SMP in Seattle

[vandelae]

This is my first post, but I can promise I have absolutely no affiliation with any person or company in the hair restoration field, that seems to be an issue sometimes here. I'm a 52 yr old man with hair loss beginning around 25 years ago, and I have been shaving my head ever since.

I've been curious about SMP for about 6 months, and as luck would have it, hair clinic had a little open house this past Friday in Seattle where they have recently opened an office in a downtown medical building. So I went for a consultation with, who was in town for the open house.

His head looks pretty darn good. He told me his last touch up was 7 years ago. My first glance at him, when he entered the waiting room and I did not know who he was, had me thinking his hairline looked natural. It frames his face the way a real hairline would. Upon further close examination, in the consultation area, I retained a very good impression of what the SMP treatment looked like. I had to look very carefully to see where his actual hair started and the SMP stopped. I think Ian is probably a 6 or 7 on the Norwood scale, which is what I am also.

Did his head look absolutely, perfectly, like a shaved head with a full head of hair? Almost, but not exactly. I didn't see individual hair follicles in the treated area of his scalp so much on very close examination. Still, it looked pretty natural to me. It looked like you would not know unless you were told and you looked very carefully. It looked like it would fool at least 99% of the casual observers you might come across. And since he had his done so long ago, I'm hopeful that my treatment will be as good or possibly better, since they've had lots of time to improve their techniques and tools.

One thing I regret is that my girlfriend could not make it due to work. I was dying to get a second opinion from her, she has a great eye and is very skeptical of this SMP thing.

I also got to see a guy in the treatment room getting his head done. He was only 30 minutes or so into the treatment and I asked him if it hurt. He said it stung a little bit but no big deal. I wished him luck.

So I'm almost sure I'm going to go ahead with the SMP procedure. I'm not really desperate about solving my baldness, I've lived this way for a long time already and life is good. But this seems like it will make an improvement to my life and I'm all for making improvements.

Anyone want to talk me out of this? I'm all ears. I don't want to do something I regret. But if seeing is believing, I'm now a believer. I'll post some before and afters if I do the treatment. And if anyone has any questions I'll be happy to do my best to answer them.

Aaron

[Kayman]

This is my first post, but I can promise I have absolutely no affiliation with any person or company in the hair restoration field, that seems to be an issue sometimes here. I'm a 52 yr old man with hair loss beginning around 25 years ago, and I have been shaving my head ever since.

I've been curious about SMP for about 6 months, and as luck would have it, HIS hair had a little open house this past Friday in Seattle where they have recently opened an office in a downtown medical building. So I went for a consultation with Ian, who was in town for the open house.

Ian's head looks pretty darn good. He told me his last touch up was 7 years ago. My first glance at him, when he entered the waiting room and I did not know who he was, had me thinking his hairline looked natural. It frames his face the way a real hairline would. Upon further close examination, in the consultation area, I retained a very good impression of what the SMP treatment looked like. I had to look very carefully to see where his actual hair started and the SMP stopped. I think Ian is probably a 6 or 7 on the Norwood scale, which is what I am also.

Did his head look absolutely, perfectly, like a shaved head with a full head of hair? Almost, but not exactly. I didn't see individual hair follicles in the treated area of his scalp so much on very close examination. Still, it looked pretty natural to me. It looked like you would not know unless you were told and you looked very carefully. It looked like it would fool at least 99% of the casual observers you might come across. And since he had his done so long ago, I'm hopeful that my treatment will be as good or possibly better, since they've had lots of time to improve their techniques and tools.

One thing I regret is that my girlfriend could not make it due to work. I was dying to get a second opinion from her, she has a great eye and is very skeptical of this SMP thing.

I also got to see a guy in the treatment room getting his head done. He was only 30 minutes or so into the treatment and I asked him if it hurt. He said it stung a little bit but no big deal. I wished him luck.

So I'm almost sure I'm going to go ahead with the SMP procedure. I'm not really desperate about solving my baldness, I've lived this way for a long time already and life is good. But this seems like it will make an improvement to my life and I'm all for making improvements. For treatments in the Seattle clinic they bring one of their LA practitioners up, so they don't currently have any openings until May.

Anyone want to talk me out of this? I'm all ears. I don't want to do something I regret. But if seeing is believing, I'm now a believer. I'll post some before and afters if I do the treatment. And if anyone has any questions I'll be happy to do my best to answer them.

Aaron

Welcome to the Forum. It's a bit of a mixed bag on this site when it comes to the opinion of this kind of treatment. Essentially it's a head tattoo and the most common concerns are whether the ink will fade over time (which it will most likely) will it retain shape or spread out over time and turn blotchy and lastly will it turn green / blue under constant UV exposure.
I personally wouldn't be willing to risk it, 10 years you could be happy as Larry then your scalp starts to turn blue and patchy. If it's the route you wish to go down then I wish you all the best with it and hope you achieve your desired result.

[topcat]

Yes I agree it could turn into a blob of ink over time and when it fades where does the ink go, do you know?

[vandelae]

Welcome to the Forum. It's a bit of a mixed bag on this site when it comes to the opinion of this kind of treatment. Essentially it's a head tattoo and the most common concerns are whether the ink will fade over time (which it will most likely) will it retain shape or spread out over time and turn blotchy and lastly will it turn green / blue under constant UV exposure.
I personally wouldn't be willing to risk it, 10 years you could be happy as Larry then your scalp starts to turn blue and patchy. If it's the route you wish to go down then I wish you all the best with it and hope you achieve your desired result.

I've read quite a bit of feedback similar to yours on this forum. I'm just wondering who is saying this? Are there any direct links you can give me to posts by other men who've actually had these bad experiences with SMP?

[Kayman]

I've read quite a bit of feedback similar to yours on this forum. I'm just wondering who is saying this? Are there any direct links you can give me to posts by other men who've actually had these bad experiences with SMP?

The gamble is the procedure hasn't been around long enough for people to really know. Nobody knows if in 10 or 15 years the ink starts to change color or fade drastically or become splotchy because the treatment is relatively new. I know they promise inks that dont change color but I think after several years of sun exposure (particularly in summer or if you live in a hot climate) you're going to see some sort of change. This color change or splotching issue / question seems to be a common concern on many forums. In terms of artistry HIS are a safe bet.

[vandelae]

Thanks Kayman,

It does give me pause - to consider getting a procedure like this that does not have enough time behind it to see what the actual long term results are. And while I like to believe they are actually using pigments and techniques that might be less prone to fading and discoloration, I understand there is no guarantee there will not be problems in the future with the SMP procedure, even with the best provider.

Some people have to be innovators and then some have to be early adapters for any technology, and what I'm hoping and counting on is that as more men continue to have SMP the industry will move forward and continue to evolve. This ideally means more problems will give rise to an industry providing better solutions. If there's money to be made there will certainly be more innovative, entrepreneurial folks out there working on this SMP thing. God bless capitalism.

Anyway, your advice and concern is greatly appreciated, and I'll try to go into this armed with as much information as I can possibly get.

[topcat]

The fact is the guys who had tattooing done 10 years ago posted a few years later that it turned into a big blob of either blue or green ink. The fact is that tattoo ink has been found as black gook built up in the lymph nodes of bodies that have been examined. The fact is these are very harsh statements but when there is money to be made you will not hear about from those making the cash.

Don’t expect those guys from 10 years ago to be posting as they have all moved on I have not. You could very well be posting in 3-4 years and hopefully it will not be something negative.

[Jotronic]

I'm not really desperate about solving my baldness, I've lived this way for a long time already and life is good. But this seems like it will make an improvement to my life and I'm all for making improvements.

This statement leads me to suggest you just forget about this and move on. The SMP you are considering is permanent and there is no guarantee provided by the company that offers this that says it will not turn blue or green with time. Once it's done it's done and it will take several painful sessions with laser to remove it.

[vandelae]

I really do appreciate the input everyone - thank you.

I'd be most interested, though, in hearing from some people who have actually had SMP done. I understand it might turn green, it might turn blue, it might migrate into my lymph nodes, it might turn into a giant set of blotches on my head, I might look like a clown when my hair goes grey. I understand some of you think tattooing one's head is an incredibly stupid idea. I get all that. And I respect your opinions.

But is there anyone out there with some real life experience they'd like to share? That's what I'm trying to do here - share my experience and connect with others who can share their experiences. I've read quite a bit of negative feedback about SMP on this forum, I just haven't heard from very many people who've actually had it done.

[Goose4]

I will tell you something I have experienced with this.

I found myself looking into this as a solution for me, im young, thought maybe the short cut would suit me, so i decided to go for a consultation with a clinic that offered this treatment. They promised me that the end results would be undetectable and look natural. So they signed me up for a model for their training class. I was certain that, although i woiuld be getting it done by students, the trainer would supervise and make sure everything went smoothly. And so it did, they did the front of my head to restore my hairline, and everything looked good. Unfortunately, i needed another session just to add a little bit more density and make it look a little more natural. I was happy with it for the first couple of days, my skin was still red an irritated so i did everything i could to prevent anyone from seeing my head until the redness went away. Anyways, this is now a couple months after, and i chose not to go back for the next session to continue with the SMP because it basically disappeared. the micro dots almost completely vanished, and the spots that I could still see did not look natural at all, it looked like too perfect of a dot. I dont worry about it now because my first treatment has pretty much disappeared so much so I can barely see it, nobody can notice it. The clinic I went to had lots of satisfied paying customers. I did not have to pay a dime because i was being used for a training class, which saved me lots of money, but gladly I didnt pay anything for something that has almost disappeared completely after a month and a half. Ive seen lots of stories on the net of great results and im sure most people turn out to have a good look, im not sure what happens years after they are done. But this is just my story that i thought i would share to you.

cheeers guys!

[northeastguy]

@ Goose.... can you share with us the clinic you tested?

@ Vandelae.... Before you jump into anything Permanent, look into the temporary process like Tricopigmentation. Hell, I have no problem traveling to Italy if the process is safer (told the material used is organic), more realistic, and guaranteed not to blotch, change color. Also, if the process isn't the look you like, it'll fade after a couple years and your not "stuck".

The process will be offered here by 3 HT clinics which is nice. but my concern is going to be the amount of experience the technicians will have before they start. The results we are seeing from Milena of Beauty medical looks great because she has done it for years and most likely 1000's of them. I'm not likely going to jump into a seat to have someone practice on me.

.... just think this out and do your research.