Balding Blog

I see you mention Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP) being a solution for patients with Alopecia Areata, but doesn’t the trauma from the head tattooing spur an autoimmune reaction? I have a diffuse pattern and would love to make a contrast between black hair and white skin. I have AA on my face (barbae) that resolves itself, however, I’ve been told a hair relocation surgery would not work because it could make these conditions very angry, although I’ve never had it on my scalp. Wouldn’t the permanent hair resolve with treatment even if transplanted since mild AA doesn’t actually “kill” the hair?

We have performed Scalp Micropigmentation on many patients with Alopecia Areata. We have also performed Scalp Micropigmentation on Alopecia Totalis. There has been a problem in our hands activating the primary disease or aggravating the Alopcia Areata. The pigments only go to a depth of about 0.6mm below the skin, while the hair follicles go down between 5-7 mm below the skin, much deeper than the SMP pigments go (see below).

We do not have any heavy metals or any type of metals in our pigments. Our pigments are purely organic and as a result you don’t have to worry about an MRI which can pull on the pigments and cause redness and pain or have your body react to substances it can not absorb. Many SMP doctors, cosmetologists and tattoists use pigments that contain some dangerous looking stuff in the solutions. We did an analysis of a ‘competitors’ pigment and after it was burned in the lab, the lab found the following material left in the remnants. You judge if this is what you want in your body, not me. This is why we use only organic pigments in our SMP pigments.

If you are correctly wondering why the FDA does not control such substances with potential harm, the answer is that the FDA has told congress that they do not have the funds or the staff to investigate the tattoo industry. Within the United States, 22% of adults have had a tattoo with the type of materials shown in the chart below.

If I was to get SMP, would it be pointless staying on meds to keep/grow my hair?

SMP colors your scalp with small tattooed dots, barely the size of a dot from a ballpoint pen, but hair growth is independent. If you stop taking medications like finasteride or oral minoxidil, you will lose all the benefits of the drugs you accumulated over time. Think this through. Do you want the SMP to be your presentation to the world with a shaved head? To do this with SMP alone, your SMP must be meticulously done. I have seen a lot of good SMP with a shaved scalp, which is a reasonable option if it is done well; however, so many of today’s SMP providers just don’t do great work. Be sure to ask to meet some of the SMP patients who shave their heads before going forward with any provider.

I am considering getting SMP for density at https://getscalpworx.com/ .What should I be looking for to ensure I have the best and safest experience? Thanks!

Ask to meet patients that had it done and look closely at the work. If you can tell its SMP, then stay away from that clinic. Many clinics put large dots on the head and place them few and far between. The SMP stands out in those patients and doesn’t look normal. Look at my SMP done with my staff: https://baldingblog.com/i-just-finished-my-smp-on-my-crown-area-today-see-before-and-after-photos/

It’s good enough for me, so it might be good enough for you.

If the balding pattern is fully developed would you recommend SMP before a transplant or if it best combined only after the transplant?

I prefer the transplant first and then the FUE after some hair has grown out.

The idea I had is, that I want to implant hair into my frontal micropigmentated area, but since I am young(only 23-Norwood 3 almost 4),I know that I will keep on losing my hair and the donor area is limited, so I am interested in speaking with my HT doctor, and convincing him to transplant me a smaller amount of hair only enough to give the impression of hair which will be accentuated by the micropigmentation. I think this could be a good idea, as I am ok with having a short haircut, like in the photos.

My problem is that I do not know if it would work for my frontal balding area, as most people who have combined SMP and HT seem to have had it done in their crown area.So I am really curious if any of you guys could give me any advice or opinion, as I am sure most of you know how depressed this whole ordeal this can make someone feel ,and any response would be greatly appreciated. I will try posting some photos down bellow of me and the length of hair of hair I’m interested in keeping and the bald/micropigmented area.

If you do Scalp Micropigmentation on the areas you showed, you must shave your head or it will not look good. I would advise against a hair transplant at this time. If you have a hair transplant later on, you can do this on top of your SMP. I just did someone this week who took this route. Having had SMP a few years ago, he decided recently to transplant the hair he needed above it so he could let his hair grow out.

I’m 28 and have been on fin for just over 2 years. My hairloss was very slow and minor so it’s kept it completely stable. I do however feel my hair whorl is more prominent than it should be though and have been looking into micropigmentation as apparently it’s very good for something incredibly minor like this where a transplant would be ridiculous.

Has anybody had it done when they still have a ton of hair? I know it can look very un natural when it’s done all over on a bald head but I still thankfully have a ton of hair and only want it in a very small area. My concern is if it lasts for 6-7 years I could go grey in that time (only 4-5 grey hairs at the moment) and then the dark shading might shine through my grey hair and look weird. I’ve also heard micropigmentation turns blue or green over time? Lastly, if I ever did need to shave my head (god forbid) in X amount of years it would look super weird then if I had a very small patch of micropigmentation on the back of my head. I heard it can be lasered off quite easily but I presume you wouldn’t want to do that if you still have healthy hair follicles as that could kill them off?

The tattoo inks should be a shade of gray so that they stand up over time to the graying of your hair. That is the way we do it and it has been effective with many happy patients. See our website here: https://scalpmicropigmentation.com/ A special type of laser can remove it, or you can increase its use as your balding progresses. We have had many patient who followed up with hair transplants sometime after they got it.