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Breaking the Stigma of Hair Loss with Jordan Pryor

Breaking the Stigma of Hair Loss with Jordan Pryor

by | Mar 26, 2024 | Episode

Episode 05

Breaking the Stigma of Hair Loss with Jordan Pryor

Breaking the Stigma of Hair Loss with Jordan Pryor
Whether you know someone who has experienced hair loss or are going through it yourself, you’ve probably seen or experienced the stigma that comes with it. Thanks to people like Jordan, that stigma is starting to break down. Never one to shy away from the spotlight, Jordan has taken his hair journey in stride and shares it with others every step of the way.

Genetic Hair Loss

Many of Jordan’s male family members lost their hair in their early twenties, so Jordan knew he was genetically predisposed to losing his as well. Jordan was only 17 when he noticed his hair loss. He was a college student when he first started shaving his head. While he thought he looked good with a shaved head, he looked significantly older than his age. In his early twenties, he felt self-conscious about looking much older than his girlfriend.

Seeking Solutions

Early in his hair journey, he tried many solutions before getting his first hairpiece.

Jordan doesn’t shy away from the spotlight. When he got his first hairpiece, his TikTok followers commented about how great his hair looked, and he didn’t hesitate to show them that it was fake!

Many men worry about showing up one day with a full head of hair after being fully or partially bald. Jordan was able to take it in stride, but if you’re concerned about this, Jordan recommends starting the process of finding your hair solution early.

Impacts of Finding His Hair Solution

Jordan likes to cut his own hair and enjoys going to the barbershop for a fresh fade. His hair solution means these experiences are still a part of his life.

Empowering Resources

As the episode draws to a close, HairPod extends a generous offer of a complimentary hair loss consultation, providing a tangible step towards reclaiming confidence and control over one’s appearance. Book a Free consultation with HairClub Today!

Want more info on our guest? Follow Jordan Pryor on TikTok.

Thanks for listening to HairPod. We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please leave us a rating or review wherever you get your podcasts. If you’d like to connect with us on social media to share your story, check us out on Instagram @HairClub. HairPod is a production of TSE Studios. Our theme music is from SoundStripe.

Episode.05 Transcript
Jordan Pryor [00:00:09]:
Definitely boosts my confidence. And, you know, I love also being able to cut my own hair on the sides, too. Like, I love fading my hair. And so, and even as a kid, like, there was no better feeling than coming home after the barber shop and, you know, you got a fresh fade going and all your friends are like, oh, dude, you look crispy. And so, yeah, it’s nice to still be able to do that and to still experience that’s.

Kevin Rolston [00:00:51]:
Welcome back to Hairpod, the podcast where you get to hear real people share stories about their hair loss and how they got their hair back. Each journey is as unique as the next. Some may find their hair thinning earlier than others, but it’s an experience that touches all of us eventually. Whether we experience hair loss ourselves or it happens to somebody close to us, to all our listeners out there grappling with hair loss, remember, you’re not alone. Hair loss can start at any age. And even when you can see it coming, it can still be a bit of a shock. Today’s guest is Jordan Pryor, a TikTok influencer who has been sharing his hair loss experience online for years. Jordan knew that he was definitely going to lose his hair at some point.

Kevin Rolston [00:01:31]:
Hair loss has affected many men in his family. What he didn’t know was he would be only 17 years old when it started thinning out.

Kevin Rolston [00:01:40]:
Um.

Jordan Pryor [00:01:45]:
Pretty much every man in my family is bald, and most of them started balding at a very young age, you know, early to mid twenty s. I don’t think that any man in my family has had their hair make it to 30. So definitely a genetics thing on my end.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:00]:
When was it that you started noticing that this was probably going to be something that you were going to have to face?

Jordan Pryor [00:02:05]:
So, unfortunately for me, I started really early. It was my senior year of high school. I was 17. Whenever I started to notice the corners of my hair starting to recede.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:15]:
Okay, and how bad was it and at what point did you feel like you need to step in and do something about it?

Jordan Pryor [00:02:22]:
For the most part, growing up, I always kept my hair super short, always had kind of like a buz cut. And so I was able to hold off for a couple of years, but probably around 20, it started getting really bad. And so for about a year after that, I started shaving my head, but I looked significantly older than I actually was because I had a clean, shaved head and then a beard. So I looked like I was in my early thirty s and not my early twenty s. And then probably around 22, I believe, was whenever I started looking at getting a men’s hair piece.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:54]:
Now, was there a certain moment that you started to realize that you were looking older with that? I believe you had somebody in your life that was about the same age as you, and they looked a little bit younger in comparison to you, you looked a little bit older, and that kind of made you self conscious.

Jordan Pryor [00:03:10]:
Yeah. So it was always whenever I was shaving my head, it was whenever I’d go out on dates with my wife because she has kind of a baby face. We both do. But whenever I was bald and was kind of rocking it that way, I thought it looked good, but we would get some weird looks because she was about 20, I was, like, 21, but I looked like I was 31, and she looked like she was 18. And so we’d get a lot of weird looks in public just because people were like, oh, my gosh, that age gap. And I’m like, we’re literally a year apart.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:42]:
Right. That’s a terrible feeling. So that was the point that really kind of drove you.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:47]:
Now, for a lot of people, too.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:49]:
That start to lose their hair. I was about the age of 25, and I saw a photo, and I noticed that I had a bald spot. I hated the look. It was something that made me very self conscious, but for me, I didn’t really know where to go, and it took quite some time before I was able to find hair club for you. Where did you turn when you started to lose this? Because it’s not typically something, especially when you were your age at 22, that you’re hanging out with your budies saying, hey, man, where do I go for hair loss? Where did you even start to look to try to resolve your problem?

Jordan Pryor [00:04:18]:
Yeah, that’s definitely not a conversation I was having with my friends at that time. It was more my friends giving me a hard time about looking like a grandpa, was their exact words. But early on, I tried some of the early remedy stuff. What is that? Finasteride, minoxidil. I did, you know, I tried everything early on to catch it before it got bad. And then I was scrolling on, I want to say, it was like Facebook, and I saw a video of a barber in my area who was doing men’s hair units. And so I reached out to him, got it done there a couple of times, and then shortly afterwards, I moved to Colorado. And it was once I was up in Colorado that I started going to hair club.

Jordan Pryor [00:04:59]:
And honestly, the quality even took up an extra step, and it was incredible.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:08]:
Now, one of the things I noticed immediately when I started talking to Jordan was how confident he is. There’s a stigma around hair loss in our culture, and because of people like Jordan, that stigma is starting to break down. More and more people are feeling comfortable talking about hair loss with their friends and with their family members, and people like Jordan are leading the way.

Jordan Pryor [00:05:33]:
I had a video that went viral on TikTok where I was doing, like, a q a thing, and someone had commented about how my hairline was super crispy and in the follow.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:44]:
Crispy?

Jordan Pryor [00:05:45]:
Yeah, super crispy. It was, like, nice and straight on the sides.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:49]:
Okay.

Jordan Pryor [00:05:50]:
My fate was a lot better than it is right now, and I flipped it up. Flipped up. The hairpiece was. You know, that’s funny that you say, like, it’s. I’ve never. I’ve never been one to shy away from making people laugh or anything. Like. Like, I don’t care that people know, know I don’t have real hair, so to speak.

Jordan Pryor [00:06:08]:
But then shortly after that, once it went viral, hair club reached out to me, and they’re like, hey, we love your vibe. We love your attitude. Would you like to come in and take a look at our product? And so I did, and I was just blown away.

Kevin Rolston [00:06:20]:
What was it that you noticed? I mean, what was the difference between stepping up, going to hair club as to what you had before?

Jordan Pryor [00:06:27]:
It was definitely the color matching. There’s a little bit of a reddish tint in my hair that I feel like a lot of the smaller barber shops didn’t quite have, whereas whenever I went into hair club, they have this system where they match your hair to a t. And so, especially, like, during the summer, my hair does get a little bit lighter, and so they were able to accommodate for that, which was really cool, and so it blended perfectly.

Kevin Rolston [00:06:56]:
Now, many guys I’ve talked to are pretty sensitive about their hair loss. Going from a completely shaped head to a full head of hair draws this attention that most people don’t want to talk about or they don’t want people to notice. Jordan’s ability to embrace the situation and his new look made that transition easy for him.

Jordan Pryor [00:07:17]:
Yeah. So, I mean, that was kind of the unfortunate route that I had to go, but there’s not a ton of bald pictures of me out there, thankfully.

Kevin Rolston [00:07:26]:
Okay.

Kevin Rolston [00:07:26]:
All right.

Jordan Pryor [00:07:27]:
But, yeah, I really did just show up one day and just had all of my hair back. And my friends were like, how? Because I didn’t tell them what I was doing, where I was going, they were just like. Because they’d given me such a hard time for years about it, and just like, one day they’re like, wow, your hair looks better than mine. I was like, yeah, it does. I do just want to say real quick with what you were talking about. Part of the reason why I think I’m so open with it is I do have an individual in my family who has had a too pay or a men’s hair piece, rather, since he was 25. And so it’s never really been a taboo thing in my family. But, yeah, for folks who might be listening, I would definitely suggest starting off young.

Jordan Pryor [00:08:09]:
And while you’re early into the hair loss process, if that’s the route that you’re wanting to go, because it is easier to show up, like you were saying, just a little bit more hair at a time versus what I did, going bald and then full out of hair.

Kevin Rolston [00:08:28]:
Jordan isn’t the kind of guy to let his hair loss slow him down. And wearing his hair system doesn’t stop him from living his life either.

Jordan Pryor [00:08:40]:
Honestly, I forget that I’m wearing it a lot of the time. It’s normally not until about because I do my own. Part of my TikTok channel is doing, like, my own maintenance at home, under the hood, so to speak. And really, until it’s time for me to do that, I don’t even notice that I’m wearing one, because, yeah, it breathes great. I work out very frequently. I’m currently in the process of doing p 90 x. Oh, no way.

Kevin Rolston [00:09:04]:
Okay, that’s a challenge.

Jordan Pryor [00:09:05]:
Yeah, it’s been a throwback. It’s weird seeing those old DVDs, but it’s been great. I dripping in sweat after these workouts, and my hair is still on top of my head. It’s not sliding off. It doesn’t fly off in the wind or anything like that. In May, we were at a pool party in New Mexico, and I jumped into the pool, like 30 times and was swimming around and splashing with people and everything. And there was never a moment where I thought that it was going to fall off. I mean, anytime you come out of the water, your hair is always all messed up, and you just shake it off, throw it to the side a little bit, and you’re good to go.

Kevin Rolston [00:09:43]:
For most of us, hair loss and finding a solution that works for us is about more than just hair. It’s a journey of self esteem and confidence. For Jordan, it’s also about the experiences that are still a part of his life.

Jordan Pryor [00:10:01]:
It definitely boosts my confidence, and I love also being able to cut my own hair on the sides, too. I love fading my hair. And even as a kid, there was no better feeling than coming home after the barbershop. You got a fresh fade going, and all your friends are like, oh, dude, you look crispy. So, yeah, it’s nice to still be able to do that and to still experience that. And I do a lot of presentations and stuff for work, and so I’m constantly in front of people and I oftentimes get compliments on how nice my hair is.

Kevin Rolston [00:10:32]:
Right?

Jordan Pryor [00:10:33]:
This makes me laugh whenever I hear it.

Kevin Rolston [00:10:36]:
It’s a great feeling, though, right?

Jordan Pryor [00:10:37]:
Oh, yeah, thousand percent.

Kevin Rolston [00:10:44]:
It was so great. Talking to Jordan about his experience with hair loss, his confidence and his willingness to share his story is helping to break down the stigma of how hair loss is treated in our society. I just hope that in the future, we’re all going to feel just as self assured as Jordan, tackling a difficult topic with our friends, families, and communities. Thanks for listening to another episode of Hairpod. If you think Jordan’s story would resonate with somebody you know, share this episode with them and check out our show notes if you’d like to connect with us or Jordan on social media video. Until next time.

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Postpartum Hair Loss with Jessica-Marie Laurent

Postpartum Hair Loss with Jessica-Marie Laurent

by | Mar 19, 2024 | Episode

Episode 04

Jessica-Marie Laurent: Postpartum Hair Loss

Jessica-Marie Laurent - Postpartum Hair Loss

Postpartum hair loss is an issue that many mothers face, but few talk about openly. In this episode of HairPod, we sit down with Jessica-Marie Laurent, a professional in the hair replacement industry for over ten years and a mother who experienced postpartum hair loss. She shares not only her unique story but also some amazing information on how to maximize regrowth.

The Start of Postpartum Hair Loss

Most women who have children experience some postpartum hair loss. Jessica’s hair loss began after she stopped breastfeeding her son. She discovered her hair loss when she began to shed a lot of hair in the shower and it gave her a feeling of panic, even though her pediatrician had warned her it could happen! Jessica works in customer service, so her image is important to her. She found ways to conceal her hair loss, but it still affected her emotionally.

Coming to Terms With Postpartum Hair Loss

Even though she works in the hair solutions industry, it still took Jessica-Marie two months to decide to seek treatment. Acting quickly makes all the difference. To regain as much of her hair as possible, Jessica knew she had to start the process quickly and overcome her denial with postpartum hair loss.

Postpartum Hair Loss Regrowth

Regrowing hair due to postpartum hair loss has become part of her hair care routine. She shares how she bounced back and what helped get her hair back!

  • Clean and cleanse: shampoo and conditioner formulated to support her current situation helped her keep her scalp clean and healthy.
  • Low-level Laser Therapy: Infrared light penetrating the first few layers of skin at the hair follicle helps reduce stress on the follicle. This helps hair follicles grow new hairs.
  • Multivitamin: Just like people take pre-natal vitamins during their pregnancy, a “post-natal” vitamin is helpful in maintaining healthy hair, skin, and nails. Consult with your doctor before starting or ending a vitamin regimen!

Empowering Resources

As the episode draws to a close, HairPod extends a generous offer of a complimentary hair loss consultation, providing a tangible step towards reclaiming confidence and control over one’s appearance. Book a Free consultation with HairClub Today!

Thanks for listening to HairPod. We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please leave us a rating or review wherever you get your podcasts. If you’d like to connect with us on social media to share your story, check us out on Instagram @HairClub. HairPod is a production of TSE Studios. Our theme music is from SoundStripe.

Episode.04 Transcript
Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:00:09]:
The best thing that I can recommend for any female in any situation is do your research. So, of course, if you’re, you know, becoming pregnant or if you notice something is happening throughout or during your pregnancy, do a little bit of research. Make somebody aware, whether it be a hair loss expert or a doc actor, don’t sit in silence and think that you’re alone or that nobody else has ever experienced it, because you’re not alone.

Kevin Rolston [00:00:53]:
Welcome back to Hairpod, the podcast where you get to hear real people share stories about their hair journey. I’m your host, Kevin Ralston. Each journey is as unique as the next. Some may find their hair thinning earlier than others, but it’s a universal experience we all go through to all our listeners out there grappling with hair loss. Remember, you’ve got a community right here with you. And today we have a truly inspiring and informative story to share with you. Our guest, Jessica Marie Laurent, faced a common, but often emotionally challenging issue, postpartum hair loss. Today, we’re going to explore how this natural occurrence impacted her self confidence and more importantly, how she found confidence.

Kevin Rolston [00:01:36]:
Again, when it comes to the subject of hair loss, and especially postpartum hair loss, Jessica’s lived experience and knowledge about how the condition works helped me to understand this condition a little bit better. Postpartum hair loss affects many women, yet the impacts of it are not often discussed openly. Today, we’re going to be shining a light on this experience, and we want you to know that when you are as well informed as Jessica, a world of hope and transformation opens up for you. So without further ado, let’s dive right into Jessica’s story.

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:02:15]:
For most women, I would say postpartum hair loss happens in the six to eight month range. But for females that breastfeed, this can happen later because you still have that good hormone, if you will, because of the breast milk being produced. So you have a little bit of a longer stretch before you experience that postpartum hair loss. So for me, it was probably about a year after I stopped BreAStFeedIng my son. After a year. And then after a year, I started to notice massive clumps of hair coming out while I was shampooing and conditioning. Yes.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:47]:
Now, when you say massive clumps, how would you put that in terms of size? What’s your definition of massive?

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:02:53]:
If I had to put it in terms of size, because I have curly hair, I could say probably bigger than a golf ball.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:00]:
Oh, wow.

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:03:01]:
It was quite a bit of Hair Loss. It was VeRY shocking and very hard to go through, because as a Female, the goal is to wash your hair as often as you need to, which is a couple of times a week. So a couple of times a week, I’m going through this thinking, should I just stop washing my Hair altogether? What should I do to mitigate this?

Kevin Rolston [00:03:21]:
Wow. That’s got to be, like, a panicked type feeling when you see something like this. Now, was this something you got a warning from, from your pediatrician that this could be a possibility? Or you just one day in the shower, holding onto clumps of your hair, not knowing what’s going on?

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:03:35]:
You get warnings, Kevin, they tell you, and in doing research and going to prenatal and postnatal classes, they do advise you that it can happen. But I think the part that’s, like, the scariest, if you will, is you just don’t know when it’s going to happen. And when it starts to happen, it starts, and it kind of doesn’t stop until, I guess, either the hormone is completely out of the body or until the hair has done the cycle that it needs to do.

Kevin Rolston [00:04:00]:
So is This a permanent kind of Hair Loss?

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:04:03]:
No, it’s not permaNent, KEvin. In a lot of cases, as long as we’re doing things to ensure that the Hair health is good, you can gain back almost all of the Hair that you’ve lost during postpartum. In SOMe CaSes, not EvERY FEmale is that LUCky.

Kevin Rolston [00:04:18]:
Now, how long would it take for you before you got back to exactly where you had been before?

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:04:24]:
I’m still not back. My son is two years old. I went through postpartum hair loss for probably, let’s say, four to six months that I had that aggressive shedding in the shower. The aggressive shedding has stopped, but the growth is still happening. Like, I see that I’m getting back to where I was, but I’m still not 100% there. Six months later.

Kevin Rolston [00:04:47]:
As we continue exploring Jessica’s personal journey, it’s important to bring up the courage that it takes to discuss hair loss, especially for women. The stigma that surrounds hair loss can cause people to shy away from speaking out. Confidence can still be a big issue, even for people whose hair loss isn’t immediately obvious. Kind of like Jessica. How bad did it get?

Kevin Rolston [00:05:13]:
Was it noticeable, or is it something.

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:05:14]:
That just, you noticed so not noticeable to friends and family? Like, friends and family? I don’t want to close friends and family that know me may have noticed because I got a few comments like, hey, Jess, did you cut your hair? And it’s like, no, I didn’t cut my hair, it’s actually just the density that’s not there. But, I mean, for close friends and family that know me very well, yes, it was noticeable. But for people on the outside looking in, nobody ever could tell that I had a hair loss issue. I think that I was also very good at concealing it so that I didn’t have those additional ass or that additional stress of people noticing it.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:49]:
What did your hair look like before the pregnancy and before the hair loss? How thick was it? Was it something that you took a lot of pride in your hair? How would you view yourself and your self esteem based on your hair that you.

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:06:01]:
Kevin, you know, I work in customer service, so for me, my overall image is very important to me. Working at hair club, basically selling hair and recommending hair to people, it’s very important for me to look and feel the way that I want my clients to look and feel. Right. So I would have to say, honestly, how can I put it into words? My hair was so full and so voluminous and so curly and just moves in the wind the way that you want it to move. Not that it didn’t do that during my hair loss, but there was significantly less of it. Like, I’m just used to having a fuller head of hair. My clients are used to me having a fuller head of hair. So I did get the od question here and there.

Kevin Rolston [00:06:49]:
The postpartum period brings a roller coaster of emotions for new mothers. The emotional impact of Jessica’s hair loss was pretty significant, intertwining with the joys and challenges of motherhood. But one thing makes Jessica’s journey unique. She is a professional in the hair loss replacement industry. Armed with expert knowledge, she was able to take action soon after noticing her hair loss.

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:07:16]:
It took me honestly, surprisingly, having worked in the hair restoration industry for over ten years now, it took me probably two months before I acted. Let me explain that now. Two months. The first month was, oh, my God, why me? And then the second month was again, oh, my God, why me? But, hey, Jess, if you don’t do something, you might not be able to get back all of the hair that you lost. So I literally heard myself almost having a consultation with myself, as I would with a client, letting myself know that there is something that can be done. But I need to act quickly in order to ensure that I get the volume and density that I had four months or five months before that. So one month of denial, the second month of coming to a realization, and as soon as I came to that realization, I acted extremely quickly, I started to do my laser, I started to take my vitamins, and I started to cleanse and clean on a regular basis to ensure maximum growth, maximum result, if you will.

Kevin Rolston [00:08:18]:
Okay, take some time and unpack everything that you just said there, because somebody who’s not an expert in the field is probably like, wait a minute, what’s the laser? What’s the vitamins? What’s the cleanse? Explain each and every single one of those steps clearly so somebody could understand that.

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:08:32]:
All right, Kevin, so being an expert in the hair loss industry, being an expert in the field, if you will, the number one thing that we have to do in order to ensure that we have healthy growing hair is we need to clean and cleanse. The way that we clean and cleanse is by shampooing and conditioning. That sounds so simple. Just saying it, shampooing and conditioning. But it’s not that simple, Kevin. We need to find the correct shampoo and the correct conditioner that works for our current situation. So for me, my current situation was that I had weak, damaged, and fragile hair. So I had to find a product that worked for the weak, fragile, and damaged hair.

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:09:06]:
That was step one.

Kevin Rolston [00:09:07]:
Are there different styles of shampoo, or is there really just kind of one style of shampoo?

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:09:11]:
There’s different styles of shampoo. Shampoos are geared to do different things. So we have shampoos that are going to do deep cleaning. We have shampoos that can do a light clean. We have shampoos for dry dandruff scalp. There are various different products associated or out there, let’s say, if you will, on the market to help you with whatever it is that your hair needs are, whatever your scalp needs are.

Kevin Rolston [00:09:33]:
So you talk about you had to do the shampooing. That was one step. You threw the word laser in there, which a lot of people are probably like, what do you mean, laser? What is this all about?

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:09:43]:
The average person knows about laser hair removal, but we are talking about low level laser therapy. Low level laser therapy is an infrared light that penetrates through a few levels and layers of your skin. It basically reduces inflammation at the hair follicle. So when women or men are losing hair, what generally will happen is we have inflammation underneath the scalp, at the follicle, which is causing the hair or the hair follicle to get less blood, less oxygen, and less nutrients. It’s stressed. So by reducing the stress at the hair follicle, which is what I did, by using my low level laser, I was able to reduce that inflammation, allowing my hair to stay in the growing stage for longer. So what happens is, again, in layman’s terms, our hair rests, sheds and grows. But when you’re going through massive shedding, postpartum hair loss, stress hair loss, hormonal hair loss, your hair stays in that shedding phase for a longer period of time.

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:10:44]:
What the laser does is it basically shortens the shed phase and it increases the grow phase. That’s what I wanted to do.

Kevin Rolston [00:10:51]:
And how noticeable is using the laser treatment? How long does it take before you notice something? How frequently do you have to use it? What is it like? Is it something you can do at home? Do you have to go into a place to use it?

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:11:02]:
So it is something that you do at home? Kevin, it’s low level laser therapy for 6 minutes a day, every single day is recommended. There are different level laser strengths so associated to like. So for example, if you use the base model, you’ll probably see results in six months to a year. If you use the mid grade model, you would see results probably anywhere from six months to nine months. And if you were to use the higher grade level, which is called an RX, the surgical, medical grade device, you would see results in as short as three to six months. So really, all of the lasers, there’s not one that’s better than the other. There are just different strengths. I started off with a lower grade laser because I didn’t have any prominent bald spots.

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:11:45]:
I didn’t have any prominent visible loss, if you will, to the average person, but the loss was definitely there. So in order to stimulate those follicles, I started with a capillis 82 is what it’s called.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:57]:
Now. You talk about you had to do the right cleansing. You talked about having to do the laser thing.

Kevin Rolston [00:12:02]:
The thing I’m kind of curious about.

Kevin Rolston [00:12:03]:
Because you had talked earlier, I’m sure the hormones, and that’s what you were saying, was causing the hair loss. Is there anything you can do to get your hormones in check? Any kind of hormonal balances or anything that you did in regards to that, to try to help out hair loss?

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:12:16]:
No, really, the only thing are vitamins. It’s a multivitamin. So during pregnancy, we take a prenatal vitamin that has a lot of folate in it, a lot of folic acid. And I think that that’s probably what helps promote and stimulate hair growth. So after you’re done taking your prenatal vitamin, if you continue on a hair, skin and nails vitamin that has either an equivalent or close to that amount of folate in it. I believe that that could really bridge the gap, if you will. And I think I just didn’t do that. I didn’t know enough about it at the time to do that, so I just didn’t.

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:12:50]:
But definitely a recommendation for women that are either thinking about having children or already having children. Before you stop your prenatal vitamin, consult with a medical professional and absolutely replace that prenatal with something so that your body never goes without the booster, if you will.

Kevin Rolston [00:13:13]:
Jessica’s expertise in this field is undeniable. Her journey has not only been about finding solutions for herself, but also about empowering others facing similar challenges. So when it comes to offering advice to any women grappling with hair loss, Jessica speaks from a place of both professional authority and personal empathy.

Jessica-Marie Laurent [00:13:33]:
The best thing that I can recommend for any female in any situation is do your research. So, of course, if you’re becoming pregnant or if you notice something is happening throughout or during your pregnancy, do a little bit of research. Make somebody aware, whether it be a hair loss expert or a doctor. Don’t sit in silence and think that you’re alone or that nobody else has ever experienced it because you’re not alone. The likelihood is that one person in the millions of people in the world have experienced the problem that you’re going through. And there is always, in most cases, especially if we’re talking about hair loss, there is always a solution. There’s always something that can be done in order to bridge the gap.

Kevin Rolston [00:14:16]:
It was awesome getting to talk to Jessica. She’s got this amazing way of bringing positivity into her challenging situation while always being really down to earth. Focusing on solutions can help bring people who are facing similar struggles right here to the help they need. So if you or somebody you know is dealing with hair loss and you think some of Jessica’s knowledge might help them, please consider sharing with them this episode. And if you’d like to connect with Jessica Marie Laurent, just check out our show notes for her contact info. Thanks for listening to Hairpod. If you’d like to connect with us on social media to see Nick’s before and after pictures and hear about future episodes, just check us out at Hairclub on Instagram or visit our website w dot hairpodpodcast.com. Until next time.

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Nick Wilkins: High School Hair Loss

Nick Wilkins: High School Hair Loss

by | Mar 12, 2024 | Episode

Episode 03

Nick Wilkins:

High School Hair Loss

Nick-Wilkins

High school hair loss is a reality for many young people. In this episode of HairPod, we interview Nick Wilkins, a full-time content creator and influencer. His story showed us how hair loss can affect your confidence, enjoyment of life, and even your job… but also that there is hope when you find a solution that works for you!

High School Hair Loss

  • Nick knew many of the men in his family were bald, so he knew he would lose his hair eventually.
  • It started a lot earlier than Nick expected. When he was in his senior year of high school, he started losing quite a bit of hair. Initially, He was in denial, but it became clear his hairline was shifting.

Early Hair Loss Struggles

  • Nick’s hair was an important part of his self-image. When his hair began falling out noticeably, he tried to use headbands to hide it.
  • As a full-time content creator, Nick was used to the limelight. His hair loss made him quit posting online because he didn’t want anyone to see him or comment on it.

Exploring Solutions

Nick wondered what was causing his hair loss. He talked to his hairdresser about it as well. She thought there was nothing he could do. He began to search for solutions – he wanted to prove that idea wrong. He made his first consultation appointment at HairClub. To give him a little extra confidence, Nick brought someone along with him to the consultation. Once he started working with the HC team, he saw amazing regrowth results and found the confidence to start sharing online and posting again!

Empowering Resources

As the episode draws to a close, HairPod extends a generous offer of a complimentary hair loss consultation, providing a tangible step towards reclaiming confidence and control over one’s appearance. Book a Free consultation with HairClub Today!

Want more information on our guest? Follow Nick @n1ckwilkins on Instagram.

Thanks for listening to HairPod. We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please leave us a rating or review wherever you get your podcasts. If you’d like to connect with us on social media to share your story, check us out on Instagram @HairClub. HairPod is a production of TSE Studios.

Episode.03 Transcript

Nick Wilkins [00:00:09]: Man, I went through a lot this past year. Like, gosh, if you look at photos me just one year ago, that was like my worst time was around this time. So I’ve only been on this stuff for like a year and I’ve already seen all these changes and I think it’s because I hopped on it so fast. You.

Kevin Rolston [00:00:43]: Welcome back to Hairpod, the podcast where you get to hear real people share stories about their hair. Each journey is as unique as the next. Some may find their hair thinning easier than others, but it’s a universal experience we all go through at some point. And to all of our listeners out there grappling with their hair loss, remember, you’ve got a community right here with you. Can you imagine Navigating High school while your hairs decided to, well, graduate early, we’ve got Nick Wilkins joining us, a bright young guy in his 20s who’s been there, done that, and is now here to share his unique journey. When you look at him now, you’d never know that Nick had at one point lost a lot of his hair. So whether you’re holding on to every strand or simply curious about the human experience, stick around. We promise it’s a story worth hearing.

Nick Wilkins [00:01:36]: So when I started to hit my teenage year, like 1213, I started to focus on hair because I really liked my hair back then and I thought it was all cool and it was like super blonde. But I was looking at my dad and his brother and my grandpa, and there was just a lot of balding going on. I’m like, one day I might bald. It’s like, oh, man, I got to get a wife before that. I was like, thinking of all this stuff. I was like, overthinking it back then.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:02]: But yeah, you’re on a timetable.

Nick Wilkins [00:02:04]: Yeah, exactly. I was like, overthinking. I’m like, man, maybe when I’m 30 or something, it will start to happen. So I was like, dang, I got to get my life in check before then because, man, I was really afraid of it. It was like one of my biggest fears, which is funny, no doubt.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:19]: It’s legit.

Nick Wilkins [00:02:20]: Yeah.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:20]: So you have exactly what I was going through. I had that whole thing where I had this photo of my grandpa that was right there in the hallway every single day. And I do remember just like you, I was back in my teenage years. I was really worried about hair loss, and I started to see mine at about the age of 25. What was the first mark? What did you see and how early in your life did you notice that, okay, I am starting to lose my hair?

Nick Wilkins [00:02:45]: Yeah. So just like you, I would look at pictures of my dad when he was, like, starting to hit 20 and stuff, and he had still good hair. So I was like, all right, it’s not going to happen. When I’m 20 or 18. It’s not going to happen for a while. But when I started to hit 17, I started to look at photos of me that I was posting on my Instagram, and then I was comparing it to the year before. Then I was like, man, it looks a little bit more thin. It wasn’t like, crazy, but it just looks a little different. It’s harder to do, it’s harder to put up more. It was just like laying flat and kind of matted. But it wasn’t until I turned, like, 18 when it really all started just falling out. It was in my combs. It was on my collar of my shirt. There’s kids in my class saying, like, man, you got a lot of hair all over your shirt. Do you have a dog? And I’m like, no, this might be mine. But I was thrown off because they say you lose like, a hundred hairs a day.

Nick Wilkins [00:03:42]: So I was, Ah, this is just like my hundred hairs a day. That like it’s normal still. Yeah, but then it was starting to happen a lot more, and it was a lot more in the shower. My shower drain was getting clogged. It was all that stuff.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:56]: Now, Nick wasn’t just any kid struggling with a little shedding. He’s a full time content creator, and he started making videos long before his hair journey began. As his hairline shifted, so did his passion for the limelight, and he lost his creative drive.

Nick Wilkins [00:04:12]: I stopped posting. My whole job was to post online, and I just stopped. I couldn’t do it anymore because I was so afraid of people commenting about it. Because before then, they all compared me to all these famous people. They’re like, oh, you have such good hair. So it was part of my image was my hair. That was my top thing to be posting. That was kind of the reason why I was posting. I was excited to just put myself out there. But then it started to go, and I just completely stopped working and posting. I was like, Man, I got to get a different job. That’s where it was coming to. Yeah.

Kevin Rolston [00:04:43]: Now, did you try to do any. Kind of other cover up, wearing a hat or anything like that? Because that was one thing in my life where I would wear hats, but then you just get those certain social circumstances where a hat is just not going to cut it. Was there anything like you did with that? What was your process on trying to remedy your hair loss other than just dropping out of society?

Nick Wilkins [00:05:01]: I did this thing where I bought tons of hairbands, like hair bands, like workout hairbands, or just kind of like, I still have so many in my closet, but it was kind of like the style at my school. Like, a kid started wearing all these hairbands and everyone else was doing it. So I was like, okay, this is how I can cover it up. This is how I can do it. And I knew hats would also, I thought, hurt the hair even more. So I was trying to avoid wearing hats all the time. So hairbands was my big thing, and I would wear hats, but I never wasn’t wearing something on my head. I was always somehow covering it up, like Photos and everything. And I remember prom was, like, my worst day ever because I couldn’t wear a hat on prom, and there were so many photos of me everywhere. I hated being there. I wanted to go home. I couldn’t wear a hat. My hair was all sweaty. It wasn’t good.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:54]: Everyone who’s been through hair loss has moments like these etched into their minds. They happen to all of us at different times, and it can be tough if you feel like you’re going through it alone. And since none of Nick’s friends at the time were losing their hair, he really didn’t have anybody to confide in.

Nick Wilkins [00:06:10]: No, man, I was comparing myself to my friends all the time, like, they had such good hair. And I started to just watch a lot of YouTube videos, and I was doing a lot of searching just about hair loss, like, how it’s caused, and it gives you a million different answers. There was nothing that I could say, okay, this is me, because I was watching 30 to 40 year olds talking about it. I’m like, man, but I’m 18, so what am I going through right now? And I started to doubt that it was, like, genetics. I started to think it was like, maybe I was eating bad, maybe I was doing this or that. So I was trying to avoid the fact that I was just losing hair genetically. But, yeah, I was watching a lot of videos. And then it got to a point where my hair was just, like, dying. Like, the whole front of it, you could just tell I couldn’t cover it up anymore with my standing hair. And I went to, like, a hairdresser, and I remember talking to her about it. I’m like, do you know anything about hair loss? And she goes, no, she didn’t know too much. And she was like, everyone who I do hair for, they tell me that there’s no way to fix it. So I don’t think if you are going through hair loss, you can fix it. You can get different haircuts to help it out, to make it look more full. And I was like, man, you know what? I want to prove this wrong. I want to see if you actually can.

Nick Wilkins [00:07:22]: So, like, that day, I got home and I searched online, like, hair loss solution places, and the first link that came up was Hair Club. And I clicked it, and I signed the link, and I got on and, like, had my appointment the next week.

Kevin Rolston [00:07:42]: Stumbling upon a possible solution was the easy part. For many, including Nick, taking that leap to book and attend that initial appointment is a lot harder. I remember freezing up in the parking lot the very first time I tried to go in for a consultation. Yet for Nick, the nudge of a supportive friend was what he needed to step through those doors.

Nick Wilkins [00:08:03]: I had to bring my brother’s girlfriend with me. I had to bring someone with me. I couldn’t do it alone. I had to have someone come in with me because, man, I was embarrassed and I was just so scared because I didn’t know what was going to happen or what we were going to talk about. I compare it sometimes this sounds kind of weird, but I compare it to if you’re going to the doctors to find out that you have really bad cancer or something, you have to bring someone with you to come in for the appointment. It’s too hard to go by yourself, so you have to bring someone. So she came with me and that definitely helped. That pushed me to actually go.

Nick Wilkins [00:08:36]: I never backed out. Yeah. Glad.

Kevin Rolston [00:08:38]: That’s good. That’s awesome. Yeah. You’re braver than I am. Honestly, if I could just go back and if I could say one thing to myself, I’d be like, dude, just walk in the door. It’s a lot easier than you would think. I don’t know what I was expecting, why I thought it was going to be so traumatic.

Nick Wilkins [00:08:56]: I walked in, they set me up with someone who kind of told me what I’m possibly going through, and they gave me, like, two routes on what I could do to try to fix my hair. And it was so easy. I went home the next day and then I told them I want to do it. I thought about it for a little bit and then they got me in contact with another person and they signed me up for everything and they started sending me all the products. And it was like, I’d say, after, like, two months of doing it, I started to see changes already. It was just exciting to see, but it wasn’t, like, crazy yet. I was still going through a lot of shedding when I was starting everything, and it was still kind of like a lot of doubt, but I still had a little bit of hope coming in because I lost my hair really quickly. So I was like, maybe I could fix this.

Nick Wilkins [00:09:40]: But my one thing I wish I did was going in even earlier because there’s like, parts of my hair where I’m like, oh, man, if I went like two months earlier, stopped overthinking it, maybe I could have fixed that part of my hair, you know what I mean?

Kevin Rolston [00:09:56]: Now I hope your content is getting created and you’ve gotten back out into your social life and that you’re feeling confident. Because honestly, man, I look at you right now because I can see you. You got an amazing head of hair. And I would never, ever in my life suspect that you ever for 1 second doubted yourself and had any kind of hair issues.

Nick Wilkins [00:10:15]: Oh, thank you so much. That means so much. That’s like, one of the biggest compliments you can give me. But yeah, man, I went through a lot this past year. Like, gosh, if you look at Photos me just one year ago, that was like my worst time was around this time. So I’ve only been on this stuff for like a year, and I’ve already seen all these changes, and I think it’s because I hopped on it so fast.

Kevin Rolston [00:10:35]: Absolutely. And tell me about your confidence now compared to then and what a difference it is.

Nick Wilkins [00:10:41]: My life resumed once I got the hair back. The little gap where I had a lot of hair loss, that’s kind of a blur, and I kind of reconnected over it kind of like a mountain. Like, I reconnected it and it kind of resumed my life. So I’m posting now. It’s still my job. I don’t go to college because of my social media and stuff. So, yeah, it all worked out for me. I’m able to post and confidence is fully back.

Nick Wilkins [00:11:05]: And so that’s awesome, man.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:08]: Well, Nick, if you want people to find you and see what you’re producing, where would people be able to find and see what kind of content you’re creating?

Nick Wilkins [00:11:15]: I would say Instagram. Instagram is the best for me. My handle. It’s Nick Wilkins. But the I in the Nick is just the one, and that’s just Nick Wilkins on Instagram.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:25]: Very cool, man. Well, I am so happy that you were back in the game. You were living the life that you intended to live, and I’m glad Hair Club could be there for you, man. Thanks for taking the time, Nick.

Nick Wilkins [00:11:35]: Of course. Yeah. Thanks for having me. This was great.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:42]: You know, Nick’s story really resonated with me because I had my own issues with hair loss. It started with a photo and then a dome camera we had in our studio. And trust me, our audience noticed as well, and they would always make comments, and it really affected my confidence. And we’re so glad that Nick has gained back his confidence to be out there posting online again. It just goes to show that there is hope after hair loss. And if you know anyone who needs to hear this message, think about sending them this episode. Thanks for listening to Hairpod. If you’d like to connect with us on social media to see Nick’s before and after pictures and hear about future episodes, check us out at HairClub on Instagram or visit our website, podcast.hairclub.com.

Kevin Rolston [00:12:27]: Until next time.

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Heather Brooke: Overcoming Trichotillomania

Heather Brooke: Overcoming Trichotillomania

by | Mar 5, 2024 | Episode

Episode 02

Heather Brooke: Overcoming Trichotillomania

Trichotillomania is a hair loss problem that many face, most have never heard of. It may not be well-known but this hair loss issue transcends age and gender. It is a hair-pulling disorder, and involves frequent and irresistible urges to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows or other areas of your body. At just nine years old, our guest, Heather, began experiencing the overwhelming urge to pull out her hair.

Join host Kevin Rolston as he engages in an enlightening conversation with Heather Brooke – a licensed professional counselor, beauty pageant champion, and the mind behind the children’s book, “Where’s My Hair? A Trichotillomania Story for Children.”

Effects of Trichotillomania

After experiencing a traumatic event at 9, Heather’s coping mechanism manifested as pulling out hairs—starting from her eyelashes, moving to eyebrows, and eventually her scalp. Because she had naturally long eyelashes and voluminous hair, the impact remained concealed from her family for a while. When her family began to take notice, Heather hid the truth – that she was pulling her hair out. A discernible bald patch on Heather’s head was the turning point, prompting her family to explore possible remedies.

Opening Up About Trichotillomania

Unfazed by her hair loss challenges, Heather Brooke courageously participated in beauty pageants throughout her life, from childhood and into her adult years. As a young contestant, wigs and clip-in extensions became her trusted companions to help cover the bald areas. In 2017, Heather competed in the Ms. Woman Colorado United States pageant. Her association with HairClub provided her with optimal hair solutions and she ended up taking home the crown!

Looking for Trichotillomania Solutions

Throughout her life, Heather has explored various treatments. It is an ongoing process, as she still struggles with trichotillomania today. Not much research has been done on Trichotillomania, though it is a recognized mental health disorder. Her hair system from Hair Club covers the “trigger points” caused by her Trichotillomania which reduces her urge to pull her hair out.

Where is My Hair? A Trichotillomania Story for Children

Heather is now a licensed professional counselor and has worked with kids who also have Trichotillomania! One of her young clients inspired her to write a children’s book that could help them understand Trichotillomania better.

Empowering Resources

As the episode draws to a close, HairPod extends a generous offer of a complimentary hair loss consultation, providing a tangible step towards reclaiming confidence and control over one’s appearance. Book a Free consultation with HairClub Today!

Want more information on our guest? Pick up a copy of Heather’s book, “Where Is My Hair? A Trichotillomania Story for Children” on Amazon

Thanks for listening to HairPod. We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please leave us a rating or review wherever you get your podcasts. If you’d like to connect with us on social media to share your story, check us out on Instagram @HairClub. HairPod is a production of TSE Studios.

Episode.02 Transcript

Heather [00:00:05]: When I was a kid. I was probably about five-years-old when I started competing in pageants. But when I was around nine- or ten-years-old, I was sexually abused by an older cousin. And it wasn’t long after that I started developing a disorder called trichotillomania. So the person who has the disorder actually pulls out their own hair. And the best way that I can describe it is as a coping mechanism for all the trauma that I was going through and experiencing.

Kevin Rolston [00:00:57]: Welcome back to HairPod, the podcast where we dive deep into the personal stories, the struggles and the ultimate transformations of those facing hair loss. I’m your host, Kevin Rolston, and we’re here to shed light on this experience so many people share and most importantly, the solutions that have brought confidence back into their lives. If you’re dealing with hair loss, remember, you’ve got a community right here. Follow us on Instagram, and if this is your first time listening, please subscribe to get notified whenever we have new, inspiring stories to share. Our guest for this episode is a beacon of hope for people facing hair loss due to trichotillomania, a disorder that causes individuals to pull out their own hair. Heather Brooke is a therapist, beauty pageant competitor, and children’s book author. So whether you’re going through your own hair loss journey or simply here to understand and support, we know you’re going to find Heather’s journey inspiring. Hello, Heather.

Heather [00:01:58]: Hi, how are you?

Kevin Rolston [00:02:00]: I am doing great. Tell me a little bit about your… Hair journey, because you’re started in a different place than what most people do. You were doing beauty pageants as a child and you started having hair loss issues. Why was that?

Heather [00:02:18]: Yeah, so actually, when I was a kid, I was probably about five-years-old when I started competing in pageants. But when I was around nine- or ten-years-old, I experienced some trauma. I was sexually abused by an older cousin, and it wasn’t long after that that I started developing a disorder called trichotillomania. So unlike a lot of people with hair issues, hair loss issues, theirs are usually natural or medical or something. Trichotillomania is actually a hair-pulling disorder. So the person who has the disorder actually pulls out their own hair. And the best way that I can describe it is as a coping mechanism for all the trauma that I was going through and experiencing.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:06]: What did that look like? How noticeable was it? How did your parents deal with this situation?

Heather [00:03:12]: Yeah, so my journey, it started out it wasn’t super noticeable, super quick. I could actually remember the first time that I pulled, and my trichotillomania began with my eyelashes, not from my head. And I was in the hallway at our house, and I had an eyelash that kept poking me in the eye. And I went to a mirror in our hall and was just trying to straighten out the lash and as I was pulling on it to try to straighten it out, it came out. And when it came out, there was like this release. I’m a therapist as well, and so the one thing that I can compare it to is for people who do self harming and cut. There’s that release that people get when that happens. And that was kind of what that felt like for me when I pulled that lash on accident.

Heather [00:04:06]: That wasn’t even intentional, but that sudden release that came, it was like, for a brief moment, all of the stress and anxiety that I had been holding inside was gone. And it almost creates, like, endorphins, like a high, but like any high, you have to continue the behavior to continue to get it. And so for me, that started with my lashes, and it took probably months before anybody ever noticed that. When that became noticeable, I moved to my eyebrows thinking, oh, if I pull from somewhere else, then maybe I’ll stop pulling from there. That didn’t work. So my parents thought that I was shaving my eyebrows. And it probably wasn’t until three or four years after I actually started pulling that I developed enough bald patches on my head, because at that point, I had started pulling from my head that I had developed enough bald patches that it was noticeable.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:04]: About what age were you at this time?

Heather [00:05:07]: 13 or 14.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:09]: And was it your parents that stepped in and said something? Did you hear anything from kids in your school? How was it that it really kind of first came to light to them?

Heather [00:05:18]: Yeah. So my grandmother, I believe, was actually the first person who noticed. I always had really long eyelashes, and I had, like, Brooke Shields eyebrows as a kid. And so when my grandmother was looking at me one day, and she was like, what happened to your eyelashes? And I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know why I was doing it and why I couldn’t stop. So I was just like, oh, I was trying to curl them with one of those eyelash things. So I lied about what I was doing. And then when I moved to my eyebrows and my parents thought that I was shaving my eyebrows, I just allowed that to continue because I didn’t know what I was doing.

Heather [00:05:56]: I felt so weird that I was doing this, and I couldn’t stop, and I didn’t know why. And so it was when I was 13 or 14, I was up really late one night watching a, it was like an infomercial or something that was on television, and it was about wigs. And as I was sitting there watching this infomercial, there was a woman on there who started talking about pulling her hair, and then she started talking about these fake eyelashes and different things. But as she was talking, she said, trichotillomania. And a couple of days after that, my mom noticed a bald patch on my head in the pool. We had been swimming, and I wore at that point, I was wearing I had always had super thick hair, and I think that’s one of the reasons that other reasons that it took so long to notice. But I’d always had super thick hair, and so I just got to the point where I was always wearing my hair in a ponytail. But this one specific day, she was coming out of the pool behind me, and my ponytail had moved enough that she could see the bald spot.

Heather [00:07:09]: And so when she said something to me about it, I was like, okay, I saw this commercial. I think this is what I have. And I told her, and she said, okay. And so she scheduled an appointment with me to see the doctor that she worked for. And so I went in, he diagnosed me, and then he made a referral to a psychiatrist and put me on some medications, and that was kind of where the treatment for it started.

Kevin Rolston [00:07:41]: Even though the trichotillomania was causing some bald patches on Heather’s scalp, she never let that stop her from competing in beauty pageants.

Heather [00:07:50]: I competed off and on throughout high school, even with my trichotillomania. I competed some years with a wig, some years with glue-in extensions or clip-in extensions.

Kevin Rolston [00:08:05]: In between pageants and trying to be a normal kid, Heather started to receive different treatments for trichotillomania. Trichotillomania isn’t one of those things you treat once and just move on from. It’s a chronic issue that Heather still deals with to this day.

Heather [00:08:18]: Yeah, it was a lot. It’s still a lot because it’s still something that I struggle with, because there’s so little research done on trichotillomania, so there’s still a lot to be learned about it. And I’ve actually been part of a couple of different studies that are looking at how genetics can be involved, how other mental health issues can play into it, but there’s just so little known about it. So when I was diagnosed, I was put on an antidepressant that didn’t help, just made me sick. Then there was points where when I was under really high levels of stress, I would pull more. There would be times where I would pull subconsciously or unconsciously, like I would be pulling and not even be aware until after I had already been doing it, that I had done it. Sometimes it was conscious, so there was a mixture of those, but I tried everything that I could to hide it. By the time I was a junior in high school, I was almost completely bald.

Heather [00:09:12]: I had to wear a wig, I’m wearing a wig in my senior pictures. But by the Christmas of my senior year, I was able to let my hair grow out enough that I had this short, cute pixie cut. And it’s been more manageable since that point. I still struggle with it, it’s still something I struggle with on a daily basis. And I’ve tried covering it up, like I said, with ponytails, doing ponytails, doing wigs, wearing extensions, all different kinds of things. And when I got ready to compete for Ms. Woman Colorado, United States, I was looking for alternatives to help hide some of the spots that I had at the time. And I found HairClub.

Heather [00:09:53]: And HairClub was actually one of my sponsors, and so that kind of helped a lot with my journey.

Kevin Rolston [00:09:59]: Oh, wow, that’s so cool. Tell me a little bit about that. How did you exactly find them? Just the name popped up and you decided to go. And how did that all come about?

Heather [00:10:08]: I was just Googling hair salons that did extensions and looking for sponsors and HairClub popped up. At the time, I’d only heard of HairClub for Men, so I thought that it was just for men. But I did a little bit of research and found out that women used HairClub as well. And so I just emailed them. The manager at the Denver location messaged me back, emailed me back. We set up an appointment. I went in for a consultation, and then the next thing I knew, I was a HairClub client, and they were one of my pageant sponsors. And it was awesome because once I won the pageant, right, I was going to compete for Ms. Woman Colorado whenever I got HairClub as a sponsor. And when I actually won the title for the state, I jokingly, with my stylist, was like, I wish I could take you with me to nationals for you to do my hair at nationals. And so they were like, yeah, we’ll send her out there with you. So they actually sent her to Florida with me for nationals, and she did my hair for the competition.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:31]: Now tell me, with the Xtrands, how does that work with your trichotillomania that you still are trying to recover from? Do you pull out the Xtrands? Is there a desire to do that?

Heather [00:11:41]: Yeah. No, actually it’s really interesting because I have what I call trigger spots. So there’s specific areas that when I’m stressed or bored or not even paying attention, that I pull from. And so what Xtrands does is it covers the areas that are lacking hair, and then my own hair is still used in addition to that. So all of the edges I pull from the sides and the crown of my head. So all of the edges is my hair, and just the crown and the sides is a system that is glued to my scalp. And so I shave underneath the system so that the system fits snug on my scalp. That’s just a personal preference. Some people don’t do that, but I choose to do that. But it covers those trigger spots for me. So I don’t typically have the desire to pull anymore.

Kevin Rolston [00:12:38]: How about that? And tell me how do you feel with your system when you look in the mirror and you see that you’ve got a full head of hair and you don’t have those bald spots that you had had before? What is that like for you?

Heather [00:12:52]: It’s amazing. I wanted to cry when I saw myself in the mirror for the first time when they did the reveal, because it had been so long since I had seen myself with a full head of hair. Right. So when I look at myself, like, I don’t see the clips from the extensions, and I don’t see it’s really hard to tell where your hairline is at and where the Xtrands is at. And so it just gives me so much confidence to know that I can do whatever I want to with it. If I want to curl it, I can curl it. If I want to straighten it, I can straighten it. If I want to cut it, dye it, like, whatever I want to do to it, I have those options again. And I’m not just stuck with one hairstyle or fixing it just a certain way, because I have to worry about hiding the clips or the different things from the extensions. And so it really gave me back a lot of my confidence.

Kevin Rolston [00:14:02]: Listening to Heather today, it’s hard to imagine her lifelong battle with trichotillomania stemming from childhood trauma. Now, as a licensed professional counselor, Heather commits herself to assisting those grappling with mental health challenges. She’s even authored a children’s book on trichotillomania to help young clients facing the same struggle.

Heather [00:14:22]: Yeah. So I wrote, “Where’s my Hair? A Trichotillomania Story for Children” in 2018. And actually, I wrote it because where I was living at the time, people got to know me as a therapist who worked with people with trichotillomania because of my own personal experience. And so I would get a lot of kids. And so I had this young girl come in, she was 13 or 14, and she was on the autism spectrum, and she was nonverbal, and she started pulling her hair, and her stepmom brought her into me, and she said her occupational therapist says that she has trichotillomania. And she started giving me all of this information that the OT had given her about trichotillomania. And I looked at her, and I was like, the only thing that’s accurate about any of that is the name of the disorder.

Heather [00:15:18]: And so I use, with kids a lot, books, to help them understand what they’re going through, what they’re experiencing, that they’re not alone. And so I went online and started looking for a book that I could share with her in session, and I couldn’t find anything. There was stuff for professionals, there was stuff for adults, there was stuff for parents, but there was nothing specifically for children. So I sat down and wrote my book loosely based off of my own personal experience, and then I sent it to my mom and was like, I’m going to write a book. I’m writing this children’s book. Here it is. And my mom likes to draw. And so I was like, will you illustrate it for me? So my mom grabbed some pictures of my oldest daughter and some friends and she sat down and she illustrated the story for me.

Kevin Rolston [00:16:13]: Wow. That is so cool. What a great full circle story that you have to share with so many people. What an inspiration. And I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. If you had to talk to any other women out there for whatever reason, because hair loss, your story is unique. I don’t know how many other people are going to say that they have what you do, but hair loss is something that so many men and believe it or not, so many women are going through. And it’s hard to probably hear from another woman that’s got hair loss and is open about it. What would you say to them if they just feel kind of lost and they’re listening to this conversation saying, okay, what are my next steps? What do I do? How should I feel about this?

Heather [00:16:53]: Yeah, I would definitely say that you are not alone, first of all. We all experience hair loss in some form or fashion and are going to at some point, whether it’s from hormone issues, medical issues, mental health issues, medications, all of these different things that we experience and deal with in life can create hair loss at some point. Doesn’t mean that you won’t get it back. But we all struggle with something. And so the first thing would be that you’re not alone. The second thing would be that there is options and whether that is a treatment that HairClub has that will help your hair regrow or you’re doing something like I am with like Xtrands+. There are options out there and you just have to seek them out. 

Kevin Rolston [00:17:55]: We’re so lucky to have Heather on the show. Her resilience in the face of her own struggles and trauma and her commitment to supporting kids experiencing mental health issues is such an inspiring story for all of us here at HairPod. If you know a young person struggling with trichotillomania and you want to pick up a copy of Heather’s book, you can find a link to it in our show notes or search for “Where’s my Hair? A Trichotillomania Story for Children” on Amazon. Thanks so much for listening to Hairpod. If this episode made you think of someone you know who needs to hear this story, consider sharing it, for before and after photos of our guests and other announcements, check us out on Instagram. Until next time.

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Joey Logano: Alopecia Doesn’t Slow Me Down

Joey Logano: Alopecia Doesn’t Slow Me Down

by | Feb 27, 2024 | Episode

Episode 01

Joey Logano: Alopecia Doesn’t Slow Me Down

In this episode of the HairPod podcast will feature 2x NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano. He’ll candidly share his hair transformation journey with host, Kevin Rolston, and fill listeners in on all the details from where it all began to where he is now.

You’ll get to know Joey as he opens up about how his unique combination of thinning hair and alopecia affected him, how he came about finding the solution that worked best for him and how he was able to come out on the other side more knowledgeable about his condition and more confident. He’ll also discuss how his career as a race car driver has helped him pay it forward and reach others going through the same challenges.

A few years ago, Joey went in for his usual haircut at the barbershop. Upon arriving home, his wife exclaimed at what a bad haircut he had received after noticing several bald patches on the back of his head. A few weeks later, they noticed that there wasn’t any hair growing on those same spots.

After visiting his dermatologist, Joey was told he had alopecia. A condition he wasn’t familiar with at all. He learned it was an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss in certain parts of the body. Unfortunately, there was no straightforward answer as to what was causing it or how to fix it. Joey’s doctor tried steroid shots, but not only was it not working, it also was painful. And to add to the alopecia, Joey was also dealing with thinning hair and hair loss.

Hair Loss Solution for Alopecia

After pursuing various different options to treat his hair loss, Joey finally came across HairClub. Each and every hair loss solution he tried didn’t work. Joey said he needed something “better and different”.

During his first appointment at a HairClub center, Joey recalls feeling comfortable, relaxed and enlightened. His hair loss specialist was knowledgeable and took the time to go over the various hair loss treatments for someone in his unique situation. Joey was blown away with how many options he had available, not just to him, but to anyone experiencing hair loss. “ Your issues would be completely different than mine and there’s a fix for all of them,” he says.

A New Look and a Life-Changing Transformation

With his new, fuller head of hair, Joey felt like a new person. He was more confident and finally felt like himself again. Being in the public eye, it wasn’t long before the media and his fans started to notice that there was something different about him. “ It took a little bit for people to just kind of get used to it,” he says. But the reaction was positive from everyone around him.

As someone who experienced hair loss firsthand, Joey sympathizes with those who are also going through the same struggles and feeling those same insecurities. But he wants those people to know that there is a solution out there for everyone. He understands why it can be uncomfortable and difficult to talk about, but it’s important to remember that you’re not alone.

Joey openly discusses his hair transformation journey, including how it affects him as a race car driver in sweltering temperatures and how he’s helping children suffering from hair loss.

Empowering Resources

As the episode draws to a close, HairPod extends a generous offer of a complimentary hair loss consultation, providing a tangible step towards reclaiming confidence and control over one’s appearance. Book a Free consultation with HairClub Today!

Follow Joey on Instagram @joeylogano

Thanks for listening to HairPod. We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please leave us a rating or review wherever you get your podcasts. If you’d like to connect with us on social media to share your story, check us out on Instagram @HairClub>. HairPod is a production of TSE Studios. Our theme music comes from SoundStripe.

Episode.01 Transcript

Joey Logano [00:00:05]: Well, when the alopecia thing started up, that’s when they just did some, like, steroid shots. And for one, I didn’t really like the needles in my head for one thing. And it wasn’t working. That was the other thing that really wasn’t working. And I was like, okay, I need to, that’s when I drop back and punt here, there’s something. we’re not going down the right road here. I need to kind of find something better and different.

Kevin Rolston [00:00:59]: Welcome back to HairPod, the podcast where we dive into the personal stories, the struggles and the ultimate transformations of those facing hair loss. I’m your host, Kevin Rolston, and we’re here to shed light on this experience so many people share and most importantly, the solutions that have brought confidence back into their lives. If you’re dealing with hair loss, remember you have got a community right here. And if this is your first time listening, please subscribe to get notified whenever we have a new, inspiring story. Anyone who is a fan of NASCAR knows the name Joey Logano. Joey is a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and has made waves in the world of stock car racing with his achievements. But newer fans may not know that Joey has struggled with an autoimmune disorder called alopecia, which causes partial or total hair loss. Joey learned of his alopecia after a routine trip to the barber.

Joey Logano [00:01:55]: Well, it’s actually kind of mean, at this point, now it’s a funny story, but at the time I just went to get my haircut like I typically do at the local barber shop. And I got home and my wife goes, what did they do to the back of your head? I’m like, oh, what do you mean, what did they do babe? They gave me a haircut. She goes, they completely botched your haircut. I’m like, no way. And she shows me a picture and it’s just spots all over the back of my head. I’m like, well, it did botch my haircut. She’s pissed.

Joey Logano [00:02:22]: She’s like, this lady that cut your hair should not be working there. She’s going to screw up someone else’s haircut and then everyone’s going to look ridiculous like you look. And so she drives down there to tell this lady how she shouldn’t be cutting hair anymore. Well, fast forward a week or so and it’s not growing back. I’m like, hold on, I think there’s something wrong. I went to a dermatologist and they diagnosed me with alopecia. And I was like, okay, well, I don’t know what that means and what do I do? And the first thing I knew what it meant was that we need to drive back to the barbershop and apologize to the poor lady that cut my hair. That was the first thing we had to do.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:02]: Yeah, because I’m curious, alopecia, how many bald spots did you have? How prominent was it?

Joey Logano [00:03:10]: It comes in and out, honestly, it comes in and out sometimes in the back of my head, top of my head. Sometimes it shows up in my beard.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:18]: Oh, wow.

Joey Logano [00:03:19]: It’s different ways. It’s an autoimmune disorder, is what it is.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:23]: Okay.

Joey Logano [00:03:24]: There’s no rhyme or reason. They can’t really understand it. They say maybe stress, hereditary. They don’t know. On top of the alopecia, I was just going bald. Right? Like, that was the other piece.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:35]: Wait, do you ever come under any stress at all? What do you do that’s so stressful?

Joey Logano [00:03:40]: Yes. It just flared up here not too long ago. So it makes sense as the playoffs usually roll around, there’s a lot of stress that gets put on the plate. Yeah. Driving circles never fast enough is what it is, though. So always looking for more on that one.

Kevin Rolston [00:04:01]: It’s common for people who are losing their hair to try a few different solutions before they find one that works for them. Things such as reducing stress, changing their diet, taking supplements, essential oils, grandma’s remedies. Shoot, I got to admit, I have tried some crazy ideas myself. So you are like a lot of guys. You notice that you’ve got some hair loss issues, you’ve got a unique situation. And the reason why we’re doing the HairPod is because we’re trying to let people know that there are solutions out there. And it sounds like your first step was what a lot of guys’ first step is. And being in NASCAR like you are, you were able to wear a lot of hats.

Kevin Rolston [00:04:41]: But then tell me about the challenges with that, because I know being in the field that I’m in, where you do media is, you wind up with these social functions where a hat’s just not going to cut it. You kind of wound up with the same situation.

Joey Logano [00:04:55]: Yeah. And it happened whether, you know, you think about, for our stuff during the national anthem or the prayer before the race, you take your head off and then you see, like, pictures and stuff afterwards. You’re like, golly, I’m like, I’m bald, honey. You kind of don’t realize it because it happens so slow, you know what I mean? But then eventually it’s like, yeah, I should just do something about it. I can, so why wouldn’t I? What’s wrong with that? And a lot of people, it’s a little awkward what direction we’re supposed to go here? But honestly, it’s normal, right. So many people deal with it, and if you can do something about it, why wouldn’t you? There’s nothing wrong with that. And who’s going to judge you for that, for wanting to be better? Right. Why do you go to the gym and work out? To be better. Look good, feel good.

Joey Logano [00:05:38]: Right. That’s kind of the same situation, I think, with your hair. And if it bothers you and you can gain some confidence from having hair, the great thing is that there’s a lot of different ways of going about it that you can have hair again. And I think that part’s pretty neat.

Kevin Rolston [00:06:03]: But after pursuing other options, Joey connected with HairClub as a hair solution and a partner and even a sponsor. Was your very first attempt at trying to do something about your hair loss, was it going to HairClub or did you try something else before going to HairClub?

Joey Logano [00:06:22]: I wasn’t educated enough to even know which direction to go and I just went to my local dermatologist that I’ve gone to and they have a couple options there, but they weren’t, like, great ones. When the alopecia thing started up, that’s when they just did some steroid shots where the alopecia spots were. And for one, I didn’t really like the needles in my head, for one thing, and it wasn’t working. That was the other thing, that really wasn’t working. And I was like, okay, that’s when I drop back and punt here. There’s something…I’m not going down the right road here. I need to kind of find something better and different. And so then when I went to HairClub it’s like, whoa, there’s a lot of different things I can do here depending on my situation.

Joey Logano [00:07:11]: And I learned about all the things they have and like I said, it’s different for everybody. Your issues would be completely different than mine and there’s a fix for all of them. And I couldn’t believe how many different avenues there was when I got there. That is the part that blew my mind. And they all were pretty simple, right? It was all quick and easy, okay, you can do this, you can do that. Some were permanent, some you got to be around a little bit more often. It just kind of depends on what your situation was. And so I was like, cool.

Joey Logano [00:07:40]: I felt really comfortable after leaving HairClub the first time because I walked in there feeling awkward and uncomfortable. And I thought at the end I was like, okay, I’m usually not a quick decision maker. And I was like, okay, well, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to do that. Sounds good, see you next week.

Kevin Rolston [00:08:06]: When most people find a solution with the new hair system, one of the natural concerns is what are my limits? Being a race car driver, Joey naturally has an extremely active lifestyle. Flying around the track at nearly 200 mph, your hair is the last thing you want to worry about. So I had to know if Joey ever got nervous about bringing his hair system into new situations.

Joey Logano [00:08:31]: Only in the beginning I was nervous. Now I’m not. I’m not now because I feel very confident in everything now. But at first when things are new, you’re like, I don’t know, I don’t know about this jet ski. You know what I mean? I don’t know where I’m at with stuff. But you honestly kind of figure out your way, your things go and everything, and you get confident and comfortable in what you got, and it’s fine. But I’m telling you, when I asked a lot of questions before to a lot of people, I’m like, that’s fine, and they look at you like, you’re an idiot. Yeah, you can live your normal life.

Joey Logano [00:09:10]: What are you talking about? And I’m like, okay, well, I just wanted to ask, I don’t know. I’m being honest. It took a month or so before you get used to, for one, seeing yourself with hair. Right. You look in the mirror and you’re like, oh, who’s that guy? It takes a second to get used to it, for one. And then also how to live with it, just the way you live your life. Right. Like, all that stuff, like, you’re concerned it’s going to change and do all stuff, but it’s really just not a big deal.

Kevin Rolston [00:09:48]: What is the temperature like for you, and how does the hair feel? Because you got a helmet on, you’re in a car. I mean, I know I’m in South Florida, so when you come to Miami, Homestead, the temperatures in that car have got to be absolutely insane. So how breathable is your hair, and what does it feel like when you’re in those extreme temperatures?

Joey Logano [00:10:10]: I wouldn’t even know.

Kevin Rolston [00:10:11]: Yeah.

Joey Logano [00:10:11]: Wouldn’t even really?

Kevin Rolston [00:10:12]: Okay.

Joey Logano [00:10:15]: Honestly, you think the conditions that I am in inside a race car, it’s 30 degrees warmer than the outside air temp. So when you have a 90 degree day, it’s 120 degrees in the car. We just raced in Texas. It was 100 degrees outside. It was over 130 in the car.

Kevin Rolston [00:10:33]: That’s insane. Wow. Nothing.

Joey Logano [00:10:34]: I get right out and walk away. I don’t think twice about it, I got other things to worry about when I’m in the race car. If hair was one of them, I don’t want that distraction. I wouldn’t want the distraction. It’s not worth it to me as a competitor, this is like I wouldn’t even know. You know what I mean? I get out and I walk out, right. All I do now is I fix my hair a little bit before I get out of the car, because I actually have it.

Joey Logano [00:10:58]: You know what I mean? That’s the only thing that’s different.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:01]: What about the reactions you get? Have you ever had another driver tease you about your hair? Has there been anybody that’s done anything that’s made you feel self-conscious about it? And tell me a little bit about the confidence that having the hair does for you.

Joey Logano [00:11:15]: Yeah, the shock factor is real. There’s no way around that. Like, you first show up and be like, whoa, what’s different? What happened? It took a little bit for people to just kind of get used to it. Now it’s never even really brought up, which is what you want to get to, I think. Right. You don’t really want it to be a topic of conversation everywhere you go. But for me, think about it, I’m in the public eye as much as a race car driver can be, at least.

Joey Logano [00:11:45]: And so you’re getting a lot of reactions the first few days especially because when I first started having it, we raced at the LA Coliseum and one of the big banners there was a HairClub banner and it said Ask Joey. I’m like everybody’s asking me about it because it says to ask me. Well, I don’t think I have the best experience there, most realistic experience for the normal customer. They were telling people to ask me about my hair. So it’s probably a lot different for the normal customer, that’s not advertising it as much as I am.

Kevin Rolston [00:12:29]: So then if you’re going to do an appearance, say you’re on an American Idol, you’re doing Sharknado Twelve or something like that. Are you confident with how you do the hair yourself? Because for some people they feel like they can never get the hair the way a hairdresser does and it’s hard to style. And that is one of the things when you do have hair, you have the potential to have to style it and there’s a little bit of work that goes into it.

Joey Logano [00:12:53]: Well, there’s an education that goes into it because I didn’t know what to do at first, because it took a few times to learn how to style your hair. Because I was like, man, it just doesn’t look right or it doesn’t look as good as when I left HairClub. And honestly, I got trained as a girl. Show me how you do it. Give me the comb. Let me do it. Let me put the stuff, give me the stuff I need and fix me up. Train me how to, I want to make it look as good, so I learned how to do it.

Joey Logano [00:13:28]: It’s kind of funny because before I just combed my hair to make it look like I had hair, whatever hairstyle made it look like I had the most hair, you know what I mean? I had the comb over going and now it’s like, I can do anything I want. What do I do? There’s too many options. I don’t know what to do. So I had to learn a little bit. I want to look good, right? I do a lot of things on TV and as a race car driver, not just driving the car, but I do a lot of TV broadcasts and stuff like that for the Xfinity series, which is one level down from the cup series, but I end up doing the broadcast a lot for them. So I want things to look fresh all the time, look good. So I’m probably more of a frequent customer than most, but the option is there to go either way for sure. I try to schedule everything so I do it when I’m at home, but I can.

Joey Logano [00:14:30]: And I have been to other locations but not for a haircut or anything like that or freshen up or whatever. I’ve always kind of stuck to what I do, and I try to be consistent as much as I can, but we all know sometimes stuff comes up and you’re like, I can’t do it this week, but I got to get in there before I leave for, because sometimes I’m gone from home for a week at a time. I got to get in there before I leave, and can you fit me in here? And then it’s like, hey, hang on a second. They kind of move things around. Boom. Okay, you get in there. I’m like, all right, cool, and try to work together on that stuff. But I tried to be consistent and say, okay, this is when I’m going to be there.

Joey Logano [00:15:08]: This is what I’m going to, but yeah I mean, things change at the blink of an eye a lot of times and in our life, for sure. Yeah.

Kevin Rolston [00:15:17]: Now, I know you’ve got three kids and they’ve got something called Hair Club for Kids. Can you tell me a little bit about the Hair Club for Kids, why it really strikes your heart and why you think it’s such an important charity that HairClub does?

Joey Logano [00:15:30]: There’s a few kids that I know that have gone through that piece for them. And one of my friends that was part of the JL Kids Crew, where we bring kids to the racetrack, they’re going through a life-altering situation one way or another, and we bring them to the racetrack, give them this great experience and all that. Well, one of them that became good friends of us, actually is one of their Hair Club for Kids as well. And you just help give them confidence. Right. There’s already something different already, right. And people, it’s tough for them. Think about it, like as a kid showing up, being different than everybody else.

Joey Logano [00:16:10]: As an adult, you can somewhat handle that because you’ve gone through more of life or you’re more confident in yourself, you know who you are, those type of things. But as a kid, man, it’s even harder because you don’t know. And now you’re the different kid. And like I said, kids that aren’t real nice are going to say things, and it’s horrible, and it’s not their fault, right. It just happens. So the fact that HairClub came up with a fix for them in a charitable way, right. That part’s really neat.

Kevin Rolston [00:16:52]: HairClub is the solution that works for Joey. For so many people experiencing hair loss, the idea of going in and getting a consultation is really what’s holding them back. It’s difficult. Some people feel embarrassed about the whole thing, and others just feel that’s not going to work. Having been in their shoes, Joey offered sound advice to help those hesitant to take the first step.

Joey Logano [00:17:15]: I would say just go get the consultation and get comfortable going there the first time. Don’t make a decision before you’ve walked into the place, yes or no. Just say, hey, I’ve noticed I’ve been losing my hair. I’ve noticed I have an issue with this, this or this. And is there anything you guys got here, and let them do their job. Let them go in there and say, okay, evaluate what’s going on and send you some options. That’s like, my regret is that I wish I did something like that first. I wish I did that years ago, instead of waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting. If you get ahead of it, it’s a little easier.

Joey Logano [00:17:57]: And you don’t have that shock factor as much either, right? If you get ahead of it a little bit, like when it’s starting. And it’s been really cool for me to see how many people reached out to me saying, what did you do? I want to do something. I just didn’t know where to go or what to do or who to talk to. And all of a sudden I became that guy. And I’m like, I got you. I got the hookup, bro. Don’t you worry. I send them in.

Joey Logano [00:18:23]: So I think that part to me has been a lot of fun because it’s an insecurity that a lot of people have. It’s something that people don’t feel comfortable a lot of times talking about. And why not? Why not talk about it? It is what it is. You can’t do anything about it, so do something about it. You’re one fix. You got one option here. So what’s it hurt to go talk to somebody? This is what they do. So it’s not awkward when you get there because this is what they’re used to.

Joey Logano [00:18:53]: They’re used to people that don’t have hair, right. And then they give you hair. That’s their job. So it’s not even awkward at all.

Kevin Rolston [00:18:59]: That’s amazing. Well, you have a fantastic hair story. I love how you’ve embraced it. Awesome talking with you. Thanks for sharing your story, Joey.

Joey Logano [00:19:07]: Absolutely. Thanks for doing this.

Kevin Rolston [00:19:23]: That was Joey Logano. Dealing with alopecia is a challenge and it’s great to hear how Joey’s overcome that challenge and gone on to thrive and feel confident in the public eye. And if you haven’t done so already, follow him on Instagram at Joey Logano. If somebody you know is battling alopecia, let them know there is hope. Share this episode with them. It would go a long way. Thanks for listening to HairPod. If you haven’t done so, subscribe and leave us a rating and a review.

Kevin Rolston [00:19:53]: It would mean a ton to see Joey’s before and after pictures. Stay up to date on upcoming episodes. Get excellent tips about your hair or just connect with us. Follow us on Instagram at HairClub. Until next time.

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Jeff El Zenny: Hair Loss Expert

Jeff El Zenny: Hair Loss Expert

by | Feb 20, 2024 | Episode

Episode 00

Insights from a Hair Loss Expert: Jeff El Zenny

Welcome to our first episode of HairPod™, the podcast where you’ll hear people tell their hair loss stories. In this episode, our host, Kevin Rolston, talks with hair loss expert, Jeff El Zenny. Listen in to hear what the podcast is all about!

From Client to Hair Loss Expert

Kevin started losing his hair in his mid-twenties. He knew it was coming, thanks to his genetics, but he still wasn’t ready to go bald at such a young age. Jeff was in high school when he first noticed his hair loss. He became self-conscious, which caused him to retreat into his shell.

Getting Our Hair Back

Jeff says that getting his hair back was like getting his life back. Whether working out in the gym, going on dates, or hanging out with friends, Jeff was back in action. After Kevin got his hair back, he wanted to test its limitations, so he went in a Jeep with the top down, went off a high dive, and even through a hurricane simulator.

Breaking the Stigma

Kevin always assumed that everyone either had to embrace going bald or they could wear a hairpiece that didn’t match their hair at all. He didn’t know what options were out there.

Empowering Resources

As the episode draws to a close, HairPod extends a generous offer of a complimentary hair loss consultation, providing a tangible step towards reclaiming confidence and control over one’s appearance. Book a Free consultation with HairClub Today!

Thanks for listening to HairPod. We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please leave us a rating or review wherever you get your podcasts. If you’d like to connect with us on social media to share your story, check us out on Instagram @HairClub. HairPod is a production of TSE Studios.

Episode 00 Transcript

Jeff El Zenny [00:00:07]: I started losing my hair, you know, early in high school, and it was just, you know, going through all of the motions of losing hair. Right. So, like, I wasn’t able to style it. You were able to see through the scalp. I became a recluse. I just didn’t want to be in the public eye. I didn’t want to go out and want people to have the chance to make comments about my hair. So if I had to go somewhere I couldn’t wear a hat, I didn’t want to be there’s.

Kevin Rolston [00:00:48]: Welcome to the very first episode of Hairpod, the show where we get real about hair loss and how everyday people like you and me are navigating life and getting their hair back. I’m your host, Kevin Ralston. I’m here to tell you all about the show, share a little bit about my journey, and give you a taste of how a typical episode will be. As my friend Jeff El Zenny and I talk openly about our experience when it comes to hair loss and how we made it through. When I first heard about HairPod, I was so excited, because it’s so much more than just a typical podcast. It’s a community and a movement where we celebrate diverse hair journeys and experiences. Many of us are impacted by hair loss. Maybe you’re seeing some thinning.

Kevin Rolston [00:01:32]: Perhaps you’ve experienced hair loss or you’ve got a family member or somebody close to you who has. But even though so many of us can relate, there’s still a huge stigma when it comes to hair loss for both men and women. Many of us are trying to hide it, ignore it, or cover it up. There are not many resources out there that are sharing true, authentic stories the way we aim to do it. We want to break that stigma and give you hope. Again, your average podcast about hair loss tends to be a combination of dry interviews and medical jargon. At Hairpod, we’re going to be taking you on a journey and immerse you into our guest experiences. I can’t wait for you to hear from all of our awesome guests.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:11]: I’m going to take you on a Minnesota with my friend Jeff El Zenny, a hair loss professional and expert in the industry. We open up a dialogue about the stigma surrounding hair loss and just how hair loss can change your life and hold you back.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:29]: Hey. Welcome to the Hairpod. If you are here, you probably are struggling with your hair loss. Well, the good news is you’ve got a couple people here that have already been down the path, and hopefully we can help you out. Jeff, how the heck are you?

Jeff El Zenny [00:02:43]: I’m doing good, Kevin. Thank you for having me on the show today. Couldn’t be more excited. I really want to be able to help tens of thousands of people get their hair back, know, really go through the steps that we went through. Man, it’s quite an amazing feeling to have your hair back, your confidence back know, really, it just helps in all aspects of life, I think.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:02]: No doubt. Absolutely. I mean, it is a life changer. And one of the big things that I love about it as well is it makes you look younger. And as you get into your thirty s, I don’t think anybody at that age or older wants to look older. And so, look, I’ve even talked to some people in some of these conversations who were in their early 20s that was dealing with significant hair loss, and they were looking like they were in their early to mid thirty s at the age of 20. That’s tough. I even talked to a kid that was in high school, and he was self conscious about his prom pictures. I was like, Dude, that’s crazy, man. So the stories I’ve heard have just opened my eyes, and I’ve talked to so many people with hair loss, and I know you’ve talked to even more. No matter what age you are, everybody’s dealing with it.

Jeff El Zenny [00:03:49]: Absolutely. And you just kind of ratted me out there, man. So I’m that guy. So the guy you were just talking of prom pictures, early 20s, high school graduation, all of the above. So I started losing my hair when I was a junior in high school. And the problem with that was I looked so much older than I was. I was 17 years old. Looked like I was going on 30 at that point.  It was crazy. By the time I graduated high school, I looked like I was in my late 30s, almost 40. So it was a major hit to the ego. You know me as this outgoing guy, and I’m always out and talkative and really just kind of living my best life right when I went through that, I became a recluse. I didn’t want the attention. I didn’t want people to call me out on it. So I figured it would just be easier for me to not be in those environments.

Kevin Rolston [00:04:41]: I didn’t know how much hair loss could affect somebody’s life until it started happening to me.  I started losing my hair in my mid twenties. I went to another place and I found out about Finasteride, which is a pill that will help slow down your hair loss. And I thought, okay, I’ll just see how long I can ride this thing out. And you know, for about maybe 15 so years, it was good enough where I could kind of fake it. You could tell I was losing my hair, but it wasn’t anything that was too extreme. And so I became ball cap guy after that because I knew it was just not good. And we had a dome camera in the radio studio where I was working, and it was always shining down on my head. And we have a lot live chat room on YouTube and people would it would be laughy faces and look at Kev’s bald spot and all that kind of stuff. And man, I was so self conscious of it. I hated to go anywhere where I couldn’t wear a hat.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:36]: A formal event, any kind of black tie affair. You’re trying to figure out what kind of hat you could wear if we had to do any kind of show photos, promo photos for the show. I hated all those kind of moments. And I was at the point where I’m like, you know what? I think I’m just going to have to shave it all off because I look like that guy that was trying too hard. And I don’t want to be that in between guy with the hair all around the sides and so much gone up at the top.

Jeff El Zenny [00:05:59]:  Absolutely. I had one of my best friends growing up. He didn’t ever do anything about his hair loss, but this guy was men’s health fit, right? But he wouldn’t go anywhere. He couldn’t wear a hat. He perfect body in the gym all the time, all this stuff. Cool guy. But he literally wouldn’t do anything that he had to do where he was not allowed to wear a hat. So that’s how bad it affects people. And I get it. I understand it because I lived it.

Kevin Rolston [00:06:26]: But the great thing about this show is that we’re not just talking about the bad experiences. We want to give you hope. There are so many ways that you can get your hair and your confidence back. The hardest part could be taking that first step. And the thing that I find with so many guys today and ladies that are out there, especially who I don’t think can be or feel they can be as open as a lot of guys talking about their hair loss is where do you even go? You’re kind of lost. And at that time, I didn’t know what hair club was, and you got into it a lot earlier than I did. But I want to talk to a lot of people out there about the misconceptions because so the perception in my head was this was something for dudes in their sixty s or seventy s that they would slap a rug on top of their head, and it would be black, and the sides of their hair would be gray. And then they would think that they looked better, but they didn’t really look better.

Jeff El Zenny [00:07:22]: At 21 years old, I was dating a hairdresser and we had a conversation and she said, hey, there’s this guy that comes into my place and he’s a member and he looks really good and maybe you should look into that. So at that point, I did. Ended up becoming a member not too long after and getting my hair back. And man, like I said earlier, it was a life changer.

Kevin Rolston [00:07:45]: No two people are going to have the same hair loss journey. And I feel like I’m one of those people that I really went through it all, everything from the Rogaines and minoxidils and laser caps and finasterides and all that kind of stuff that is out there. That’s the one thing I did discover, is that there’s not going to be one solution that’s probably going to be awesome for everybody. You got to go and figure out, first of all, what is a great solution to get you to where you want to look, because not everybody wants their hair to look the same. And my first moment of skepticism when I got out and I said, okay, it looks great, but can I live my life with what I got going on? And I know you’re an active guy, so one of the first things we did just for fun, too, with the show that I do was we want to try this thing out. So I get into a jeep, we rip the top off of it. I stand up. They’re blaring this thing right down a fast street.  I’m hanging out of it. Hair is holding on. I’m going off the high dive. I’m at the pool, and I’m like, will this thing stay on and be cool if I go off the high dive? No problems. I then go into a hurricane simulator that they have at the local science center, and we crank that thing up to a category two hurricane. And I got video of me with this thing holding on my hair. Yeah, it’s getting tossled, but it is still there, and it’s fully intact. I know you’re an active guy. Tell me about just what it’s like with you and how it doesn’t slow down your life and how you’re still living life.

Jeff El Zenny [00:09:06]: Yeah, that’s a great question, Kev. And I am super active, right. So that’s something that many people commonly ask, can I do all the things? Can I be active? Can I work out? Yes, you can. You could do all of the above. Right. So I’m in the gym five days a week, saltwater pool at the house, avid boater down here in South Florida, where it is hot and humid all the right. So, like, people have those questions, like, can you live in that environment? Absolutely. I go in and get my hair cut every three to four weeks, keep me looking good, keep me fresh, keep my hair looking 100% natural. But I’m able, in between those appointments to do every single thing that I’ve done my entire life. It does not slow me down. The only thing that’s really cool about it is now I look a lot better when I’m doing those fun things.

Kevin Rolston [00:09:51]: Well, Jeff, you are kindred brother to me in that fact, and I’m so happy that you found great success. Having conversations like this really helps break the stigmas of the things and the perceptions that you and I grew up with. And that’s why I really love having these conversations is to open people’s eyes so they can truly see that there’s a solution for them out there. You don’t have to suffer from that lack of confidence. You can just jump and do what we did. Jeff, always good talking to you, bud.

Jeff El Zenny [00:10:18]: You too, man. Great talking to you.

Kevin Rolston [00:10:28]: At Hairpod, we’re telling the unseen, untold. Stories of hair loss. Join us as we break the stigma uplift each other, and most importantly, let you know that if you’re dealing with hair loss, you’re not alone in this. Whether you face your own hair loss struggles like I have, or you’re just interested in the human experience, our guests’ incredible stories will motivate and inspire you to reclaim your story and your confidence. Subscribe to HairPod today and tell somebody else about the movement we’re starting.

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