Ms. Abby Asistio Meets Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg

California- United States of America

Last January 31, 2016, Fellow Filipino Alopecia Ambassador Ms. Abby Asistio flew to San Francisco and had the wonderful opportunity of being chosen as one of the eighteen invited by Facebook on their 12th Anniversary Friends Day celebration with California-based Alopecia awareness advocate, Ms. Rachel Regal.

l-r Ms. Rachel Regal  , Mark Zukerberg and Ms. Abby Asistio

Alopecia is an autoimmune condition which results in partial or total head and body hair loss. Abby Asistio have had it since she was four while Rachel just developed itsometime in 2012, the same year she discovered that her 10-year-old daughter, Eliana, had it,too. Six inspiring stories were picked by Facebook among its 1.64 billion users and Abby’s friends were all amazed when theye’ve found out that Abby’s Alopecia story was one of them.

 

Abby and Rachel met each other through the double A hand sign campaign that Aby started in2012, and They’ve been “connected” since then. Last year, Facebook Stories featured how thesetwo were able to build a friendship, as well as campaign for disease awareness throughFacebook! And last February 1st, Abby and Rachel had the chance to tour FB headquarters inMenlo Park, San Francisco, meet and chat with the people behind Facebook (Founder & CEOMark Zuckerberg, COO Sheryl Sandberg, CPO Chris Cox, and a whole lot of awesome people),get crazy cool gadgets and have one of the best experiences of their lives.

 Ms. Rachel Regal and Ms. Abby Asistio

Abby recounted that it was such a surreal feeling to be in the same room as the creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. Mark Z was wearing his trademark look (jeans, sneakers, shirt anda big smile on his face), and had such a friendly, approachable aura and demeanor about him.

Not at all intimidating! He shared stories about how the company started, its mission-vision,  the ups and downs that come along, and their future plans. Those invited also had the chance to ask him questions. When Mark Z was asked about achieving success and life’s “impossibilities”. Hesaid, “There’s a difference between impossible and things taking a really long time. Even if you’re not going to be able to do something in a short time period, if you care about something,you want to see the world to move into that direction… So the best thing to do is just get started and not be discouraged. It’s tough because this stuff is hard, or else people would’ve already done it.”

Abby Asistio got the chance to ask a question to one of the world’s 50 most powerful, successful women in business, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Aside from Alopecia awareness, Abby isalso an active Real Beauty advocate with girls and women struggling with various insecurities,being so consumed by the world’s unrealistic and sometimes superficial standards of beauty. So Abby asked Sheryl about her perception of it. Sheryl said that beauty is just like success and thatno one could really define it for you. We are all unique. We have different stories, dreams and desires. We should explore our own inner and outer beauty, believe and embrace that we are beautiful, and never allow anyone to tell us otherwise.

Mark capped off his talk by sharing their company philosophy with everyone present. Though already having over 1 billion subscribers, there are still 7 billion people all over the world without access to all the meaningful connections and information that Facebook brings. One thing that the company stands by is that “things are always 1% completed”. It keeps them grounded, reminding them that there is always so much work, growth and progress to be done, and so many people to reach out to and help.

Everything about the Facebook trip was overwhelming and inspiring according to Abby. More than anything, it reminded her about “responsibility”. We are all given our own platforms, in this case “accounts and connections”, to make a dent in this world. It is up to us to become complacent and take these vehicles for granted, or maximize the opportunities and use them to make a positive impact in this generation. Abby is grateful that Facebook has become a medium for her to communicate disease awareness and touch people beyond the confines of her tiny room and her country. Abby is also glad that she and Rachel are two out of millions of people choosing to recognize the importance of social media in contributing to making this world abetter place, and actually doing something about it.

Ms. Abby Asistio amazing hair transformation with NovuHair

Truly, God plans the best adventures and creates the most beautiful surprises. Abby knows that to spread and reach new heights and she is particularly grateful to Facebook for giving her this opportunity and to Novuhair, Nature’s Answer to Hair Loss (www.novuhair.com), for always

being so supportive of her advocacy and endeavors. Abby is proud and honored to have represented the Philippines and the Alopecia community in this once-in-a-lifetime, international experience.

 

 

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Alopecia Advocate and Novuhair Ambassador Miss Abby Asistio Bloggers Meet

Runner’s Kitchen – Creekside Square Building ,74 Tomas Morato, Quezon City ,Philippines

Runner’s Kitchen

I  first met  Ms. Abby Asistio more than 2 year ago from a press conference in Quezon City. Then another follow-up last May 2014 when I was a last minute substitute from a blogger friend who could not attend the press briefing due to traffic.

Consumer awards- The brand NovuHair had won 4 consecutive years by Watson

The bloggers meet was intended as a follow-up for a dramatic recovery of Ms. Abby who started using NovuHair in 2013 and had now almost full recovery in such a short span of years.

Ms. Abby Asistio holding her new CD to be launch on september 26

Bullying

To cover up the bald spots on her head, Asistio grew up wearing a hat until second year high school. This, she said, attracted unwanted attention and negative comments from her classmates. She studied in an exclusive all girls school .

There was even a time when some students bullied her and removed her hat, and everyone saw her bald head.

Mr. Raymond Vincent Y. Domingo – Corporate Sales and Marketing Manager

Brand Ambassador

Nearly a year after her coming out of sorts in television shows like 700 CLUB and Mr. Boy Abunda’s talk show , Bottomline  aired every Saturday on ABS-CBN channel 2, Ms. Asistio was given another shot at growing back her hair by the homegrown company Nutramedica.

The singer-songwriter was tapped to endorse Novuhair, the company’s natural hair treatment products.

she was at first skeptical of Novuhair because she has tried several hair regrowth treatments that only ended up in failure. Now after several months of applying Novuhair shampoo and conditioner she noticed that small hairs had begun growing .  After about 2 years of continuous application, her hair is slowly growing and her confidence is getting back. She can now go to salon and enjoy other things she was not able to do.

NovuHair:http://www.novuhair.com/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/NovuhairOfficial

Ms. Abby Asistio fought against Alopecia and Self Confidence Back with Novu Hair

Quezon City , Philippines

Ms. Abby Asistio is one of the brand ambassadors for Novu Hair

Ms. Abby Asistio a song writer and singer  has been suffering from alopecia areata, a type of hair loss condition that occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks hair follicles resulting in partial or complete loss of hair on the scalp and the rest of the body. Alopecia areata can be hereditary; it affects both men and women at any age. She recounted that she experienced the situation when she was 4 years-old.

Ms. Abby Asistio during her childhood ( from her website)

Website: http://abbyasistio.com/latest/my-name-is-abby-i-have-alopecia-and-im-coming-out-bald-this-september-25th/

Baldness, which is a result of the condition, can have its emotional toll on the patient. In a society where hair is considered an essential part of self-imaging, having thick hair in men and women is considered as added plus points in one’s level of attractiveness. Shampoo commercials, for instance, always play up having long and lustrous hair as vital in defining how a beautiful woman should look like.

Dr. Maria Cecilia Catapang

Abby shared her own anxieties as a woman who was going bald due to alopecia, “I learned how to cope with having alopecia though I’ve been wearing wigs and hats.

Because of her situation , She became a spokesperson for people who have alopecia.  She prefers to be  called ” Alopecia Warrior“.

Alopecia Warrior

I remember that i have a classmate with similar situation during my elementary days, but  my classmate situation is much better. When i last saw her in college several years after, Her hair grew thick and it was due to hair treatment . That was my first time to encounter the medical term Alopecia.

Ms. Abby Asistio being interviewed by media

Ms. Abby revealed during the press interview  that she lived through the entire process of experiencing hair fall: Alopecia Areata (partial bald spots on the head takes place), Alopecia Totalis (total hair loss on the scalp), and Alopecia Universalis (all hair body hair is lost). She even tried other hair loss remedies including chemical-based products that have resulted in negative side effects. She was just starting to finally embrace her “baldness,” when upon prodding from family and friends, Asistio decided to give Novuhair a try. Barely 1 year had pass since trying  the product and she began noticing her hair to grow back.

Natural Ingredients:

Novuhair is made from all-natural ingredients and helps in preventing excessive hair fall. It also aids in stimulating hair growth, improves the overall cosmetic properties of the hair, helps eliminate dandruff, prevents hair-graying, and alleviates scalp itchiness. The product has 13 mainly active ingredients and herbal components that rejuvenate and nourish the scalp and hair.

Moringa oleifera or malunggay is one ingredient that helps restore the skin’s condition and prevents falling hair. Sweet almond oil, another ingredient, is a moisture-rich oil that contains vitamins A, B1, B6 and E, as well as minerals such as magnesium and iron. Scientifically known as prunus amygdalus, sweet almond oil easily penetrates the hair shaft and follicles, relieving hair dryness and itching and providing nourishment to the hair to promote hair growth.

Lavender helps relieve itching, and like rosemary another ingredient, it contains properties that help combat dandruff and disinfects the scalp. Lemongrass helps clean the scalp’s pores, while peppermint is known to slow the growth of bacteria and fungi, aside from having a relaxing effect on the muscles. Other ingredients are Zingiber officinale (ginger), Panax ginseng (Ginseng), Centella asiatica (Gotu Kola), Biotin (hair and nail vitamin), Phyllanthus emblica (Indian gooseberry), Dexapanthenol (Vitamin B-5), Aloe barbadensis (Aloe Vera), Cocos mamillaris (Virgin Coconut Oil), Mentha piperita L. (Peppermint oil), and Carthamus tinctorious (Safflower). The product is available in all Mercury Drug Stores and other leading drug stores nationwide.

Ms. Abby Asistio Website: http://abbyasistio.com/latest/my-name-is-abby-i-have-alopecia-and-im-coming-out-bald-this-september-25th/

Novuhair : http://www.novuhair.com/

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/NovuhairOfficial