BaldKen2

And again, I strongly suspect that HIS does not employ a true permanent smp method based on their own clients reporting fading. At this link:(link removed by moderator) one of the HIS Forums most popular diary posters has reported significant fading after just 2 years post smp. Look at the photos he posted on posts #13, #15, #16. These photos look just like a bald guy who has never even had SMP.

Anytime my head will be exposed to sunlight for more than 30 minutes, before I go outside I put sunscreen spf 50 on my entire head, after it dries I put on an Under Armor skull cap, and on top of that I put on a hat or baseball cap. Maybe seems like overkill but I havent had any fading to date. Yes you should ask Matt the exact pigment he uses and other details. Many people do not realize this, but it is actually your right as a client to possess a copy of your chart. Your chart should include all details of your SMP treatment, including Pigment brand and type-(inorganic or orgainic, iron oxides etc.), Needle details etc. If a Clinic refuses you this information they could actually be sued. Most people don't know they have rights to this. It looks good in the pic, especially after only one session. I think hairline looks fine, I wouldn't mess with it, but it is your head and the only opinion that matters is your own.

LOL wasn't being dramatic, just stating a fact. Yes HIS has some really good marketing, part of the reason they are leading by a large margin. I don't know if HIS' approach is more temporary, I am simply guessing that it is based on their many clients who report significant fading in short periods of time post smp.

Wylie, I am not sure how familiar you are with HIS hair's smp work, but their top US practitioner is now doing SMP at Headstrong, the place Thunder went to, so I have a hunch that Headstrong uses essentially the same method as HIS and creates very similar results. HIS hair produces dots that are quite large initially, but it has been well documented that they shrink significantly within 3-5 weeks. Don't ask me to explain why this is. I have a good idea of the science behind it and could ramble off a bunch of Macrophage immune cell autonomic responses, but in all honesty I don't know why HIS hair's dots start out large and then shrink and most of the other providers' dots are not large initially. The place I went the dots were just as small initially as they are now. HIS hair smp work takes quite a few sessions, 4-6 for most men, to get the pigment to "take". Also, most of their clients seem to report significant fading within 1.5 to 3 years. I would imagine that HIS is more of a temporary SMP than permanent, and that might suit some people quite well b/c many do not want it to be permanent. I prefer the permanent SMP that will fade, but not as quickly and completely. The reason I am mentioning HIS Hair so much as it relates to Thunder and Headstrong, is again b/c it sounds very much like the same method that HIS uses (based on the large dots) especially since HIS's former top USA practitioner, Matt, is performing the SMP. But I disagree with your opinion and the other gentleman's whose username I can not recall, who both have criticized thunder's results. I think his SMP looks very good at this time for just having had one session. I believe the only question is how long will the smp last before any fading.

Interesting....The exact mantra that many HIS forum members and HIS forum Shills repeat over and over.

I wasn't implying that b/c you had your SMP done by HIS former practitioner that yours would fade also. The fact is, Matt is one of the best practitioners out there, and just as you have said Matt's reputation speaks for itself. Anyone would be fortunate to have Matt do their smp. I have kept in touch with a guy I met on a forum who had his smp with Matt and HIS, and that man's SMP results are holding up well. Plus I believe it is safe to say that Headstrong uses different inks/pigments than HIS, and may employ a slightly different method geared more for permanent results. As far as the majority of HIS clients, I have noticed many complaining after 1.5- 3 years of extreme fading. At this link, (Link removed by moderator) this HIS veteran client and forum poster complains that his smp has faded a good bit after only 2 years. It is tough to identify the main cause of fading however, as some clients are not as careful at avoiding UV exposure.

Yes, it is odd how the camera can fail to display the same result you would see in person. That is why I always tell people they must see smp in person at the clinic of their choice. Also, lighting plays a huge role. I find the worst kind of lighting is that yellow/orangeish bathroom type lighting, or harsh orange/yellow overhead lighting that you find at many restaurants. These lightings tend to make me still look like I am balding. Florescent lights are great, and daylight/sunlight is great. HIS Hair has great experience and do good smp results that look great for a short time, but it seems that their results fade very quickly-between 12-18 months or 2 years. I think that HIS is designed to be more of a temporary result but is advertised as permanent. If you think about it, it is in their best interest for the results to be temporary b/c this way the client will have to return every year or so and pay them hundreds of dollars again. Also, I would be concerned with Quality Control regarding HIS Hair. Too many clinics in too many cities and countries, so there are too many practitioners. If SMP is as highly specialized as it seems, then how can you be sure that you will get the results they advertise if your practitioner is a random guy(in, let's say Seattle instead of Manchester) whose smp work you have never seen and whose experience/resume is unclear?

Looks pretty good, but the before photos are in bright daylight exposure, and the after photos of the finished result are in the dark. Do you have any finished result photos in the same lighting as the before photos?

Don't pay the HT boosters any mind. They have their own agenda, and that agenda is all about making people doubt smp so they won't see it in person and become believers. Once you see it for yourself, you realize that it is a significant improvement to being bald, and is completely undetectable. My consultant at the clinic I went to allowed me to view his scalp under a magnifying glass and it was incredible that I still could not tell that these dots were not real hair follicles. I was sold at that point, and you and I both know that if others took the time to see smp in person they would be sold as well. Your SMP results look great! I do not notice that the dots are too big, but it can be difficult to tell from photos, and as you mentioned, the dots do shrink throughout the healing process so no worries there. I like the hairline as well, very natural and strong as well. It looks like you did a bit of a broken hairline, am I correct on that? Also it looks like you added smp on your temples or side profiles? I like that style, makes smp look more like a haircut. The place I went to does not normally do work on the temples, and I did not have my temples done. I do have recession in those areas so may have those areas done when I go for enhancement.

Honestly, youre absolutely right, and I am in no position to judge people's motives, especially when it is just speculation anyway. I have just grown weary of seeing SMP businesses advertise in sneaky ways, and there are a lot of them out there as I'm sure you have discovered, but I apologize to you for grouping you into that category. I am glad that you had a good experience with HeadStrong, and I actually learned of Matt from reading the HIS Hair forum and all of the glowing reviews he received and the shear panic that ensued as soon as it was announced that Matt was leaving HIS. He is apparently one of the best and knowledgeable practitioners out there. I am not a HIS client, but I read the HIS forum from time to time b/c, even though I am skeptical of the permanence of HIS' method, the HIS forum provides a lot of good information and guides on living with smp like shaving tips, lotions, etc. I definitely agree with you that people don't seem to understand SMP. There is such a misconception that it will be noticeable and people will be able to tell, but I agree with you that If it is done correctly an SMP'd head and a shaved head (of someone with full hair) will look basically identical but the SMP'd head will look better due to defined hairline(just my opinion). Plus you have got the HT pushers who dont want smp to succeed, even though many HT docs have now started offering smp services. Mine is holding up well after a few years. It is honestly amazing that after smp you are not known as "the bald guy" but as "the guy with the shaved head." I had a woman tell me that I looked exactly like a guy she knew, a guy whom I am familiar with, and the guy has a full head of hair. It is simply amazing how some people no longer think of you as bald after smp. Your results look really good, and I am glad you had a good experience with Headstrong and Matt. Also glad you are sharing your experience and getting the truth out there regarding SMP.

1) Actually..... you referenced Your Clinic specifically in your second post along with your photos and experience/testimony/sales pitch. Your advertisement of HeadStrong was not in response to any inquiry 2) Your questioning of my knowledge of Matt: "because I find it odd that you knew the practitioner that I am working with", Your answer to your own Suspicion: "HIS is a HUGE player in SMP around the world, " "I think Matt, who did come from HIS has a verifiable resume as he was pretty much very involved with marketing with them. " 3) The SMP business I am a client of (which shall remain nameless b/c Im not here to advertise or make money) has over 5 years of experience, and the practitioner who performed my smp has over 7 years of experience. 4)Why am I here? I like to share my knowledge (the little and basic smp knowledge and experience that I have) and SMP experience with potential clients who are in the same boat as I was. It is tough to learn the truth about SMP, what with all of the bogus undercover posting that goes on. I am also here to stay current on the developments and advances in the SMP field and industry, this forum is a wonderful tool for that. I am ABSOLUTELY NOT HERE to advertise for any SMP business, so you will never see me promote the clinic I am a client of. PS: I definitely agree with you on the point of Clinic location being a key factor. SMP is a process and something that must be maintained over the years, so having an SMP location within driving distance or close proximity of your residence is a huge advantage.

There are several good SMP businesses to choose from in the States. It is just a matter of what you are looking for as a client. I prefer to go with a Clinic with at least 5 years of experience and proven longevity in terms of lasting results. This can be tough to validate however. It is not so easy to view a clinic's client who has had the smp several years earlier and see how it is holding up, but if you are able to get this opportunity best to take it. Lots and lots of sketchy advertising tactics and dishonest behavior from these places. Many providers steal photos and use as their own supposed finished product, and many places will even use photos of men who do not even have smp. I am always skeptical when a new Username pops up and immediately begins advertising for a specific smp clinic on several different high traffic hair loss forums. It is quite easy to spot this kind of advertising, and it always follows the same formula: (A) Hair loss Sob Story (B) Desperate Need to do something about hair loss ©Research for solution leads to miraculous discovery a SPECIFIC SMP clinic (D) Life Changing SMP treatment and restoring of self-confidence (E) Recommendation of that clinic to others who battle hair loss "disease" Don't believe the hype

Saw your photos, results look pretty good so far. A bit on the lighter side, but I imagine you will increase density and maybe just the lighting in the photo, can be difficult to tell, but looks pretty good. Yes, you are correct, Matt was in high demand at HIS, I know many were sorry to see him leave. He will be a good selling point for you guys.

Whoa, Easy slick, don't go overboard! It's almost as if you work for this place Headstrong.

Ah, so that's where Matt went. Many clients at HIS were sorry to see him go. I hear he is good

Just an update on this thread, as far as seeing it in person, if you saw my scalp and were right up close to it you would never know it was smp'd. You would just think that I have lots of healthy follicles and that I chose to shave my head. Just In the last two weeks, one lady told me "wow you look really good with a shaved head", another woman asked "why did you shave all your hair off, it looks really thick, like if you grew it out it'd be a thick full head of hair." A man yesterday told me that I did a nice shave job and asked me questions about how I buzz my head. Keep in mind, these are just folks that I meet in passing or traveling or through business, so they do not know that this shaved head look is how I look year round. A couple months ago even my doctor (who doesn't know I have smp) commented on how healthy and plentiful my "follicles" are looking and how my hair seems full, as we were discussing how my Propecia and Dutasteride were working. I have been negative and critical in a few of my previous posts about smp, but mainly I just get annoyed at all the copycat providers who don't know what they are doing and end up ruining people's scalps so I tend to vent. The business I did smp with is, IMO, one of the top 5 in the world and just did an amazing job! Would I have preferred to pay less than I did? Uh, Yea.. of course, but honestly I would rather pay more than I think I should and get it right, than pay a small fee and end up with a bad result which would cost more to repair in long run. It helps to have some hair definitely, but two of the best results Ive ever seen were the owner and consultant of the clinic I went to, and I believe those two fellows have less hair than I do. I did not believe that it would be undetectable before I had it done, but then after seeing those two men at clinic, and after several years and NOT ONE person calling me out on SMP, I am convinced. Of course, once SMP grows a bit more, advertises more, the public will be more suspicious of guys with nice shaved heads.

Sorry, I should have been more clear. Was not saying or implying that HIS Hair has a history of pigment migration or pigments turning to blue hue. At the end of that post you quoted me on I was merely making a general statement about SMP businesses and their contracts they make you sign so that they are not liable for any poor outcome with your results, and I simply used "pigment migration" and "blue" color change as examples of what a poor outcome can be, but again was not referring to any specific clinic and was not saying any specific provider has a history of migration and color change. What I did say was HIS Hair absolutely has a common tendency to produce SMP results that fade significantly within 1-2 years. That is just a fact, read the forum and see for yourself. Maybe not such a bad thing that HIS' results fade, just depends on how you look at the situation and what the alternative outcome is, assuming that there is no "happily ever after" scenario with permanent SMP. And to echo what Nicole said, I do not think you can use words like "impossible" when speaking of an SMP outcome. Too many factors involved and nothing under the sun is perfect or guaranteed. I had SMP several years ago, and my results honestly have not faded a bit. I do take care of my scalp and avoid sun exposure to it. That is not to say that the SMP won't fade on my scalp, but I will say that I am glad that I was wise enough to avoid His Hair bc I would have already been back to HIS clinics 3-5 times for enhancements.

Is English your second or third language? I am not trying to be unkind but reading your posts is like reading the writing of someone who is not fluent in the English language so it can be tough to follow but I think I catch what you are trying to say. To be honest, you have got your priorities all mixed up. And honestly, you seem to have some serious social and psychological problems. You have put hair on a pedestal b/c you are bald or have plugs. Somehow you have deluded yourself into believing that "if you just had hair" 1) You'd be more confident 2)Women would find you attractive 3) You would be more successful and popular 4) You would look more healthy FALSE, FALSE, FALSE AND FALSE!! I dare say, I believe you had problems in all of these areas before you ever lost any hair. It's okay, many people with hair loss believe the same crazy things like you, so don't beat yourself up about it. But for you to say that Fat and out of shape people look good as long as they have hair, and that a guy who is fit but bald looks worse than a Fat Man with hair just shows how flawed your perception of REALITY really is. But on the other hand, people just like you who believe hair will solve all of life's problems, are a Hair Transplant Doctor's Wet Dream! I'm sorry to tell you, but even after hair transplants women and everyone else will only be staring at the THIN BALD Areas of your head, and will take little notice of your new "hairs" which will be puny and sickly looking. They will always focus on the hair that isnt on your scalp rather than the hair that is. Of course after HTs you will have the scarring to feel self-conscious about also. I definitely agree with you on some points about SMP. The advertising and marketing techniques they use are pretty stupid. Some do claim that they give you hair which is just Ridiculous. The prices are also very high at most places, and I believe they should be significantly lower, but if you research general micropigmentation and permanent makeup, practitioners charge hundreds of dollars per hour and Smp is an entire head of work. My advice to you would be start working on your personality, your diet and exercise routines, and other things in life THAT YOU CAN CONTROL. You can't control hair loss buddy, no matter what the industry promises you. Find your confidence in other areas.

WAIT..Hold on just a Minute Sir! You are telling me that SMP is just black dot, not hair??? Wow, thank you so much for clearing that up for me, I thought Scalp Micropigmentation was actually hair but now I know SMP is only black dot! You are very articulate... wait.... is articulate the right word? I never said SMP was perfect for everyone, it is not. The marketing and advertising for SMP businesses aim to convince that it is a great solution for all, and again it is not. If you look bad with a shaved head smp wont be for you. If you do not have good facial features or you look old and are fat and out of shape then SMP will not do much for you, but if that is the case you have bigger problems than hair loss so why worry about being or going bald. Just save your money that you would give to the HT doc and spend it on a Gym membership and personal trainer and dietician. SMP works better if you look young and have an athletic or muscular build. Society tends to group buzzed heads with athletes, military officers, and weight lifters so it makes more sense if you are or look athletic. Not every smp place is good. The place I went I was able to view the owner and a consultant's smp work and they were both really really amazing results and I viewed them up close, so I knew that they did good work there. I know I have said in previous posts that SMP is overpriced, but honestly if you go to any micropigmentation or cosmetic tattooing business they charge between $400 and $600 an hour, so it does make more sense to go with a place that only does hair replication tattooing on the scalp for obvious reasons. I do not feel that you are very educated on cosmetic tattooing or its benefits, or you are just saying SMP is bad for everyone b/c it is bad for you. Kind of lame. Again, do not know much about Hair Transplant other than my brief experience, but I have never seen a good result in person. HT results to me just look like the guy who has them is balding or has very very thin hairs and it looks unhealthy. But to be fair, i suppose it is possible that their are some good results out there. Just havent seen any myself, just guys who look like chemo patients who no longer have the option to shave their head b/c big ugly scars.

This is not true at all. Fiction sir. SMP can look very real. I had smp years ago and everyone i meet thinks I just have a shaved head with thick hair. The people Ive told about my smp did not believe me at first and thought I was pulling there leg. No enhancements yet, No color change, minimal fading very very slight. The key is to have good to decent coverage on the top part of the scalp for 3d effect, but even without this it can look amazing and real. The consultant at place I went is a Norwood 4 and he has remaining hair shaved all the way down- was best smp job I have ever seen in person, no possible way to tell that it wasn't real hair stubble, So hair isn't an absolute must in all cases for smp. You just have to find an experienced smp place or private micropigmentation practitioner who has experience with hair replication tattooing. Concerning HT's, I have very little experience in that area so cannot comment or contribute anything valuable there. Im sure there are some good results out there somewhere, I just have not seen any good ones yet, just ugly scars and not much hair coverage to make scars worth it.

Sorry to hear about your disappointing result. At least you had the wisdom to opt for the temporary smp rather than permanent, hopefully it fades fully. I am not convinced it will fully fade though, I tried to tell you some months back. SMP can work well for guys who have no HT scarring but I do not feel that it is ethical for smp businesses to perform smp on HT patients. They are really not candidates for SMP. Scar tissue is too unpredictable to tattoo and its makeup is completely different than regular skin. I know 3 guys who had hts and scarring and 3 out of 3 ended up with blue scars and blue blurry dots on the scalp. Needless to say these chaps were all devastated and angry the providers were not honest with them that this would be outcome. Even the owner of one of the more "reputable" smp businesses has blue blurred dots on his head because of his ht scar tissue. Ive seen in person, it looked bad. Cannot really speak for the temporary SMP guys like the one you went to b/c I have no experience in dealing with them but Just a lot of dishonesty in SMP industry in general. Many will say they "guarantee" the same outcome for every person using the exact same tattooing regiment. Anyone who has studied even basic level health sciences or Anatomy and Physiology and understands the basics of the integumentary system and immune cell responses, knows that each person will retain and absorb inks differently and fading varies based on many individual factors. No point in going into further detail, you can even learn that on Wikipedia or more reliable health science websites if you aren't educated. People need to be careful with smp. Many of the businesses present a very convincing professional educated experienced facade, but based on my experiences most of the employees and practitioners of these places only have experience consisting of nothing more than Sales, Hair Salon Employees, Secretaries real estate or just have very basic Cosmetology certifications. None of these qualifies someone to do micropigmentation on your head.

No, you cannot achieve what you are hoping for with SMP. You have too much hair loss, it is impossible. The longest hair length I have ever seen a man get away with was a '1 guard' clipper buzz, and that man had fairly good coverage but just minor thinning, not sure what norwood he was tbh. If you do not like the 'bald look' or 'shaved head' look then unfortunately smp is not for you. to get away with it hair must be shaved with 0 clipper or less. I have met with the owner of one of the main US smp business who had HT's and a good amount of hair loss. That owner had SMP and had his hair length was somewhere between 1/8" and 1/16" and it looked HORRIBLE! And he was the owner lol! The difference btwn hairs and smp dots was very noticeable and it was just bad. But if you have a consultation with one of these smp places I am sure they will tell you that it will work

HIS Hair smp results fade quite rapidly,and they have been in business for longest of smp businesses. If you use HIS you will be going back to enhance within 1 & 1/2 years and 2 years. Just read HIS Forum for proof from their clients. They are temporary SMP although they advertise as permanent. Do not know much about Vinci other than they charge thousands of dollars and seem to imitate HIS method. Most of these smp businesses lack much experience and have no credentials in field of Micropigmentation. They will guarantee you nothing and make you sign agreement that if something goes wrong with your results (like if dots migrate or turn blue) the clinic will not be responsible, which says it all. Better to find a Micropigmentation clinic with years of experience doing all types of cosmetic tattooing on many areas of body, and legitimate micropigmentation Certifications and memberships to national micropigmenation societies which is only true accountability for them. Do not be fooled by the bs ads and fake online reviews and bogus forum reviews of smp places.

Great post, and great points all around! You may be right about a few smp places standing the test of time, but if they do I think it will only be a handful of providers who will be successful at continuing to charge over $3,000. The dozens of copycat bandwagon clinics will either fall by the wayside or will be forced to charge much less for their services which will ultimately force them out of business when their debt gets too great. I just do not feel that consumers are dumb enough to continue paying so much money for this overpriced service that any cosmetic or good tattoo artist can do with very little training, and the smp clinics will not be able to keep up this charade. So much of the smp industry reminds me of real estate scam infomercials, and then you see some of these guys trying to get investors offering franchising opportunities lol. There is one Provider whos owner had a treatment at HIS Hair clinic and then opened up his own business and now claims that he invented scalp micropigmentation LOL. He puts all of these wild lies out on the web like that he wrote a book, he kept advertising for it for months saying it would be available at Barnes n noble and on Amazon, and then the release date came and went and the book doesnt exist and never did. He also was going on twitter claiming he was going to be on the ABC show Shark Tank to pitch his smp business, and of course that never came to fruition. Just a bunch of B.S. to make himself and his business seem legit so people will pay him. He's a clown! SMP is filled with these scam artists like him. I agree, HT docs, though shady and often not completely honest, are much more forthcoming and straightforward than SMP businesses.

Very Good point, and I agree with you on that. Micropigmentation Practitioners who are worth a salt can give you approximate ink insertion depth, needle cluster and number used, machines and speeds in CPS or DPS, pigment particle sizes in microns, pigment metal contents and chemical compounds, BUT there is no way that any of them can accurately predict in every single person how well their result will be or how the dots will age (migration, fade time, color change), too many factors involved. And they claim they can predict with accuracy which is a lie. So many Lies from SMP places. For example One clinic claims that they have "migration-resistant pigments", and another claims that their pigments (once located in the dermis mind you) have a property that prevents light from shining off of the scalp LOL . I suppose my main point was that these SMP providers know for a fact that they have no special pigments or unique equipment or methods that separates them from permanent makeup/micropigmentation practitioners, yet they put such strong emphasis on their claims that they are completely different from permanent makeup. And then they charge 4-6 times more than every other cosmetic tattoo business in the industry. These SMP clinics' days are numbered and I feel they know this. They are trying to make as much money as they can before people begin to realize that they can have smp done for much much cheaper in almost any city. As soon as people begin posting good results that they received from General Micropigmentation Practitioners for a much reduced price compared to these smp providers, the word will begin to spread. For now however most people, who aren't educated in tattooing, will believe these bogus photos that SMP clinics post on their websites of men's heads that they have painted with blue and purple die and claim these are men who went to a permanent makeup artist.