a mama and wife.
Healing my alopecia was my biggest challenge and it took out-of-the-box thinking and healing for it to happen. Having worked at Apple for years, our ethos and way of tackling problems is not the norm, giving me an edge to conquer my alopecia areata which was moving fast into totalis. After reversing and healing my alopecia, I knew others needed to know. I’m on a mission to help as many people get their hair back and keep it for life. Empowering them to reverse and heal naturally! Because it’s possible!
Having helped thousands in over 67 countries, I can attest that healing various types of alopecia, including alopecia areata, totalis, universalis, telogen effluvium, diffuse, traction, scarring alopecia, female pattern bald
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