Very Nearly Almost

In this episode, Lindsey speaks with Joyel Crawford . She is a TEDx speaker and the best-selling author of Show Your  Ask! She is also the CEO and Founder of Crawford Leadership Strategies and the host of the Career View Mirror podcast . The ladies discuss Joyel's alopecia journey and how she's turned her own process of sharing her shine into a practice with her clients. Plus, she offers...

Happy Alopecia Awareness Month! Lindsey kicks it off with Morgan a.k.a. Bald Baddie . Though she strikes a power pose like no other and has amassed nearly 30,000 followers, she--like many!--had a hard time dealing with bullying when she first lost her hair at age 16. Morgan talks about honing her confidence and how those painful experiences drove her to transform into Bald Baddie. She opens up abo...

Meredith Lesley is back to open up about the latest chapter of her weight loss journey: having surgery to get her extra skin removed! After experiencing a tummy tuck as well as breast and arm lifts, she is here to offer perspective on an often stigmatized part of the weight loss process. Plus, she and Lindsey talk about the problem with insurance and "cosmetic" conditions, what "sum...

In this episode, Lindsey speaks with Devin Tomb regarding her hair loss and ultimate regrowth journey. They dive into her Hearst-nominated essay, " As 100,000 Strands Fell ," which she wrote for Good Housekeeping in 2017. She looks back on losing her hair, dating as a bald woman and regrowing her hair completely using JAK inhibitors.   Follow Lindsey on Instagram at @verynearlyalmost and...

In this episode, Lindsey speaks with award-winning director and writer Rachel Fleit , who most recently directed BAMA RUSH about sorority women at the University of Alabama. In the documentary, Fleit turns the camera on herself and addresses her lifelong journey with alopecia. Lindsey and Rachel take a deeper dive into that journey, her intentions for her next project, why she was drawn to filmmak...

Lindsey's back with a vulnerable update and an exciting inside look at her very first NAAF Conference in Denver, Colorado! The National Alopecia Areata Foundation has an annual conference for those with alopecia and their supporters. Hear from first-time attendees and returners about what it's like to spend an entire weekend with people who truly understand what they're going throug...

In this episode, Lindsey speaks with Elizabeth "Ellie" Haney, the founder of Hanesie , a clothing company that promotes mental health awareness. Though they are both from the same picture perfect Connecticut town, she chronicles her journey with anxiety. From not being able to get out of bed in college to feeling fueled by creating clothing, Haney now celebrates her purpose of serving ot...

In this episode, Lindsey speaks with Rachel Estabrook , who opens up about the skin insecurities she had growing up and how they ultimately led her on a path of becoming a professional makeup artist. She gets candid about how her definition of "beauty" has changed throughout her life. Follow Lindsey on Instagram at @verynearlyalmost and @lindssully . Visit lindseysullivan.net and vrynrly...

In this episode, Lindsey speaks with Marie-Blanche Castagne, a college student from France, about navigating alopecia areata from an early age. From dating to now cutting her friends' hair, she dishes on what it's really like to be a college lady with hair loss. Plus, she shares the best wig tips! Follow Lindsey on Instagram at @verynearlyalmost and @lindssully . Visit lindseysullivan.ne...

In this episode, Lindsey speaks with Amara Aleman, who her Instagram and TikTok followers know as Amara ArtSpots . Following a vitiligo diagnosis back in 2017, Amara hid her body away, staying home and covering up with makeup and long sleeves. Here, she and Lindsey discuss using self-care to reclaim one's identity, building a support system and taking good risks to propel one's self-acce...

In this episode, actor Jillian Sayegh joins Lindsey for a conversation about the struggles she's experienced accepting her curly hair and paving a professional and personal path that refuses to be built on people pleasing. Sayegh has appeared on Gotham and most recently, in Bruce Springsteen's music video for "Nightshift." She's done print work for brands such as Dr. Teals...

In this episode, Lindsey speaks with Julie Yoo, a fellow co-founder of the Alopecia Justice League . She has two daughters with alopecia and details her family's journey in navigating their hair loss. Plus, Julie shares her own story of having doors opened for her and why those experiences have shaped her into the advocate she is today. Follow Lindsey on Instagram at @verynearlyalmost and @li...

The teen years can be some of the toughest to face having alopecia, but Alison Lee has taken her story of self-love and turned it into a mission to advocate for others. In this episode, Lindsey speaks with the 16-year-old about co-founding the Alopecia Justice League together, her early alopecia days and even the alopecia rom-com she wrote. Follow Lindsey on Instagram at @verynearlyalmost and @lin...

In this episode, Lindsey gabs with her alopecia pal Anja Bandulj. She shares the story of discovering she had alopecia on the evening of her junior prom and chronicles the emotional process behind deciding to eventually shave her head. She and Lindsey talk in-depth about the fluctuation of acceptance with their alopecia. Follow Lindsey on Instagram at @verynearlyalmost and @lindssully . Visit lind...

National Alopecia Areata Foundation support group leaders unite in this latest episode! Lindsey speaks with New Jersey leader Lasandra Johnson about her unexpected hair loss journey, hitting rock bottom and coming out of it triumphant and flourishing with self love. Johnson discusses the process of getting her mother to understand and accept her alopecia and shares insight about rocking one's...

In this episode, Lindsey speaks with Abby Andrew , who uses her incredible YouTube channel and sizeable social media following to express herself, offer insight about alopecia and rock some truly gorgeous wigs. The ladies spoke about discovering their alopecia at an early age as well as their respective emotional turning points in their journeys of acceptance and eventually advocacy. Abby really d...

It would be untrue and frankly harmful not to point out that there are numerous factors at play with the situation that happened between Chris Rock and Will Smith at the 2022 Oscars. In this bonus episode, host Lindsey Sullivan is joined by previous VNA guests Supriya Surender and Suhani Parikh to take a deep dive into the alopecia side of the story. They continue to bring the conversation back to...

Lindsey reacts to what happened between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars and offers her support to Jada Pinkett Smith. Follow Lindsey on Instagram at @verynearlyalmost and @lindssully . Visit lindseysullivan.net and vrynrlyalmost.com for more.  The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consu...

In this episode, Lindsey Sullivan speaks with Ozzie Martinez about his alopecia journey. In this the first VNA sit-down with a dude, he provides insight about why the condition can be so difficult for men to experience--especially in a world where the harmful general narrative is that only women must worry about their appearances. In addition, they discuss the rarity of vulnerable sharing within m...

Suhani Parikh is a mother of three and the founder of Modern Marigold Books . In this two-part episode, she and Lindsey discuss her alopecia journey and how it inspired her book Shreya's Very Own Style .  Children's books are powerful ways to teach kids values and acceptance of others. This episode is full of advice and resources for both parents and teachers about navigating a child&apo...

Velena Jones is a reporter for CBS Sacramento. In her early 20s, a mysterious illness and the medications it called for caused her hair to fall out. Here, she and host Lindsey Sullivan discuss navigating her identity as as not only a Black woman but as an on-camera journalist during that tumultuous time and how she's arrived at a place of acceptance where she can recognize the power in sharin...

Alopecia is not the topic at hand in this holiday bonus episode of Very Nearly Almost. Meredith Lesley opens up about her weight loss journey and the moment she felt called to become a certified personal trainer and inspire others to map out what wellness means for them.  Plus, Meredith shares her tips for navigating holiday time, when negative self talk around food and New Year's resolutions...

Lindsey marks her tenth episode of Very Nearly Almost with reading an essay she wrote a few years ago about dating with alopecia.  Follow Lindsey on Instagram at @verynearlyalmost and @lindssully . Visit lindseysullivan.net and vrynrlyalmost.com for more.  The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consu...

Lindsey sits down with Lily Hakim to talk about her early alopecia diagnosis, the restricted diet she grew up with as a result and even being mistaken as a boy by a teacher growing up. Lily is now the Director of Executive Operations at Pfizer. She shares about struggling with autonomy as a young alopecia patient who could not make an informed decision about her healthcare (with an already limited...

In this week's episode, Lindsey sits down with Darlenys Rosa. She graced the pages of Allure this past September to share her story and her shine for Alopecia Awareness month. Darlenys speaks in-depth with Lindsey about the bullying they both experienced growing up and how far she has come in embracing her baldness and speaking to herself move positively. Plus, she discusses meeting her husba...