tattoo micropigmentation self trial, PICS!

hey guys, i am a newbie here but i was looking for ways to treat my baldness. im 30 and have been balding since my early 20s and have been shaving my head since i was 25.

anyway i dont want to go the HT or meds route so i was looking for other alternatives and came across tattooing.of course i had concerns with blobs, color changing,etc. but the FAQs section REALLY HAD ME CONSIDERING THE PROCEDURE.

ANYWAYS... i am bored at home drinking some beers when i tried to picture what i would look like then BAM! got the idea. i went and got my wife's mascara and dabbed the little brush on my bald spots. for me doing this the very first time it looked pretty good so i took some pics.

then i decided to show my wife, and she was puzzled like "you look different" i said "in a good way?? she said "hmmm,you look younger... wait you have HAIR!" of course i was happy,i showed her up close and we had a good laugh. i told her "i should of done this on our wedding day!':D
the thing is at first she didnt want me to get the procedure but she realized how it made me feel and now she supports my decision.

i do have concerns such as
-fading
-blobbing
-dots too big
-permanent
-real hair turning grey (although there is no history of greyness in my fam)
-gotta keep my head buzzed for life ( i like my head shaved anyway tho)
-looks too fake,etc


cant think of anything else at the moment, but you get what im saying

before you talk sh!t, just know i did this just to see what it was like and thought i would share.
i would really like some feedback on this procedure, im trying to do as much research as possible

p.s yes i kno it looks fake, it totally IS fake, i did it with my wife's mascara

We all understand how badly you want to look like you have your hair back, but I promise you that this is a really BAD IDEA! You are going to be sealing your fate with a lifetime of touchups that will evenly be imposable to make look natural. You will no longer be able to expose your head to sunlight and even if the shading looks natural from a social distance it will not once someone gets within 1 foot of you. It’s a ridiculous concept that you will regret having done in the future.

delphi,
-do you know anyone personally who has gotten this procedure done?
-have you done any kind of hair restoration?

i read on one site that no touch ups are necessary, i have no hair left on top and i dont really know what options i have.

im pretty much refusing to do HT or drugs,plus a hair piece is way out of the question. if you have more info for me id appreciate it,i just started researching this procedure and i cant find much info.
of course i wont do it without FULLY finding out all angles negative and positive

Slothy, I don’t personally know anyone who was dumb enough to have this “procedure” done. Don’t be desperate and make a stupid decision. These boards are here for a couple of reasons and one to help desperate uniformed people to make smart decisions before it’s too late.
Good luck!

so how is it a 'dumb' procedure? n youre not really helping out here either

compared to other treatments,this is fairly new

when HT and all these other treatments first came out people said they were dumb as well..
thats why im trying to get as much info as i can

Slothy, it’s not a “procedure” it’s a tattoo! You’re considering having your head permanently tattooed with thousands of little dots. I’m sorry if you don’t think that I’m helping, because I'm attempting to help you avoid disaster.

i got over 20 tats so im not really worried about permanent ink.
AND its not a big tattoo piece on my head like some freaks.

its more like tiny specs scattered on your dome to replicate buzzed hair follicles. needles are minute compared to a standard tattoo needle which leaves a dot bigger than a hair follicle.

i mean, if i was rich or patient enough to wait till technology on HT or other treatment blows out the water then i might consider those.
like i said i barely got on this forum and barely started thinking about all options.

i understand the cons so no, youre not helping at all here, id appreciate it if you didnt post in this thread anymore.

Yeah, I guess you now it all. It’s your funeral, I did my best to warn you.
Good luck!:)

Yes, you did your best. Thank you Captain Obvious for your tons of useful and factual information.

So anyone out there with REAL knowledge and experience with this procedure?
All the pros and cons of your involvement would be great.

I think it looks pretty dam good. Thanks for sharing and let us know how you make out.

Is there any reason you can't get this tattoo and then at a later date if you decide you want a hari transplant you couldn't get one?

thanks for sharing.

how much would it cost to get a tattoo like your considering?

JB

...the ink used is easier to remove than standard tattoo ink.

The official name of the procedure is Micro Pigment Implantation. I think it was invented primarily to cover up scarred areas of the scalp where hair does not grow.

Personally, I wouldn't do it, but I know a guy who did do it and was pleased with the results. He wears a hairpiece (a very good one) but his remaining hair is very, very thin. He used the tattooing to add "fullness" only on the perimeter area that the hairpiece doesn't cover.

If you decide to do it, check the credentials of the person who will be doing the procedure.

I know a friend who did this and was happy at first, but within two years it looked like crap! I always thought it looked fake, but since he was happy I didn't say anything. Now he’s trying to have the tattoos removed but might be left with depigmentation and some scaring. I feel sorry for him.

I used to sell a concealer that was in a mascara tube but it went to the way side. But it was really targeting people with your type of hair. It was really durable and waterproof unlike mascara. But people kept crapping on my idea but those that bought it like it. I can't even get the materials to make it anymore it got too expensive.

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Originally Posted by JonB.

I think it looks pretty dam good. Thanks for sharing and let us know how you make out.

Is there any reason you can't get this tattoo and then at a later date if you decide you want a hari transplant you couldn't get one?

thanks for sharing.

how much would it cost to get a tattoo like your considering?

JB

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actually the pics ive seen with HT plus the micropigmentation procedure looks amazing. people get the HT first and then fill in with the ink, looks great.

and the one place,artistry concepts, i heard charges $250/hr

@BaldBob and @amadeus

you wouldnt happen to have pics would you?

I highly doubt that my friend is interested in going public with this issue. Trust me, it’s a big problem for him now!

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Originally Posted by amadeus

I highly doubt that my friend is interested in going public with this issue. Trust me, it’s a big problem for him now!

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we dont need to see his face, just his head.

i have seen pics online of this procedure, but i havent seen a whole bunch.
HT has millions of pics online but not so many for micropigmentation.

i would want to see thousands of pictures to see how good AND bad it is. Seeing bad jobs too definitely help out the decision makings

There is a place in the U.K called Hishairclinic and there results look pretty good. Some of the hairlines are a little to straight but depending on the look your going for that can be modified. If it makes you feel better about yourself, then why not..

Be careful of the place in England, their procedure will fade and you will be required to keep coming back for touch ups at additional costs. I have also been thinking about this and have done alot of investigating. It seems that Artistry Conceipts in Fl stands out. They show pics after the procedure outside in sunlight, not doctored inside pics. He seems to be the only one who discusses the size of the needle which needs to be small enough to duplicate a hair follicle. He has a patent pending for his equipment which says something. The main concern I have is that there is not many pics six months to a yr post procedure. I wish some guys would post updated pics.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SLOTHY

@BaldBob and @amadeus

you wouldnt happen to have pics would you?

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hello,yes thats what im thinking=WHERE ARE ANY PICS ?
have you seen any yet?
you can get ahold of me at curiousg237@gmail.com

ANYONE ??

Warning - this is a long post - I've clearly spent way too much time thinking about this stuff - but for anyone in my shoes, there's likely some interesting stuff here.

I'm probably an expert on this subject by now - but I'm still confused. I have been down the road of all concealers - and what the OP did in his 'test' I do every day and have for YEARS. Toppik worked very well, but then one day I decided to shave my head - and now I use one of a couple of concealers and I'm able to get it to look absolutely PERFECT without much time.

{I even used that DermMatch ages ago (when it first came out) - and peeled off the label and realized it was just $8.00 cake makeup with a new label put on and charged at $20!!!! (It was either Kryolin or Ben-Nye or something).}

With that said, i have a huge advantage - no significant balding, no big bald spot, no major receding hairline, etc. I have DIFFUSE thinning - which has been every bit as much a pain in my ass as the bald spots and everything else for others - so that diffuse thinning makes concealers very useful (and I think there are quite a few people out there like me who see these tattoo things as a POTENTIAL Godsend.)

Now, I'm still doing the concealer thing and I've found that one eyeliner in particular (I think that's what it is) and, believe it or not, QVC's Joan Rivers fake hair stuff actually works the best. It's the same kind of concept as an eyeliner.

Back to the tattoos - so I was reading another thread in this forum (it seems like every couple months I do another Google search for "scalp tattoo" or something similar to see any new developments) - and I came across the post where the Artistry guy in FL is arguing with a guy here. Now the art guy's photos on his site look great - BUT the guy in this forum had a good point - the dots on the poster's hairline looked huge, blue, and awful. So after being THIS CLOSE to taking the plunge, I'm confused again - especially since the art guy seems so damn smug.

I will tell you, though, that for diffuse thinning -this concept seems sound. I'm in my early 40's and while my hair seems overall MORE diffuse than it was, I don't have any noteable BALDING... so I'm FAIRLY okay with the idea of not worrying too much about the future - since I do have a lot of hair comparatively speaking. The other thing is that the concealing method I use (and right now my hair is shaved to 1/16") works INCREDIBLY well (with some tricks I've learned). It's just basically working on this principle- the less contrast I can get between my hair and my scalp, the more hair it looks like I have. As such, the more tan I am, the better it looks (another issue with the tattoo).

The thing is, though, that the way the concealer goes on is more like a solid - almost as though my head got super tan and that changes the contrast level - the end result is great - but would tons of little dots do it? Especially if I wanted my hair at, say, 1/8" instead of 1/16"??? Add in the potential problem with fading, etc. - and even though I was super close to taking the plunge - I'm still worried, confused, etc. It certainly doesn't help that it seems like the FL guy doesn't like open debate and was apparently banned from here.

One thing I did find that is super intriguing was at this blog: www.baldingblog.com - there are a couple posts where someone asks about this subject and the author, Dr. Rassman, says he doesn't think these tattoos are a good idea, HOWEVER, HE DOES HAVE ONE PATIENT who apparently did his OWN scalp tatoo with some kind of non-permanent, redo it every few weeks strategy (e.g. henna) - and the doctor says it actually looks great. I'm very, very interested in this and have asked him to provide more details - but he hasn't. My impression is that that guy is either very artistic or is actually a tattoo artist, and he does it on himself, and it supposedly works well. And the huge thing that's the biggest bonus is the idea of something NON PERMANENT that you re-do every few weeks or months. The thing is, in the past, I researched henna until the cows came home and couldn't find anything that would keep from looking too red - and further, just never found it as a viable option.

To not have to put this shit on my scalp each day, though, would be great. It's actually not that bad since I shaved my head - and it doesn't come off i with sweat. The only downside is that my pillowcases are always covered in brown shit (gross).

So to continue my quest - I have even ordered transparent anti-shine makeup - thinking that (1) the concealer, followed by (2) the anti-shine/glare makeup will be a great solution. I further wonder if the tatto itself impacts the shine/glare. On the one hand you would think NO, but on the other, maybe it works on the same principle as the black crap football players put under their eyes to keep the glare away?

The other thing I've found about the tattoos - is that to a 'T' the hairlines look ridiculous. Rather than hairlines, they look more like helmets - so I wouldn't let anyone touch mine, and luckily, I wouldn't need to. I think the chief problem is that these tattoo people put these unnatural, solid lines for hairlines - when it should not be solid, but instead, somewhat uneven. What's more, I think even different shades of color should be used to simulate natural velous (sp) hairs.

Hopefully someone else can provide insight into that self-tattooer...that would be great. But may main takeaway is that I'm still unsure and unconvinced - but DO BELIEVE this is a perfectly viable and potentially good solution for people in my shoes - and even for people who've lost tons of hair but are willing to shave to near nothing or nothing - it can still look pretty good (as long as that fade and green issue isn't too bad). IMPORTANTLY, this sense could be all wrong sense I haven't seen anyone in person - but it SEEMS (based on a number of pictures) - that if you keep them away from your hairline - this can actually look pretty damn good. And frankly, in the close-ups - I have to assume that if someone put my makeup-covered head under a microscope, they might notice somethings too! :-) That's the big paradox - part of me things "it could work" and part of me thinks "it will fail miserably!"

And regarding the fading and the blue color, unfortunately, I don't know anything about tattoos and all the tattoo experts chiming in seem to be contradicting each other. I do know that recently a special tattoo came out that is NON PERMANENT and readily removed with lasers. Some may say that's been out for years, but this is apparently a big deal. Upon further research it appears that it has a special property that makes itmuch, much easier to remove with lasers than regular tatoo ink. for a while, It thught that could be my salvation. But alas, no!

Still confused.

@drat- how about you post some pictures?

would love to see about the concealer, i have my hair buzzed but i want to cover some bald spots..

i think the more hair you have,the better! obviously! duh! hah

but i also want to do this,as soon as i get my shit lasered off,i think i will take the plunge,i mean worse case scenario if it looks like crap,i can laser it off like im doing now or i can wear a hat ,but i think AC does a fantastic job

and i can wear a hat because im self employed,but still who wants to wear a hat all day everyday

i dont see how people say it looks fake,alot of pictures ive seen look pretty freakin good,i think the less white you are,the better to be honest! those are the ones that look best in my opinion

Just a thought. What happens when the hair on the sides of your hair go grey and you still have black dots on the top of your head? That's presuming the ink hasn't gone blue by then of course.

Always fancied the shaved skunk look have you?

It’s a really bad idea to have this done for many reasons including the one you mentioned!

hey can anybody tell how to view some pics.. keep clicking on profile of those wHo claim they posted pics and don't see any icons for photos or albums.. been considering this for quite some time and wld love to see some results

maybe its just me but i feel liquidish's pic on the testimonials portion of the AC website looks terrible.. but i also feel as though liquidish did this long b4 Mark of AC developed the ACHM2 method he now uses and with that said, can't use that completely against Mark.. i do feel if done right it is a great solution for us balding men, considering u wouldn't mind having your head shaved at all times.. I'm hoping someone can provide me with good feedback, if you've done it or knows someone who has - feel free to let us know

hey all have been researching micropigmentation like crazy, have spoken to a few specialists in the uk ************* and headstyl, also spoke to leading micropigmentation specialists at harley street who dont know too much bout the clinics i mentioned. however spoke to a client who has had the procedure done on his crown area. he mentioned that nerves run up and down ure scalp and somtimes the needle would hit them and make him sneeze. that got thinking that maybe this treatment could cause paralysis of the face or somthing. once again just thinking out loudly. im far from a doc but really interested in the whole micropigmentation thing. really wanna do it but making sure iresearch it like crazy b4. another few things i found out is one should always get a alergy test to see how his skin reacts to it which comes in the form of apatch and should be worn 4 48 hours, lastly found out although the ink is very pure and natural enough to drink it contains iron oxide which can possibly cause problems in mri procedures. really wanna do it but apprehensive at this moment

kobra- i think ur gettin to deep wit it, a tattoo is a tattoo, millions of people have'm... granted the pigments being used maybe a bit diffirent but at the end of the day its relatively a tat.. i know we're all skeptical and we should be but i think this will help in many ways for those who choose to do it. reason being, its not as costly as an ht which i personally wld never consider doing, no offense to those who consider doing or have done them just I wouldn't stoop to that, not for me.. there are no scars, results are natural looking if done with a professional, i feel that it gives your face and forehead more of a squared look than that of an oval shaped Batman figure look and that'll help extremely with confidence wether its at a job interviewor in the general public: clubs, bars, parks, gym, family gatherings, etc.. u know

Micropigmentation should be looked at as an option depending on the amount of area you want to cover. You need to find a technician like Athena Karsant who has offices in SF Francisco and Beverly Hills. A majority of her business comes from doctors who respect her technical and artistic work. She does fabulous paramedical tattoo and works with her clients over a year contract to develop the look her clients are striving for.

Anyone that claims they can do your tattoo in one visit with a follow-up the following day is WRONG! Follow up visits need to occur 3-6 weeks after a procedure to allow any swelling to subside, and to allow for healing time to understand how a particular person reacts to the pigment. (Absorption and color matching will vary depending on body chemistry, etc...) Anyone promising a quick fix is wrong. It's semi-permanent and will require touchups from time to time over the years.

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Originally Posted by Dazzleme

Micropigmentation should be looked at as an option depending on the amount of area you want to cover. You need to find a technician like Athena Karsant who has offices in SF Francisco and Beverly Hills. A majority of her business comes from doctors who respect her technical and artistic work. She does fabulous paramedical tattoo and works with her clients over a year contract to develop the look her clients are striving for.

Anyone that claims they can do your tattoo in one visit with a follow-up the following day is WRONG! Follow up visits need to occur 3-6 weeks after a procedure to allow any swelling to subside, and to allow for healing time to understand how a particular person reacts to the pigment. (Absorption and color matching will vary depending on body chemistry, etc...) Anyone promising a quick fix is wrong. It's semi-permanent and will require touchups from time to time over the years.

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You sound like a salesperson (shill) for this Athena Karsant person, or maybe you are her?????? I have been looking into this to, and that lady uses permanent cosmetic ink that disappears no matter what you do. my mom had eyebrows done the same way and they were gone in a year (and they were blue) from that junk ink......

everyone is trying to do this stuff now, maybe we all should just wait until a later time when we see more.

No I'm not Athena!!! However I know her work and she receives numerous referrals from reknown plasic surgeons and hair transplant Drs for scar camouflague. I posted this because I think people should know that tattoo should be considered as an option. Will it work for everyone? No. But there are some horrible transplants out there as well. No cosmetic tattoo will last forever. Depending on the person's body chemistry, medications they're taking, how much they go in the sun, have skin lazer treatments, or the types of shampoo and skin care products they use. This is why Athena works with clients over a year. She can tweak the color or the depth of the pigment for each client. She is not saying come in and in one or two visits to complete the job...

Yes I'd be skeptical of a technician claiming to replicate a full head of hair with tattoo. However, for a majority of scars or even hair thining, it's an option that should be considered. But just like anything, do research on the technician and make sure they have sound referrals! Good luck.

Dazleme, have you seen the work of Mark Weston of Artistry Concepts?.. he seems to be the go to guy for this procedure and his work appears pretty convincing even on those who barely have hair, with flying colors.. idk Daz, but it feels like ur tryin sell something or you r really tryin to get AC's attention. I do however feel that not everyone is da same. what may look good on one person may not be the case for da next, and u may have a point as far as discoloration. we're all different skin types so who trully knows how ones skin will react in the future.. i still think Mark is da best at this, and so far haven't heard anyone complain.

I'm looked at AC's work and it looks very good as does HIS in the UK. I posted on here because I've had cosmetic tattoo done with Athena, and over my few visits with her have watched her repair scars including hair transplant with very impressive results. I was curious what others were doing and found this site. I thought I'd let people know that there is someone on the West Coast that you might want to check out if you're considering a non surgical solution. This is not a one time process so if you don't want to spend your money to fly to Florida or the UK, there's an option in CA that comes with top Dr, and client recommendations. Good luck.

To Dazz: well it seemed to me as though u hit AC with a lowblow and thought no one saw it.. u mentioned pretty much every guarantee and procedure process that AC stands by and u were totally against it.. now idk for sure if their true to their word but then again no complaints or any statements to the contrary.. you'd think if so, someone wld've put that out there somewhere.. I'm extremely skeptical about this but if i wanted to do this today it'd only be done by AC.. But on a positive note, if ur satisfied with the job u had done then good for u.. now ppl on da westcoast know there's someone out there they can do research on n possibly giv it a shot.

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Originally Posted by Bubb729

To Dazz: well it seemed to me as though u hit AC with a lowblow and thought no one saw it.. u mentioned pretty much every guarantee and procedure process that AC stands by and u were totally against it.. now idk for sure if their true to their word but then again no complaints or any statements to the contrary.. you'd think if so, someone wld've put that out there somewhere.. I'm extremely skeptical about this but if i wanted to do this today it'd only be done by AC.. But on a positive note, if ur satisfied with the job u had done then good for u.. now ppl on da westcoast know there's someone out there they can do research on n possibly giv it a shot.

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Funny thing about this Dazz...After I saw her post the other day I decided to contact them as I am also looking into this. Well, Dazz is definitelty a plant for this Athena person, actually an employee. In the response to my email she forgot to remove the forwarding information. That info is as follows and I quote "I bet this came from my posting on the hair forum. Good luck. Ev" So Evelyn, you've been caught as a shill. How about the fact that I asked about the "Athena Technique." You claim it is trademarked, well sweetie, I did a trademark search and guess what, NOTHING. Not surprised. I wonder what else they' re hiding and not being truthful about....I check out businesses in depth as this is what I do for a living. So guys, whoever you do business with make sure you check out and have them substantiate their claims. And this if for any type of business.

I think if you look through my posts I never made any false claims nor did I discredit any other business out there! I'm not a paid employee of Athena. I was/am a client and given the quality of her work I offered to help her in my spare time...

Several of her clients told her to get involved with these forums and believe it or not, this is the first time we (I) posted. I take it you all don't want technicians to post and just clients??? Got it!

"Larry" - Her webmaster jumped the gun and the TM is being removed. It was an honest oversite... Thanks for bringing it to her attention.

Athena's work speaks for itself as does her referrals. She's happy to meet with anyone for a free consultation.

Alright, now that weve ID'd Dazz the shill, can we get back on track with our balding problems? I personally dont like women coming here and trying to sell their service....this is a mans world here. What could they possibly know about how hair loss really effects us? I thought businesses werent allowed here to pitch their stuff. thanks to HairLarry for doing his homework. I am thinking more and more about this tattoo thing it would sure make my life easier. i probably wont make any commitments until my kids return to school though.

WOW!!.. Dazz - hand in the pot.. ouch

so has anyone tried a using the non-permanent henna for this?