Interview with Valerie Fuentes: Overcoming Medical Hair Loss Summit


When Valerie Fuentes was diagnosed with alopecia in her early 20s, she did what most people would do: she faced it. She accepted it for what it was, and learned how to cope.

But despite her bravery, she felt what anyone in her position would feel: a sense of being let down. She would wonder, why am I failing myself? Why is my body not working?

She spent many years focused on how to get her hair to grow back and regain what she had lost. There were countless treatments and shampoos over the years. “You name it,” recalls Valerie, “I spent all my time, my money and my energy on it, because I wanted my hair back.” 

It became all-consuming, until Valerie made a realization: she was the only one who could change her life.

While Valerie still deals with alopecia on a daily basis, her outlook on life has changed. Her perspective of herself changed, which caused a shift in the conversations she had with herself. The realization came during a bout of depression over life with alopecia, when it occurred to her that she can have the life that she wants. She gets to live, and gets to decide what she will do with her life. 

From then on, Valerie would look at herself in the mirror and tell herself five powerful words: “You’re not your hair, Valerie.” 

It took years of soul searching to get to this point, but the choice she made to not stop her life because of hair loss was an important one. It took courage, and is a daily, ongoing effort.

Valerie now advocates for others to stay strong in the wake of hair loss, and to not let it stop them from living the best life possible. She works to prevent others from going through the same depths of depression she faced due to hair loss and wants others to know they are not alone in the journey.

Valerie will be hosting Overcoming Medical Hair Loss, a 21 day summit beginning February 24 with speakers from across the country. Experts in the industry will speak over the course of three weeks, delivering inspirational and uplifting interviews daily to recipients’ inboxes. They will share the tools, resources, coaching and support it takes to have a better life while living with hair loss.

Valerie strives to serve the community of those suffering from hair loss due to medical issues, and firmly believes it’s not one solution that will bring your life or your hair back, it’s a holistic approach. 

One important thing to remember: “You’re not dealing with hair loss, you’re living with hair loss,” says Valerie.

Differences Come Over Time

Every day is just one step at a time. Valerie finds strength within and is now sharing that strength with others.

It’s important to feel your feelings, and give yourself permission to feel sad and upset over the loss of your hair. The feelings are valid.

But it’s your choice what happens next. 

Valerie believes there are three important steps on the path to living with hair loss:

Step One: Have a conversation with yourself. You’re not your hair, but you’re still you. Remember, you get to look the way you want to look. Feel your feelings, then let the guilt go.

Step Two: What you get to do about it. Live your life every day, just one step at a time.

Step Three: Have a strong support system. Your hairdresser is an important part of the process, so choose one who’s sensitive to you and your needs, knows your journey and what you’ve been through. Be open with your family and friends. Surround yourself with positivity and remember, you’re not alone.

There is another side, and everyone can to the other side of this just like Valerie, by taking things one step at a time. Release the focus on it being all about the hair, and enjoy life and live it fully.

Signup Today for Overcoming Medical Hair Loss Summit

Sign up today at www.overcomingmedicalhairloss.com. Leave your name and email to register. The summit begins February 24, so don’t wait! Every expert will have a free gift.

Don’t forget, beauty begins within.

Free eBook

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Schedule Your Consultation

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The SOAP Project

One Bar Of Soap…Could Change A Life Forever!

 

How Do They Help?

The SOAP Project is specifically focused on educating and increasing awareness in the public on the prevalence of human trafficking, in order to restore trafficked survivors and to prevent teens from being victimized by domestic, minor, sex trafficking.

SOAP National travels all over the U.S. to hold outreaches during large events. We partner with local organizations to distribute millions of bars of soap wrapped with a red band that gives the National Human Trafficking Hotline number — 1 (888) 3737-888 — and resources to high-risk motels.

Trained volunteers help us offer the soap free-of-charge to motels along with training to be able to identify and report sex trafficking when they see it in their establishments. SOAP outreaches are scheduled around high-demand events like the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, Indy 500 and many more.

 

How You Can Help?

During the month of December our organization is working to bring awareness to not only human trafficking, but the efforts of The SOAP Project to combat human trafficking. We are looking for your support in helping us reach our goal to donate 2,500 bars of soap to their cause. 

Click To Donate A Bar Of Soap

 

What Is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of someone for the purposes of compelled labor or a commercial sex act through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Human trafficking affects individuals across the world, including here in the United States, and is commonly regarded as one of the most pressing human rights issues of our time. Human trafficking affects every community in the United States across age, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic backgrounds.

Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age (22 USC § 7102).

Labor trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery, (22 USC § 7102).

For more information click here to visit the Human Trafficking Hotline

 

Is Trafficking Really An Issue In Ohio?

Since 2012 the reported cases of human trafficking in Ohio have increased by almost 450%. Compared to the other states in the United States, since 2013 Ohio has consistently been in the top 10 each year and for the last four years, Ohio has been in the top 5. Just because you do not see it does not mean it is not an issue. It is important to recognize the signs and bring awareness to everyone. You can learn more about the signs and indicators and begin making a difference in the life of your fellow Ohioan.

[Reference information from the following: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/states & https://www.soapproject.org/]

 

Help Us Create Happiness…

Here is how we plan to create happiness by giving back…

Each year our team comes together to find an organization, or two, that we feel has made a difference in the lives of people (or animals) that we know. Each member of our team comes with their story of the organization that has stood out to them and together we decide how we as a team can come together to support them. This year we are excited to support two wonderful organizations: The Village Project and Purr-fect Companion Cat Sanctuary.

Items To Donate

 

The Gift Of Giving Thanks

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“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” –Henry David Thoreau

Many around the Thanksgiving table will barely take the time to enjoy the traditions of the holiday before rushing out to score the best shopping deals.  Recently, we even came across a website that defines Thanksgiving as “a holiday on the fourth Thursday of November that precedes Black Friday.”   Thanksgiving is about so much more than turkey and sales.  It’s about thankfulness and the recognition that we are all blessed with positive things that come our way in life.

Every Thanksgiving as our family gathers to eat more than any human should in one day, we always take the time to reflect on the past year and say thanks for all the blessings in our lives.  With that in mind, we give you the five things we’re most grateful for this Thanksgiving.

Seeing the Sun Through the Clouds – Staying Positive Daily

Do you ever find yourself dwelling on negative things? Nothing seems to be going right and you just can’t find anything positive around you? Or maybe you feel like you just have bad luck. We’ve all been there.

It is very easy to get into a negative mindset… When negative things happen, we continue to think upon the negative, which sets us up for a vicious cycle of negative outcomes. That’s a lot of negativity!

Philippians 4:8 gives us the best principle to bring a positive change to your life, “Think upon good things.” I have a 3-step approach based off of Philippians 4:8 to help you get out of that slump of negative thinking and get back to seeing the positive light in all things. Here is what you need to do:

The Power of Your Words

One of the most powerful things in this world is none other than our words. The words that we surround ourselves with everyday have a much more larger impact than we could ever imagine.

When we speak something or hear something often enough, we begin to accept it as truth. That’s why it’s so important to remain positive and aware of our inner AND outer beauty on a daily basis. Positive thoughts need to be amplified! So, I have developed a three-step process that allows you to heal the inner parts of your being that have been hurt by the words of others or even by the words or thoughts of yourself.

Watch the video above to begin the process of metamorphosis!

Remember… Beauty & Change Begin Within,

Jeffrey Paul 

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The Change of the Ugly Caterpillar

The most rewarding part of my job is watching someone whose self-image has diminished and then is transformed back into a vital, happy, radiant human being. When she looks into the mirror and sees herself as she once was – or as she has always wished to be – the joy in her eyes and beautiful face lights up a room! She’ll carry this confidence with her throughout her life, and she will experience a happiness like never before…both in her inner self and the outer self she presents to others. I have personally seen this happen time and time again, and it’s something that I will never tire of witnessing.

Live Your Playlist – Part 2

In case you missed our post yesterday, I recently had the opportunity to interview Emmy-nominated journalist, broadcaster, producer, film critic, speaker, and author Andrea Vecchio. If you didn’t see Live Your Playlist – Part 1, I highly encourage you to do so now (see under “Resources” below). Then, you can enjoy Part 2 in this post.

As you saw in Part 1, Andrea is an incredible person who has overcome incredible obstacles. Overcoming the career, relational, and health hurdles all within such a short time is amazing. It is our hope that you will hear her story of perseverance and strength to help guide you in any struggles you may be facing – whether it’s hair thinning or loss, career or personal issues, or whatever may be weighing on you and causing stress in your life.

Live Your Playlist – Part 1

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As I mentioned last week, I have a special guest joining me in this week’s posts! In the above videos, I had the incredible opportunity to interview Emmy-nominated journalist, broadcaster, producer, film critic, speaker, and author Andrea Vecchio. Having interviewed Hollywood’s elite, traveling all over to bring the latest stories, Andrea has now written an amazing book and does speaking engagements around the country. What will amaze you, as it does me, is her story. While everything was seemingly going well in her life, a two-week span caused her life to come to a screeching halt when she found herself in the midst of career, relational, and health chaos.

But her story doesn’t end there. It is not only inspirational but also motivational, as she pulled herself up from the ashes to live a beautiful and fulfilling life. Although she is in high demand, she was able to sit down for a few minutes and have a conversation with me to share her story of heartache, sacrifice, and, ultimately, how we must empower ourselves to live our lives.

Are You Ready to Be Inspired?

We have a treat in store for you! Next week I am gong to introduce you to Andrea Vecchio.  Andrea is an Emmy-nominated journalist who has served as a television broadcaster, producer, and film critic. During this time, she had the opportunity to interview countless celebrities around the world, including such household names as Meryl Streep, Russell Crowe, Robert DiNiro, Jennifer Aniston, to name a few.

While everything was seemingly going well in her life, a two-week span caused her life to come to a screeching halt. She found herself in the midst of career, relational, and health chaos.

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Interview with A. Vecchio, author of Live Your Playlist

I had the amazing opportunity to interview Andrea to discuss how she pulled herself up from the ashes to live a beautiful and fulfilling life. Next week we are going to air a 2-part interview series, and I am confident that her book, Live Your Playlist, and her message will resonate with everyone. She talks about all of the hard subjects – dealing with bad relationships, overcoming self-doubt, making huge changes in your life, forgiving others, and so much more.

Beauty Tips – At Home Anti-Aging of Face and Hair

Please enjoy these beauty tips…everything from Avocado facials to adding protein to your hair to brightening your teeth. This segment is full of beauty tips that you can start doing today to improve your skin, hair, and overall confidence!

For more beauty tips, connect with me on:

Jeffrey Paul Facebook Jeffrey Paul Twitter Jeffrey Paul YouTube Channel Jeffrey Paul Pinterest  Untitled-3

Remember…Beauty & Change Begin Within,

– Jeffrey Paul

Who You Are

beautifully made

Too often we are inundated with external messages that tell us who we should be. Pop culture tells us we should be thin and dressed in the latest fashions. Family and friends often expect that we should conform to a belief or career path. The “experts” have published title after title proclaiming all that we should be. It’s rare for these messages to tell the truth: that you’re a beautifully made creation.

Daily habit helpers

Establishing a New Habit

As we’ve been thinking this week about the importance of establishing a daily habit of quietness, reflection, and prayer, we stepped back to think about what makes our own quiet moments special. These are some of our favorite helping tools for quiet time, perhaps they’ll help you too.

Music

There isn’t much in life that music doesn’t enhance, don’t you agree? This is an album of soft, sacred music perfectly arranged to create an ambiance for just the kind of quiet moments I talked about in the video earlier this week. Perhaps you have your own preferred genre, I encourage you to pick a particular album and reserve it just for this quiet time.

The daily habit you need to get where you’re going

Do you ever wonder where you are going in life?  Wouldn’t it be easier if there was a road map, guiding us down the correct paths and avoiding those that would cause disappointment, harm, or trouble? Wouldn’t it be easier to tailor our daily habits and choices if we knew exactly where we’re headed?

While we’re not born with a tangible map to hold in our hands, we are born with the guidance of something else – our Creator.  Instead of the broken puzzle pieces that we would be without Him, if we stop, listen, and trust in Him to lead us, we will find our greatest destinations in life.  With His help, we are no longer broken and jumbled, rather we are complete and will find great blessings.