Milena Lardì at Hasson & Wong

[Jotronic]

So as I am writing this I am facedown down having SMP by Milena into my donor scar. I have to say this is pretty cool. I also had a bit of fill in along my part line and my mid scalp. I'll report back when I'm done.

Btw, Dr. Hasson is now the first person to have SMP by Milena Lardì in North America.

[Follicle Death Row]

Brilliant. Looking forward to your usual excellent documentation. Do you reckon Dr. Hasson would ever get a HT from Dr. Wong?

Great info as always Joe.

[Follicle Death Row]

Btw what is it about Milena's trichopigmentation that is so much better than the other people practising SMP? I mean Milena's work looks so ridiculously real while the other SMP work just looks crap quite frankly.

It would be amazing if Milena could also get the same result with a permanent ink that does not fade. That would great for people that trial the 2 year one and then want something permanent too.

[Tiger norwood's]

Originally Posted by Follicle Death Row

Btw what is it about Milena's trichopigmentation that is so much better than the other people practising SMP? I mean Milena's work looks so ridiculously real while the other SMP work just looks crap quite frankly.

It would be amazing if Milena could also get the same result with a permanent ink that does not fade. That would great for people that trial the 2 year one and then want something permanent too.

I my self is very interested in this treatment and i would never do it if it was permanent. Ink(permanent also) does fade over a longer period and will not good when that happens. This procedure is not that expensive, for a full norwood 6-7 it is a 2000 euros. so lets say if you need to do a touch up after two year for 1000 euros i can live with that, knowing there is a way out of it again if i should decide. The procedure makes smp a more viable solution for scars and buzz cuts. I have spent a long time looking into Italian forums with various numbers of patients who were treated by Milena, and yes she is a true artist, you can feel the excitement in these forums for sure.

[Follicle Death Row]

Originally Posted by Tiger norwood's

I my self is very interested in this treatment and i would never do it if it was permanent. Ink(permanent also) does fade over a longer period and will not good when that happens. This procedure is not that expensive, for a full norwood 6-7 it is a 2000 euros. so lets say if you need to do a touch up after two year for 1000 euros i can live with that, knowing there is a way out of it again if i should decide. The procedure makes smp a more viable solution for scars and buzz cuts. I have spent a long time looking into Italian forums with various numbers of patients who were treated by Milena, and yes she is a true artist, you can feel the excitement in these forums for sure.

I was kind of thinking a permanent one might be good for scars but I don't know really. I'm looking forward to Joe's documentation of this.

[mattj]

Does Milena offer a permanent option? Is it possible for it to be permanent with the technique she is using?

[Follicle Death Row]

Originally Posted by mattj

Does Milena offer a permanent option? Is it possible for it to be permanent with the technique she is using?

From what I've read she just does the temporary one but I could be wrong and I'm sure Joe will fill us in. I think it's temporary because it does not go as deep? Not sure though.

[NeedHairASAP]

Originally Posted by Jotronic

So as I am writing this I am facedown down having SMP by Milena into my donor scar. I have to say this is pretty cool. I also had a bit of fill in along my part line and my mid scalp. I'll report back when I'm done.

Btw, Dr. Hasson is now the first person to have SMP by Milena Lardì in North America.

Will the tattooed area affect that area's yield in subsequent hair transplants? if the hair were to happen to be transplanted in the same spot that was tattooed?

is there any micro-scarring?

[Kiwi]

Originally Posted by NeedHairASAP

Will the tattooed area affect that area's yield in subsequent hair transplants? if the hair were to happen to be transplanted in the same spot that was tattooed?

is there any micro-scarring?

Shouldn't, I've got tatoos and hair still grows through

[Jotronic]

Hey guys,

I've been very busy at the office so I apologize for not being so forthcoming about Milena's visit last week. At the same time, I'm allowing my thoughts about the experience to gel a bit more before I dive head long into a full review. Her visit was primarily to allow us a proper view of the SMP world and how this works so we can evaluate it's effectiveness. Because I'm the one that revealed this option to North America I feel a responsibility to be a bit reserved until I can evaluate it fully. I'll share my thoughts thus far by pasting some comments I made in another thread...

I think it is important to keep something in mind here fellas. This version of SMP is not new. It is only new to us in North America. Milena has been performing this procedure for a few years in Italy and she has a long list of clients. If this was not what it appears to be then there would be plenty of evidence to refute what is being presented. I have yet to see a single case of this ink turning color (blue or green) and there are plenty of cases to look at. I have only seen cases of where it is working as claimed and then when it fades it does eventually disappear as I showed in my previous thread.

I'd also like to get something else cleared up. This is not a "tattoo". The ink is obviously different as is the application. The needles are different (smaller?) and the machine is different. The machine is purchased from a company that sells to all kinds of clients that perform similar makeup applications (eyebrows, lips, etc.) but Milena has had a custom circuit board designed that is proprietary for her purposes. The depth of application is more shallow (.5mm) than tattooing and it will not fade into a blotch and from what I have seen thus far it will not change color either.

Regarding Milena Lardi, I feel that she and her husband/business partner are good people. They've been in the cosmetic micro-pigmentation business since 1992. They started doing scalp micropigmentation a few years ago. Their machine and technique are being used by the dermatology department at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan (a 1400 bed facility) where, if I understand correctly, burn victims benefit from Milena's SMP. Milena also works with the hospital by performing pro-bono areola reconstruction for breast cancer survivors and the work is outstanding.

Who can benefit from this?

1. Those patients that are so diffused even in their donor zones that surgery of any kind is a non-option. Filling in the top of the scalp as well as the donor zone, with a buzz cut, can be quite good.

2. Those that have had surgery in the past but are either tapped out or just don't want to go in for more work and need a top up of density can also benefit. For instance, my left part line is a bit wider than I'd like as an ideal and I've considered having Dr. Wong run a few grafts down this line for added density but I decided to let Milena have a go and it did help to tighten this area up a bit. It was only minor work so I did not have a miraculous before/after transformation and in fact others around me may find it challenging to see any real difference but it is something that I notice and I'm pleased with it.

3. Those that have not had surgery can benefit if they aren't ready for surgery and only have minor needs. Dr. Hasson has had a thinning crown for years. Ten years ago he started finasteride and it reversed the loss enough that he opted not to have Dr. Wong fill it. It hasn't been an issue since but he did lie down on the table (at Dr. Wong's suggestion) and allow Milena to fill it in. It worked but it is not a miracle. Instead of high density coverage he has a mild semi-permanent light Toppik effect. This can also work for those patients that have not lost enough hair to justify surgery but have lost enough hair to be noticeable. By filling in between the existing hairs the result can be quite good. I saw this on a patient in Italy back in March when I first met Milena. I know this patient personally so I know what the looked like before the treatment.

4. Patients with scarring. This does not only apply to hair transplant scars but to any scarring. The challenge here is that the physical make up of scar tissue is vastly different from skin tissue and the ink can "take" differently. Scar tissue requires a test application to see how it works. If the scar tissue is softer then the ink can spread somewhat and create a larger than intended dot. This isn't because the ink is failing but rather because the tissue is more permeable and the ink finds it's way into more nooks and crannies so to speak. Harder scar tissue works better. It takes ten days however for the test patch to be evaluated and if the result is positive then a full pass can be performed with a secondary pass as a touch up performed the next day.

If one falls under a more aggressive Norwood level and there is little to no hair in the recipient area then this is not a miracle cure. There is no third dimension to the result (actual hair standing up on the scalp) so if one gets too close and takes more than a passing glance at a patient's head then they may notice something that is "off" about the result. I can't say whether or not it would be obvious that there is ink where there should be hair but to one that knows anything about hair restoration it would be easier to pick out. To the casual observer from five to ten feet away it may be fine.

Finally, just because I had this done and even Dr. Hasson had it done does not mean that everyone else should rush to do the same and it should not be taken as an official endorsement, yet. What I do to myself has nothing to do with what anyone else should think of this. My reasoning was simple. The amount of work done is insignificant compared to what I've already undergone via surgery and if it was a failure for whatever reason (I could not think of any to be honest) then it would not be visible to anyone around me. I know this won't turn blue on my head and I know it won't be permanent so I saw no real risk.

As I learn more I'll share more.

Matt,
Milena does not offer a permanent option as I did ask this of her specifically. I believe the nature of a permanent solution would increase the chances of splotching but I can't be sure.

NeedhairASAP,

I concur with Kiwi. The needle that Melina uses is only a 30 gauge so it is much smaller than any needle or blade used for hair restoration surgery. 30 gauge is equivalent to .25 mm and the needle only goes .5mm deep. While any cut can scar the degree of micro scarring is indeed "micro" and far less than one would get through a multiple (much less a single) hair transplant surgeries.