Girls Know Nothing - S1 Ep20: Dani G Talks Alopecia and How She Has Built Her Career In Makeup and Helping Others

Episode Date: December 20, 2022

Welcome back to Girls Know Nothing! 🧡 GKN is a female focused podcast hosted by@SharonNJGaffka Girls Know Nothing's nineteenth guest is @danigmakeup8455 - Dani is a Durham Law graduate and makeup enthusiast. But behind this, Dani has had alopecia for most of her life. New episodes of Girls Know Nothing 🧡 will be released every Thursday, and will also be available on Spotify, Apple podcasts and wherever you get your podcast fixes! GKN Social Channels: Https://linktr.ee/girlsknownothing  Instagram: @girlsknownothingpod  TikTok: @girlsknownothing

Hi, I'm Richard Karn, and you may have seen me on TV talking about the world's number one expandable garden hose. Well, the brand new Pocket Hose Copperhead with Pocket Pivot is here, and it's a total game changer. Old-fashioned hoses get kinks and creases at the spigot, but the Copperhead's Pocket Pivot swivels 360 degrees for full water flow and freedom to water with ease all around your home. When you're all done, this rust-proof anti-burst hose shrinks back down to pocket size for effortless handling and tidy storage. Plus, your super light and ultra-durable pocket hose Copperhead is backed with a 10-year warranty. What could be better than that? I'll tell you what, an exciting exclusive offer just for you. For a limited time, you can get a free pocket pivot and their 10-patter pattern sprayer with the purchase of any size copperhead hose.

Just text water to 64,000. That's water to 64,000 for your two free gifts with purchase. W-A-T-E-R to 64,000. By texting 64,000, you agree to receive recurring automated marketing messages from Pocket Hose. Message and data rates may apply. No purchase required. Terms apply. Available at pockethose.com slash terms. You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites. With Indeed Sponsored Jobs, your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates,

so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed have 45% more applications than non-sponsored jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed. And listeners of this show will get-K-A-T-Z 13. Just go to Indeed.com slash P-O-D-K-A-T-Z 13 right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. Welcome back to another episode of girls know nothing um i know a lot of people if you are watching it on youtube are probably thinking why are we not sat in our lovely cozy studio in london but i'm obviously with the weather the train strikes and i also have only just recovered from having the flu which is why we are well I'm sat in my really beige looking living room in

comparison to the nice studio. Also, it's probably great for our next guest who doesn't have to travel miles and miles to be able to get to the studio. So our wonderful guest for this episode is Dani. And actually, I've seen a lot of posts about you, Dani, on LinkedIn and about your story. And I, like, as soon as I heard it I was like to Jen I need to I need to speak to this to this woman so people that don't know you feel free to give yourself a bit of an introduction. Yes I'm Danny I'm from Newcastle I'm 24 I do a boring admin job but I also do a little bit of content creation influencing as you will um and I'm all about makeup self-love self-confidence and of course I've got alopecia as well just point out the obvious um

which I know we're going to talk about today anyway so yeah so I actually I well I said to you before we started this podcast that alopecia isn't something I was ever aware of until I was like a fully grown adult. And I don't feel like it's something that's talked about enough. So like what is alopecia basically for people that don't know? Yeah, so alopecia is an autoimmune disease or condition. And it basically is where your white blood cells attack themselves um and it basically just doesn't let you grow hair so I'm perfectly healthy um there's nothing physically wrong with it or anything like that um it's just I don't grow hair

which is really strange um there isn't a lot of research and stuff into it so that's probably why you didn't hear much about it and also it doesn't really affect people so it probably doesn't get as much coverage or whatever it needs to because at the end of the day I'm alive and I'm healthy um so I can see why it doesn't get a lot of coverage or or stuff like that but there's obviously the mental side of things, which I think is more pressing, aside from physical or being healthy and whatnot. But yeah, I've had it pretty much all of my life since I was one and a half. That's when it all started. And it's progressively over the years got worse.

I mean, I don't know. Do you want us to go into my story how it all started and just so you can get get to know about a little yeah yeah feel free to tell us like um how your diagnosis happened and things like that yeah so it was one and a half that's when my mom first noticed the little patch on the top of my head it was about a 20 pence piece size patch um she also noticed prior to that that my hairline was quite high at the back of her head so she thought it was potentially my ponytail or something that was pulling on my hair um so she kind of just tried different styles but then eventually she noticed that

I had the patch on the top of my head so So we went to the doctors and they were really dismissive, to be honest, of my mom. They weren't very nice or supportive. And they said, oh, well, it's baby alopecia, it'll go away. And then just left it at that. But over the years, of course,

it just got worse and worse. And then eventually, I think I was around two and a half. That's when we went to the dermatologist at the hospital and the diagnosis is with alopecia areata. So there's a few different types of alopecia as well. The ones that I've had, I've had three different types of alopecia.

The first is alopecia areata, which is just the patches. Often that's how it starts, where you just get little patches everywhere. Mine started on the top of my head um and then I lost all of my hair eventually so it was kind of like loads of little patches that eventually just joined onto one so then I had no hair at all on my head um and then that type of alopecia is called totalis but I still had eyebrows, eyelashes, body hair, I just didn't have any scalp hair at all and then over the years I think I was around maybe seven when I lost all of my scalp hair and then when I was around 13 or 14 that's when I started to lose my eyebrows

and they went like half an eyebrow at a time. And then I lost my lashes the year after. So that kind of happened, I would say, at a key age, like mid-teens, just, you know, when you're just starting to just find yourself a little bit. And then I lost my eyelashes. So at that point, that's called alopecia universalis, which is the most extreme kind, which is what I've got now. I've had for so long since I was, well, 10 years now, that I've had alopecia universalis.

So nobody here, absolutely anywhere. So I'm like a baby's bum, as you would. So I didn't realise there were three different types of alopecia because I also when I I mean I didn't know until five seconds ago I always assumed that it was like complete hair loss all over I didn't realize there'd be different stages and I guess one thing is like I find mums always get really dismissed when they have issues with their children or like they want, they find that they need to speak to somebody about their child. So I can imagine for your mum that was really like stressful.

But, you know, one thing that I did wonder was, you know, do you think being diagnosed with alopecia at such a young age was probably better or worse than if you're potentially diagnosed as an adult yeah I would say so in some sense that it is it is uh not being sort of dismissive of how it does feel because of course the impact of it can be great but I do think in a sense I have had a bit of an easier ride because at the end of the day, this is me and I've not known any different at all. Obviously, when I was younger, I did have a little bit of hair,

but not much for us to remember. So, yeah, I definitely think it is a lot easier to accept because I think someone who's grown up with hair and they've learned how to do their hair, how to do their eyebrows, how to do their hair, how to do their eyebrows, how to do their eyelashes with hair already, to then that complete 180 and it's totally different. And it's just, they have to relearn everything.

Getting into the wig game as well is just a total different ball game. And it's just learning loads of new things which is obviously traumatizing as well um so I yeah I do think I have had a a much better ride in that sense um but it has been hard and sometimes and I suppose it's the fact of um kind of like accepting it but I've had obviously a lot longer to accept it and my sort of mindset growing up has been well I can't change it like I can't control it so I might as well just embrace it be who I am and just go about my life because otherwise I would just be very bored and upset my whole life and I literally I can't change it so what's the point in dwelling on it really what was it like growing up because I can't children can be very cruel especially when they don't understand something so I can imagine growing up and like going into secondary school

especially was probably really tough yeah definitely um I would probably say this stage it's really weird because I had different stages where I struggled a lot more than I thought I'd like I thought I was coping better than I actually was basically um so in uh primary school I did have a little bit of name calling I was never bullied like not to that extent but I have had name call and things like that and it is hard like I would used to say to my mom because obviously it was all on her as well as it was on me she had to kind of just deal with it as much as I did and it was my mom who had to kind of deal with people approaching like they were like would be on holiday and people would just come up and say oh bless her she got cancer is she going through treatment and things like this so it was a lot um and it's also like horrible for people who assume that I'm ill like that which I'm not I'm

perfectly healthy I just don't have hair um so yeah it was hard in that sense and I think the time that I personally felt the struggle the most and and I think it's because obviously, I'm my own person, I'm a grown woman now. And it was when I went to uni, which was just really surprising. It was a totally three years off guard because I think I went to secondary school, which was an all girls school. So there wasn't that as much pressure I would say I mean I don't know I think because being around all girls you don't feel like you have to go to school with makeup on and you can just look like a scruff and it's fine um but yeah I think when I went into uni um there was obviously mixed it was girls and boys it was a totally new group and it it's kind of the introduction that I struggle with the most of like do I introduce someone with a full face of makeup and a wig on or without anything what's the easiest way to like be like hi by the way without it being a big deal

and yeah I struggled with that like I went to the first freshers event and I remember just coming home crying like it was just horrible like I hated event and I remember just coming home crying like it was just horrible like I hated it and I don't know I just think it was like the whole group situation and trying to just fit in essentially I suppose and I just totally I think it's my own fault to be honest like no one cares but um I don't know I just felt really conscious and like I couldn't make friends and no one wanted to be my friend like that's literally was my mindset um which was horrible and hard and hard to overcome but it's all a journey I suppose that gives me a bit of a wake-up call I'd be like oh maybe you're not doing as well as you think you are or there's something inside us that's that I've kind of

pushed down maybe I don't know yeah no I think I completely understand well I mean I don't but I think I get where you're coming from in a sense that you know like trying to grow up anyway is hard enough as it is but when you know we talk about we see confidence issues in men that lose their hair from a young age and male baldness is a lot more common than cases of alopecia, especially ones as severe as yours. And, you know, I know guys that started to lose their hair when they were 16, 17. And, you know, for them, it was like a massive identity crisis. But I guess with you, it's like, you know, what is normal for you like how do you approach people and I think I can imagine trying to make friends when you feel like that inside regardless of whether

you're healthy or not can be really really challenging yeah I think it's a sense of like feeling like people are going to judge you or I don't know I really don't know what it is and like it sounds so silly to say like oh someone's not going to be my friend because I've got no hair because that's just not the case and I have made friends I've had loads of friends and good friends and it's just like I don't know why I kind of had that limitational view on myself maybe but I suppose like everyone has insecurities but it just overwhelmed us maybe because of the whole new situation and just that was I think that was the biggest thing was how do I introduce myself like how do I go about this without it being awkward or embarrassing because

I don't want anyone else to feel awkward about it either because obviously I'm so open about it I don't mind um but it's just the fact of like I'd be so embarrassed if someone like accidentally said something like oh can I borrow your shampoo do you know what I mean like I'm just trying to think of a stupid example but like people like that's one thing that someone said it was before and then they're like oh wait and I just feel awkward it's just like them situations but I don't care that the rest is because it's just an easy mistake to make. But I don't know. It's just like, yeah, I think. I don't know. I'm just whopping now. Now, a word from our sponsor, BetterHelp. I don't know about you guys, but I personally really struggle with productivity during those autumn and winter months because we

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What was it like at university then? Like know when you've when you decided that you know you were going to introduce I mean how did you decide how you're going to introduce yourself to people? So I went well basically it was like the you know like the first freshers thing and I went with my dad to go and get my little card done and I actually really enjoyed it then I went like without any makeup without a wig and people are like really friendly really open so I was like okay maybe like it's going to be fine like I'll just go and then I convinced myself to actually go to the night time freshers event um obviously I was going by myself I'd lived at home as well so I didn't live in any of the student accommodation. So people already had kind of like a group they could stick with,

like their flatmates, basically. But I went completely by myself and I went without a wig. I think I had a little bit of makeup on, but not a lot. And yeah, and I went without and it was just really awkward. Like it was just uncomfortable. I feel like anyone would have felt uncomfortable. But I don't know, I suppose'm I'm not a very outgoing person like you might not think it because of social media and things like that I think I'm really shy in some sort of circumstances

um and that was definitely one but I just try to like latch on to someone and just be like hi I'm here by myself can I like stick with you and then they don't you know that like that weird like t-shirt signing thing they've done that and I was just like I just can't deal with this I need to go home it was just too much yeah I can imagine like going to a freshers event on your own is like it's like a really big move anyway and it's putting yourself out of your own is like it's like a really big move anyway and it's putting yourself out of your comfort zone as it is and I think that would freak anybody out let alone like you know trying to decide how you're going to introduce yourself to people and even being brave enough to go completely as you are um you know I could only like commend

you for that because I think going on my own would freak me enough as it is. I know. And even when I go to events and stuff now, with the beauty side of things, I still go by myself and I don't know why I do it to myself. I suppose it's good to push myself to actually do it,

but it's a bit scary still honestly I don't know why I still do it I suppose it's the thing of like trying to make a friend or just trying to like latch on to someone and be like be my friend that's what I'm like after freshers was there a lot more of a was it a more pleasant experience like after you've kind of ripped the band-aid off um to be honest probably not like I think I really struggled throughout uni I even nearly dropped out as if after the first year um I think it's because I went to Durham and I done law and it was a really hard course um but I don't know it was like I think I yeah yeah it was hard um I think it was like the first that first interaction obviously give us a bit of a shock and I was like okay not a great start but um I went and I just kind of like

went for the like I just had to think of the bigger picture I think at the end of it I'm gonna have a lower degree so I just had to think of it that way um and get through it and if I made friends along the way then that would be great and I did make some friends like it wasn't like awful but I think it was like the mixture of like the new environment a really hard course kind of being by myself and like all of that was hard um but I got there and I graduated at the end of it so honestly that's amazing studying law on its own is like a minefield and it's so challenging especially at Durham so you know you literally didn't make it easy for yourself by picking that. But no, it's amazing that you did that and you graduated and, you know, you didn't give up essentially. public um about your journey with alopecia and about how you like kind of cope with it um online that you were on the back end of um online hate and trolling which i i mean trolling in any shape

or form i'll never really understand because i think it's very weak-minded but when it's something that's a medical condition that's completely outside of your control, I definitely don't get it. No, I know it's awful. Like, to be honest, the most I've received is recently. And like even growing up, like I was never bullied. I was never, I didn't really have a hard time growing up and then when I got into the whole social media world it was like it was such a shock and I really wasn't expecting it and when I first come into social media and doing what I do now um I think I was

probably a little bit oblivious to it or naive I suppose um and I didn't realize like how bad it could actually be and people don't actually care what they say they really don't like there's no limits like there's people making jokes about cancer like that's how sick it gets um which is absolutely disgusting of course and I'm just grateful that I'm I'm not in that position where I am really ill because imagine seeing something like that and feeling how you do. I can't even comprehend, but it's just awful. I don't know what goes through people's minds to be seeing some of the stuff that they do.

But I just have to ignore it because all of the lovely, amazing comments I get totally outweigh what I do get on the hate side of things. But most of it is someone without a profile picture or a young boy who's on their phone past their bedtime something like that like it's it's just a bit silly um but yeah I've just got to try and push through it remain positive I know um in the beginning when you first start receiving trolling it's usually a lot harder to deal with because you don't really understand why you're getting it or like you know why it's happening to you but you know how did you initially cope with it and how have you now how did you how have you now built that resilience in order to see it and be like, actually, it's got nothing to do with me?

Yeah, I feel like it's more of a, because I've got the people around us who love us, basically. Like, you've got who you need, and that's all that does really matter. But I suppose now, I used to, like, respond a lot to it and try and fight them back because I would get really annoyed but now I can just see there's no there's no point there's no point trying to talk sense into someone who doesn't want to listen or whatever I'm just wasting my breath um and I think I've I feel like I've got a little bit of a what's the word like I want to protect people like me like I don't want to show people what people are saying so I don't want to use my platform and be like hey look what someone said

about is and try and fight them on my story when it's not all it's going to do is bring that comment to life to a lot more people and I don't want someone for example a younger version of myself or a little girl who's just joined alopecia just joined alopecia just joined instagram tiktok whatever to just see comments like that or think that like people think that of them um because they really don't and it is the minority that you're gonna get weird comments like that um so it is a sense of like sometimes I get really annoyed and I just want to reply to some people and just gets us so annoyed but then I just don't want to because I just want to like protect other people and be like no that's not what people actually think it's just some keyboard warriors just

sitting there doing their thing it always is the same types of people as well isn't it like you said it was it's usually a kid that's yeah up past their bedtime or someone without a picture who's not even brave enough to own what they're saying to you yeah exactly and that's the worst bit about it like it's just so annoying like even my boyfriend sees some of them and he responds for us sometimes because obviously he's not the, he's not me directly responding. He's like, attacking them back. But sometimes there's literally just no point. There's literally no point because the little kids are like, it's almost the men men I just don't understand like it to be honest it I think I've only ever responded to a few that are women because it shocks us a lot more if it is a woman because I'm like hmm I'm all about women supporting women and if you're trying to tear another woman down it is a lot uh whereas if it's a man then just brush it off it's fine but when it's a woman it's it's definitely worse I don't stand for that yeah I think you know one thing that I mean there's both sides I don't

really get it in general but I guess with men if there was a man who was talking about male baldness and women were trolling him you know you'd get loads of people being like well that's disgusting like you would hate it if a man said it about a woman but then they're gonna go and do the same thing yeah I know it's it is it's kind of like that role that rolls isn't it with men and women and I don't know I yeah I feel like there is a little bit of a thing about male boldness as well because I don't know I'm not a man so I can't really comment but I do think it can affect men a lot more than they want to let off maybe but that's the issue is that with men they don't want

to like they don't want to show any weakness so they just have to act as if it doesn't bother them. Maybe that's how I feel about some men or some people I've spoken to with alopecia. Um, and even my uncle has alopecia, which is random. Um, so I think in a way it might be a little bit genetics, but not fully.

But anyways, that's a totally different topic anyway. but yeah, I do think with the whole men and women and having alopecia, that men do potentially struggle just as much as a woman can, but doesn't show it, basically. I think women can...

It's more socially acceptable for a woman to express. Is that right? I think that's what I'm trying to say. So I can see behind you, I think is it behind you, you've got some wigs. Um, and I saw that you kind of like, you know, apart from your, your job, you are very into makeup. Um, and by the way, I am terrible with anything hair related. I'm surprised I've not burnt mine off so um I'm really like amazed by anybody that can use a wig uh how did you kind of get into like like starting to wear wigs and um and getting into makeup so I think it is all obviously fully linked with having alopecia so I

think I got into the makeup side of things um in the wig side of things as my alopecia so I think I got into the makeup side of things um in the wig side of things as my alopecia was getting worse um I think I got my first wig when I was around six or seven to when I lost the majority of my hair and it was like this cute little bandana thing with loads of little plaits it was so cute um um but yeah with the makeup side of things it was kind of like because I had like I would watch YouTube videos and stuff and I've always been really arty I would say in school and stuff like that but when I started to lose my eyebrows I would watch YouTube videos and I would always be watching someone who already had eyebrows or already had eyelashes. So then I'd have to like, it basically just forces to have to just experiment on my own face and just figure it out, basically.

With wigs as well, I feel like obviously with having alopecia, I would get my first wig and then the collection would just grow from there. And it was just like being adventurous with your hair color and being able to have a blonde one day and a brown the next day it was just really good and I loved it and I was such a girly girl as well when I was little um so I used to love being able to put a dress on makeup wigs everything um but yeah I absolutely love wigs as you can tell um I've got quite a few and I just like yeah I just like being able to just try loads of different colors basically and yeah just go from there I guess so it's like makeup a bit of um kind of escape and a bit of a comfort for you as well as something that you're really interested in yeah definitely I love I love like not just because like makeup isn't just something I use to hide basically hide what I have it's something that I feel like I can use to express or create and yeah just create loads of different looks.

Like sometimes I've got blue eyebrows or red eyebrows and random funky lips. So that's obviously not stuff I'd really go out the house in. It's more just the creative side of things and kind of being arty on my face. So yeah, I love it. But yeah, I don't know. I think it's with having so many wigs as well it lets me create all these looks I would say with the makeup and the wigs combined it's kind of become a a little thing did you struggle when you first wanted to get into makeup because there were a lack of people out there that basically represented what you look like. Hi, I'm Richard Karn, and you may have seen me on TV

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By texting 64000, you agree to receive recurring automated marketing messages from Pocket Host. Message and data rates may apply. No purchase required. Terms apply. Available at pockethost.com slash terms. Yeah, definitely. So I suppose like

someone with eyebrow hairs, for example, they can use a pencil to fill them in. If I just use a pencil, you can tell I've just took a pencil and drew it on my face like there's no texture there's nothing kind of lifted off my face other than like it's just flat and it's just colored in so it's just really obvious so the thing I lacked from watching other people was trying to make my eyebrows look as realistic as possible and that's just something I just had to learn and how to pick up and try different products I try pomades pens eyebrow transfers

just trying absolutely everything to just try and get them as realistic as possible like what I would direct my brain to think right what can I use to get a little bit of texture in them to get those hair strokes to make them look really realistic and I think I it was just experimenting and I was just really open to just trying new things and I wasn't afraid to just try something on my face and just go for it um and I think like once I like got somewhere with my eyebrows and I was happy with them um that's when the whole like side of makeup and I wanted to like share it with social media and that's when I started on the social media side of things and started with my platform and and things like that and then in a way with the it kind of like I started doing

content creation because I love makeup not because of having alopecia and whatnot, like the alopecia advocacy kind of came like after. And in a way, the way you look at it now, you would probably think it would be the other way around. But no, it definitely started from the makeup side of things, because I was buying to go online just as I am without a stitch of makeup on, nothing on my face. And I didn't really care. And I think that's kind of makeup on, nothing on my face. And I didn't really care. And I think that's kind of what attracted the Alopecia audience because it can help a lot of people, I suppose.

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in time for christmas yeah i guess like you know there's probably like you know younger versions of yourself right that were looking for somebody to kind of like who did makeup and then found you and that's kind of like probably where it kind of kicked off and became a lot bigger you know I remember like trying to learn makeup for the first time I used to use like blue eyeshadow that you get from like free magazines back in the day and like that was a nightmare in itself so like you know trying to learn to do makeup is like virtually impossible I think and when you first came do makeup is like virtually impossible, I think. And when you first came on, I was like, oh my God, I make it from Acura. And I've just literally shoved a bit of bronzer on my eyelids.

I was like, I'll call it a day. No, to be honest though, like you using that blue eyeshadow and everything, we've all been there. I feel like we've all been through like those awful makeup stages you know like when there was the thin brows and we had those really thick blocky brows and everyone's been there so makeup in itself is a whole learning curve whether you've got hair or not is yeah I guess what has been like the best like what was your best piece of content that you put out there and you were like, I'm so proud of this? Oh, I feel like, to be honest, it's my eyebrows.

I feel like after everything that I post, my eyebrows always seem to be the ones that catch people's attention the most um and I don't know what it is I think um I suppose like some of the content that I'd seen before or someone trying like unshaved eyebrows for example so just anyone with a blank canvas would always just draw them in with a bit of pencil or something like that so I suppose what I was doing was a little bit different to what was out there and it would always attract a lot more attention so I remember I'd done a eyebrow tutorial and I was using an eyeliner sounds random but it was like

it was kind of like a pomade slash gel eyeliner consistency it was kind of like that um and it just worked really really well for trying on my eyebrows and I think like trying an eyeliner on your eyebrows like it just doesn't make sense but it worked and they actually looked quite good if I say so myself um like it just because I could create the fluffiness and the eyebrow sort of look um so I think that's just what attracted people and a lot of my eyebrow stuff went viral um and my first ever viral video was definitely my eyebrows people were going crazy over them what was your reaction when you like kind of saw that first viral post? Oh, I'm trying to remember because I was definitely shocked because I was like, oh my gosh, everyone's seeing this and it was like getting into the thousands and it was creeping up to the millions. And I was just like, oh, and it was was then then it obviously the bad comments would come and then

the good comments would come and it was just crazy it was exciting definitely um and it was good because I would I felt like I was helping a lot of people as well and from there I would get a lot of people with alopecia messaging this for advice and things like that so it was great and it really definitely kick-started everything and I love what I do and that like that so it was great and it really definitely kick-started everything and I love what I do and that like I love being able to just be creative and the social media side of things allows us to be creative so I love being able to do that if you never got into the social media stuff like what do you think you'd be doing now as your full-time thing like would you have ever pursued a career in the legal industry or not

probably um as bad as it sounds I did just want to do law because of the money um just because I thought if I'm going to spend all this time I'm going to spend all of this time in school and all of my years like in school university then I want to be rich like I want to be like have a good retirement and enjoy my life and not have to worry about money so I just try think, because it's so hard when you're young and you've just got to choose something so early, what you want to go into. And you've got to choose this when you're in your teens.

And I'm like, I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I have to decide right now. So in my head, I was just thinking, right, what can give me a good steady income and I won't have to worry. So it was law. So to be fair, yeah, I'd probably have to worry so it was law um so to be fair yeah I'd probably say I would have went into law maybe um and I did like just before all of the social stuff I did actually like go to a that's what they're called like training contracts um I did apply for

one of them and I've nearly it, but I didn't. And then that year that I was kind of like regathering myself to apply the next year, that's when everything started with social. So then it kind of just fell off. I went back to the next year to the same training contract thing to apply and try again um but I kind of just winged that because I was like I'm not too bothered now um but it's there got a degree if I need it yeah I guess it's like always really nice to I mean have a plan well your law degree is now probably like a plan b right but it's always nice to have one of

those and it's probably um it's probably really nice for you that well it's not nice I guess when you don't get your training contract it's really demoralizing and like heartbreaking at the time because you feel like it's the end of the world but it probably kind of redirected you onto the path that you're on now um and like looking back on it how do you do you kind of feel a lot better about how things have panned out yeah I definitely do because I don't know if I was just kidding myself that I wanted to do law like I don't know if I was um cut out to actually do law because I know sometimes you've got to be a little bit stern and I just don't know if I'm that person for that but I was riding that wave at the time um right now looking back yeah maybe it's it wasn't

for me I really don't know um but I definitely think everything happens for a reason and you're going to end up where you're meant to be basically so I feel like I'm heading in the right direction where I want to be and what I want to actually do like truly passion wise what actually makes us happy and what I enjoy doing is makeup and what I'm doing now on the content creation side of things so would I really have been happy behind a desk and fighting someone's case. I don't know, maybe, but I don't think so. I guess kind of going on from finding your purpose and going on something you're passionate about, you know, there's so many things on the market now

for anybody, but there's a lot of like treatments that are marketed to people with alopecia, including like semi-permanent makeup. And with so many things being out there, you recently launched I think it was last month launched your collaboration with Brow HQ congratulations by the way so kind of like how did that kind of kick start and happen yeah so it all started to happen um well the the whole process with brow hq started like over two years ago so

it took a while for them to actually come out um but yeah it all started with the gent and also with where i worked with brow hq once on their brow pencils um and then we kind of like built from there a relationship and just kind of trying to think of products that were a little bit more innovative and that would help people like me basically um and what there is there was eyebrow transfers out there prior to my own but I was thinking how can like the ones I was using just weren't what I wanted they weren't like modern nice styles and they weren't kind of fitting that younger look and feel like for example they were fully inspired by the whole laminated brows and the nice fluffy brows that we're seeing at the moment. And me with having alopecia, I could never have fluffy laminated brows

and that's just so heartbreaking. But with my brow transfers, I can. So that's kind of why I created them to bring a bit more of a modern style because a lot of them are kind of, although natural looking, they're just not snatched, basically. That's the way I would describe them. Like fluffy, snatched, modern brows. That's how I would say.

Yeah, and it all just came about just from collabing before and then just building on that and just thinking. Because Brow HQ, she also had a little bit of a connection with alopecia. She works obviously a lot doing semi-permanent makeup for people with cancer, with alopecia. So she's been around that industry and she can see the impact that things like this can have. But she could also see the benefit of having a more temporary option than the semi-permanent option, which the brow transverse can bring. Honestly, it's amazing and what you

can see some people do in terms of like semi-permanent makeup and brow transfers actually blow my mind because I mean like my mum's got the old school 80s brow right where she's like basically like tweezing off all of her eyebrows so when I see people that have had like even transformations in that sense I'm just like amazed by how good things look um and because I've had really dodgy microblading so I can I can say that you know things have definitely gotten better since I used to have my dodgy brows but um you know what would be like eventually if you know you could get a phone call from somebody right now and said like danny i've got this um brand on the line like for you now saying they want to do this deal what would be like your big dream collaboration or like plan for the future hi i'm richard karn and you may

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What could be better than that? I'll tell you what, an exciting exclusive offer just for you. For a limited time, you can get a free pocket pivot and their 10-pattern sprayer with the purchase of any size Copperhead hose. Just text WATER to 64000head hose just text water to 64 000 that's water to 64 000 for your two free gifts with purchase w-a-t-e-r to 64 000 by texting 64 000 you agree to receive recurring automated marketing messages from pocket hose message and data rates may apply no purchase required terms apply available at pocket hose.com terms oh it's a tough one um i mean, I always say like dream big,

but I'm always that person who doesn't want to like, like, what's the word? Like, I don't want to be disappointed, basically. So I don't want to say it to then be disappointed. But if I'm dreaming big, then I definitely say working with a huge global brand who specializes or is known for their brows, for example, just putting it out there,

like Anastasia Beverly Hills or NYX, just someone who's in the makeup but good on their brows, basically knows the stuff on their brows and doing an unreal collab with them. I mean, I've got so many ideas in my little brain about how I can make brow products or make brow products better um and better for people like me as well as being able to use be used by normal or people with eyebrows um so yeah I would say that would be the the big dream big goal, even high, always.

But yeah, just being able to bring out my own thing with like a big brand and being a little bit innovative and bringing out something that's not quite on the market. Well, you never know. Those people that do like PR and influencer relationships from those brands might be listening to this podcast and if you are then hit Danny up on social media but no that's honestly I think it's always really it's really important to dream big and to aim high because you know

I feel like if you set yourself too low I think you'll also get disappointed um but I always end the podcast kind of with a a similar final question and I guess for you I always I'm going to ask you like what would you say to people in your past and people potentially in the future that are going to doubt how successful you are as a woman based off your alopecia? Oh, I think that's a good question. Um, I would probably say to people, to be honest, I would say it's all about someone's mindset and how they view the world and like, like your perspective on life and what you want to get out of life um so I would definitely say to people it is about changing up that perspective and kind of just being a bit more of a positive person um I mean I would say I'm generally a positive person and I kind of would say I'd see the good in a lot of people um and I think it is just about

trusting and doing your own thing and concentrating on your yourself but yeah I don't even know where I'm going with that but I just think it do you know what I mean I think it is just about perspective and not judging someone too early or seeing where they can come and kind of just watch the space basically just be quietly confident and just let them stew I mean there was a massive Dani shaped hole in the world of social media and makeup and she is here to fill it so you know don't don't ever underestimate someone because you know their pain is also their power and you know I think you're amazing for what you've done and for being completely open and honest and being you know you've made yourself vulnerable online and that's

never easy to do no matter who you are or you know what your hardship is so I think you're amazing for that and I want to say thank you so much for giving up your time and coming on this podcast. Of course. Of course. Thank you so much for having me. It's been amazing. You just realized your business

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