kirkland

I should also give my two cents: if you are paranoid now that it won't look natural enough, you will likely feel that way when you get it done. Most of the time, I say SMP is really good for certain people; generally, darker skin with lower contrast between hair color and skin. But it is also good for those who don't obsess over their hairloss too much. I think you have to have a certain level of confidence to feel comfortable with SMP. If you don't think you could handle a hairpiece, SMP is likely not for you. That is my two cents.

Definitely bright lighting which creates high contrasts. If the native hair is about one days' growth or more, you will see the demarcation between the native hair and the trico. For those circumstances, it looks best when newly shaved. Any dimmer lighting situation, or under tungsten (warmer) lighting is more favorable to the illusion. If you shave your head every day, then you already have the routine needed for trico. If you go more than two days without shaving, it really stands out. I know it is easier said than done but it really is best to see a real live model with SMP - one that has similar hairloss pattern. I didn't take the time to do this, had the SMP (regretted it and ended up having most of it removed) and then a couple of years ago, I had a consultation with a HT rep who had SMP with similar hairloss. It did not look good but he did have a couple of days growth. It was under bright fluorescent lighting.

You're right - a video like that showing SMP in all conditions would be helpful, especially if it was a NW7. I'm a NW6 and had trico but there was no way I was going to expose the result in public because I was too self-conscious that it didn't look natural enough. I suspect the same goes for most higher NW's with SMP. In fact, the light conditions played a big role in how it looked. In bright sunlight, it looked the most fake. In a darker, more cozy-lit room, it looked good. If you do end up getting it, perhaps consider doing a video showing off the results in all conditions. It would help the curious to make a better informed decision.

This is great PR for the hair restoration industry. Takes away some of the stigma of having a hair transplant which can only help drive the growth of the industry (good and bad since HOI is not a top clinic).

@Atown - you have asked this question before and a simple Google search would indicate that at least one study found tattoo ink can migrate into the lymph nodes. If that holds true, one can assume that SMP pigments would do the same over time. There is no causal evidence of such migration leading to cancer if that is your concern. With the millions upon millions who have had tattoos, if cancer were the outcome, then we would have enough data points to make this claim. I don't think that customers are particularly concerned about having ink done and getting cancer - that is why they are not demanding answers. Of all the things we can get cancer from, SMP would not be at the top of the list for me.

I don't think it's SMP. For anyone who has had SMP, it is an uncomfortable process. This amount of 'tattooing', especially on the scalp, would have been practically unbearable. Certainly not in one sitting. And I wouldn't feel bad for this person if it was SMP. They would have known well before it was done how cartoonish the look would be.

I second this. Don't be casual in making this decision. A mistake can lead to lasting damage, as I have unfortunately realized.

I had SMP done with a clinic which uses Milena Lardi pigments and technology with the owner trained by Milena Lardi in Milan. I felt comfortable with his knowledge and expertise and I know he has done outstanding work in New York. I had done research into SMP before deciding on this clinic so what I feel is important to note is the quality of the pigments (are they metal-based or plant-based); what is the max depth of the needle into the epidermis (should not go deeper than 0.5 mm); how experienced is the tech? If you can see a person who has had the SMP done in person by the tech, that is best. It's a big decision - one that you should feel quite comfortable with making. As for me, I am finally getting a hair transplant. Having the blush forced my hand since I want to cover the redness. It's really not that bad - more light pink but the outline of the SMP is still visible.

There was one mitigating factor that likely contributed to my outcome: sunburn. When I went for the treatment, I had a sunburned scalp after just having come from vacation. It was ill-advised for me to have the treatment in that condition and it most likely led to the trauma from the treatment. Make sure you don't make the same mistake I did and you should be fine but please make sure that the tech/clinic/tools are all above board.

My skin is sensitive and prone to redness. Likely the trauma from the needles caused the blood vessels to expand creating inflammation. The vessels never returned to their original size. This is what is known as Post-Inflammatory Erythema or PIE.

Because the treatment itself caused a permanent red blush to my skin that still has not gone away

No - that doesn't seem to be the study. This study deals with age-related changes to hair not esthetic changes due to hairloss.

So, no, this is not going to be a self-experiment. I read a HT surgeon reference a study done in the 1980's where a doctor pulled out 50% of the hair on one side of a non-balding man's head to see if it was evident by the eye-test that this man had suffered hairloss. Supposedly, independent observers could see no difference in density from one side to the other. Does anyone know of this study? I have been trying to find it on the net but to no avail.

Great result! Looks like above-average donor area and likely lots of doubles and triples for that quality of coverage with under 4k grafts. The area above the nape of your neck looks thinned out. Not sure if it is the haircut or if you have shock loss in that area.

I guess I don't spend enough time on here to see this streak of negativity. I've always found most posts that I've read to be generally respectful and for that reason, I use this site as my primary source of information on HT's. I've definitely been on other sites where threads get derailed quickly by the same mouth-breathers over and over. Glad we have someone who won't let it get that bad.

Sweden is trending in the wrong direction. Now they are adding restrictions to deal with the growing problem. If you want to look at successful interventions, Singapore and China (yes, China) have a better handle on the situation. In the West, the only way to go is with mandatory masks in public settings and wider testing capacity. The vaccine next year can't come soon enough.

A recent poll showed the majority of Canadians did not want to open the border to America. We'd like to think that we have the virus under better control than our American neighbours but our soaring numbers in Toronto are disproving that notion.

Not for Canadians, either. They have significant travel restrictions. You can apply for a medical visa but our consulate will not consider a HT procedure within those guidelines.

Melvin is a tremendous moderator. Best to keep him healthy.

I'm not fearful of catching COVID - I likely have already caught it given that I continued to work throughout the lockdown early this year as an essential worker. India is in lockdown and, given the gravity of the spread of the virus there, it likely won't be open to international travellers like myself or @JohnAC71 until at least January, if not later. There is a fear narrative that pushes the seriousness of the virus beyond what is reasonable but I did have two friends lose their older loved ones because of the disease.

I will definitely be posting my journey. Of all of the boards and forums I have been on over the years, this is the one that I trust the most. I hope to give back to new members what I was most able to get from here - hope.

Yes - it's too bad! India is one of the worst hit countries in the world with COVID. I guess it will be that much more satisfying when we can get there.

I love his results because it shows what is possible for high NW's but I really love his results because his hairloss pattern is exactly like mine and I am scheduled to visit the same clinic! Really happy for him because I hope to be happy for me!

This brings up a good point: if a surgeon transects a graft during extraction, will they know?

@True Pigments break down in the epidermis over time but not evenly. If you consider a regular tattoo as a comparison as to how it ages over time and how it can be touched up at a later date, this will give you an understanding of what will happen with your SMP. It will fade and the sharp edges of the 'dots' will blur, creating more of a shadow than distinct points on the skin. There is nothing wrong with the blending of the dots into a shadow because it can still provide the illusion of hair fullness when not observed very close up. A touch-up, which would re-create new, sharp dots over the 'shadow', is also not a bad thing because, from further away, it just looks like greater hair volume in the area.The color of certain pigments used in SMP can tone-shift over time, going from black to green which is why you want to go with a reputable SMP artist who uses the proper pigments for this procedure. At the end of it all, if you tire of the look or (fingers crossed), new topicals come online which have better success at, the very least, of thickening the crown, then you can just have the whole thing lasered off. Hope that is of help to you.