How Scalp Micropigmentation is Redefining Hair Restoration
For many years, the options for those who experience hair loss or who are dealing with baldness were very limited. There were typically two options – either you deal with the progression of hair loss, go on a lifetime of medications, or make the investment of time, money, and recovery required for a hair transplant surgery. Millions of people all over the world have had successful hair transplants, and no one is arguing that hair transplant surgery isn’t a wonderful treatment. Hair transplant surgery is very effective, but it has its challenges – limited donor, concern about future hair loss, concerns about scarring and unnatural density, and not being a viable option for all patients are all very well-known and longstanding limitations of hair transplant surgery. There is now a solution that can provide a cutting edge cosmetic solution for hair loss that goes by the name of Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP). This cosmetic tattoo can be done to provide an ultra-realistic scalp appearance on its own to those that enjoy the clean-shaven look. However, the exciting development of late is that SMP is also now being used in more and more cases as a sophisticated complementary treatment to hair transplants. SMP can be used to artfully fill in the appearance of density between transplanted hairs, as well as to camouflage the scars of previous transplants. This important treatment is becoming more powerful and relevant, especially for men and women seeking a total solution to hair loss.
To appreciate the potential of SMP as a complementary treatment, one must first have a basic understanding of what SMP is. Scalp Micropigmentation is not a hair transplant, it does not create hair growth. Scalp Micropigmentation is a non-invasive cosmetic tattoo procedure that uses medical grade pigments and precise equipment to deposit small (microscopic in size) dots of pigment into the dermis of the scalp in an ultra-realistic pattern to mimic the appearance of actual hair follicles when shaved down at the surface of the skin. SMP artists do not randomly fill a designated area with ink, they skillfully replicate all of the natural aspects of a follicle distribution. An SMP technician must take into consideration dot size, dot density, color, and natural nuances that occur within a normal pattern of real hair follicles. The goal is not to draw hairs, but to recreate the visual appearance of shadows created by the follicles of a shaved head in a very 3D sense. SMP is very modern in style, ultra-realistic, and requires no ongoing maintenance (aside from an occasional touch-up). There is a huge difference between a professional SMP artist and an unskilled technician. As with any treatment, especially one that involves a tattoo, patients should do their research and know exactly what they are getting into. Diligence on the part of the patient is the best way to ensure an outcome that is an enhancement rather than a detriment to an appearance.
One of the most powerful applications of SMP in the hair transplant world is the concept of using SMP as a complementary treatment to a hair transplant. A hair transplant is a surgical procedure that can take the form of Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) or Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) and is used to harvest donor hairs from an area of the scalp, split them into smaller groupings of 1 to 4 hairs, and then “planted” these tiny grafts into the thinning or balding areas of the scalp. For people with widespread hair loss, or for those that have reached the limit of their donor supply, high density may simply be physically impossible. In other words, if the transplant surgery is pushed to the point of maximum density with the available donor, some scalp skin will still be visible between the transplanted hairs. This can leave the transplanted area looking “sparse” or “see-through”, especially in bad lighting. SMP solves this dilemma by literally creating a background “shadow” between the transplanted hairs with pigment dots. By filling in these open areas with a shadowy pigment and then implanting the grafts within the pigment shadow, the contrast between the scalp and the shaft of the hair is removed, and the entire field of transplanted hair appears to be much denser than it really is. SMP provides a patient the opportunity to get the most out of their transplant by maximizing density, all for a fraction of the cost of the surgery itself. It’s a smart way to get more value from a surgery and give it that extra little bit of polish.
In addition to being used to supplement density in a new transplant, SMP can also be used to correct the scars from previous surgeries. Hair transplant surgery, like all surgery, has an interesting history with early pioneers exploring treatments long before today’s high-tech standards were in place. Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) was a method of transplant that was used for a very long time as a great way to harvest large numbers of grafts from a donor area. However, it leaves a linear scar where the skin was removed at the back of the scalp. For people that prefer to wear their hair very short, a FUT scar is a big problem, because it is immediately visible and a very obvious sign of a “hair plug” procedure. In the case of FUE procedures, a similar problem can occur if an inexperienced technician uses an aggressive harvest method, leaving a peppered field of white dot scars in the donor area. A scar like this will make the possibility of a short hairstyle completely impossible. SMP provides a solution to these problems. The pigments used for SMP are very safe and can be used to custom blend and match to the hair and skin tone, allowing a practitioner to tattoo right over scar tissue. In the case of a linear scar, the artist will skillfully tattoo pigment dots into the surrounding hair to make it appear as though the hairs are emerging from within and around the scar. This breaks up the solid color of the scar and, when the contrast of the pale scar against the surrounding scalp is removed, effectively masks the scar. FUE dot scars can be effectively corrected with the same technique of using pigment dots to fill in the area and break up the contrast of the individual white dot scars. These techniques can be not only cosmetic, but also emotional in their impact, as they allow someone to wear their hair in any style that they want, no longer bound by the burden of previous procedures.
As well as serving to complement hair transplant surgery, SMP also very effectively serves as a standalone treatment for those that want to take control of the shaved-head aesthetic in their own way. SMP is great at providing a standalone alternative for those that can’t or don’t want to get hair transplant surgery. For some men and women, it’s a direct path to a highly realistic buzzed-head appearance. As well as being a great way to fill in the scalp from an SMP tattoo artist’s point of view, it is an empowering and liberating treatment from the patient’s point of view. This application is like a reframing of hair loss – instead of fighting hair loss and a receding hairline or thinning crown, the individual opts instead for the shaved look but with an important enhancement. A completely natural bald head can have a shiny dome-like quality to it, and the scalp color can also often be somewhat uneven or pale. SMP creates the perfect “follicular shadow” right across the entire scalp, duplicating the appearance of a full head of hair that has been shaved down to a zero or one guard. It can be used to beef up and extend a receding hairline, creating a soft, natural looking boundary between the scalp and hair. It can also be used to fill in a thinning crown. This standalone application is very popular as it is low-maintenance, immediate, and non-medical in approach, not to mention a smart way to sidestep the higher financial costs of other treatments.
The only limiting factor in the success of an SMP procedure is the skill and artistry of the practitioner involved. SMP is an art form that requires years of experience and practice, and a beginner or amateur technician should never be considered. “Micropigmentation” is an art, and there are a lot of subtleties involved in the process that only experienced technicians have the knowledge to perfect. An inexperienced artist may use the wrong color pigment (making the final result look unnatural blue, grey or jet black instead of a natural warm black tone), make dots that are too big (creating the look of a dolls head or an ink stippled surface instead of real hair), or implant the pigment at the wrong depth (resulting in dots that fade, blur, and smudge). An experienced artist will have an understanding of color theory, skin tones, and hairline design to create the most natural and realistic result. The real value of SMP is not only as a standalone treatment, but as a perfect and powerful complement to hair transplants. For a free consultation with an SMP artist, reach out to Natural Hair Solutions today.
