Senior Member Jotronic Posted August 30, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted August 30, 2012 (edited) SMP or "scalp micropigmentation" has been around for a while. There are even clinics nowadays that are completely committed to performing this procedure exclusively. Unfortunately I, like many others in this field, basically laughed at, if not berated, the mere notion of having some sort of tattoo applied to one's scalp to give the impression of more hair being present than found in reality. This is still basically my position on this technique because the vast majority of the work performed turns blue or green over time and/or "bleeds" out and turns into large splotches of ink on one's scalp. In March of 2012 I was in Italy with Dr. Hasson and my colleagues and we met a woman named Milena Lardi. She offers a variation on SMP that is temporary. While the work I saw in person was very good indeed I was still skeptical about the claims of no blue or green color over time and whether or not the ink truly fades over the course of a couple of years. I was impressed enough however to mention her online and during an internet radio interview a week later after I returned home. Since that day her name has been all over the place. She was already popular in Italy on the Italian language forums but suddenly she became the hottest topic in SMP for North American clinics. I am happy to say that we had the honor of hosting Milena in our clinic last week, August 31st and Sept. 1st so that she could show us her SMP procedure in action, in person. The main question about this technique regarding the long term viability, or rather the degradation, remains. Does it turn to blue or green and does it truly fade? I've had this question more than any other regarding my observations of SMP in general. I think it is important to answer these questions by looking at undeniable empirical evidence instead of simply reading about people saying this or that. I've also been a results person as nothing can be more convincing than seeing something in a clear enough medium that leaves no room for doubt. The photos below were taken by a patient in Italy (non-surgical) and posted on an Italian language forum and show how this particular type of SMP fades over the course of 15 months. There is NO blue or green color and the ink appears to have faded roughly 98%. The standard reference for total degradation is two years but some patients will have their temporary SMP from this clinic fade faster or slower than others. Milena's husband told me that he's seen some patients take three years to fully fade completely. This can be due to a few factors including the rate of cellular regeneration of the individual's skin cells and total amount of sun exposure. The more sun exposure received, the faster the ink fades. It is my opinion that SMP is only recommended for certain types of patients. There will be those patients that are slick bald that will think this is a miracle but it is not. No SMP procedure will be able to replicate the one thing that this lacks, a third dimension. Once someone gets within a few feet they will be able to see that the "stubble" has no length and the effect will be diminished. The 2D effect will be evident. It can look fantastic from even a relatively short distance but it will be easier to detect for those that don't have some sort of sprinkling of hair to offset the lack of dimension. The ideal candidate for this procedure are those that are diffused thinners that wish to have a shorter hair cut; a buzz cut if you will. The existing native hair will act as the base for the 3D requirements and the SMP will act as a filler that can have a great effect. Not just in the recipient area but also in the donor area as well although the latter is not nearly as necessary. This can also work well for donor scars but not all donor scars. A test has to be done to see how the tissue accepts the ink. Softer scars are not good, harder scars are better. As of this writing we have no professional relationship with Milena Lardi and Beauty Medical but that may change very soon. I'm presenting this information so that you can see what I feel are the real and beneficial differences between this version of SMP and the other versions I've seen from the leading clinics that "specialize" in SMP. Here are some photos showing various angles of the result. I believe he had two passes to get this result. Outdoors under direct sunlight... After 15 months of wear the result looked quite good, no signs of unnatural colors or pigmentation. Edited September 5, 2012 by Jotronic The Truth is in The Results Dr. Victor Hasson and Dr. Jerry Wong are members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member SRK735 Posted August 31, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted August 31, 2012 Looks amazing,I have my session set for next Friday with Milena Lardi,hope my reults will mimic this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member zenmunk Posted August 31, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted August 31, 2012 Excellent! Thanks, Jotronic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member fitnessjunkie Posted August 31, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted August 31, 2012 Great, thanks for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Jotronic Posted November 18, 2012 Author Senior Member Share Posted November 18, 2012 So as I write this I am in Milan at Beauty Medical where Dr. Wong and I are conducting consultations. Milena and her husband Giorgio were kind enough to offer us their facilities for our meetings. Yesterday the patient I posted above came in for a visit and he allowed me to take some photos to share with all of you. He is now 18 months post-op and the SMP work is completely gone. The Truth is in The Results Dr. Victor Hasson and Dr. Jerry Wong are members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member chrisdav Posted November 18, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted November 18, 2012 Wow that is really good Joe. Nice clear photos which I like. 2 poor unsatisfactory hair transplants performed in the UK. Based on vast research and meeting patients, I travelled to see Dr Feller in New York to get repaired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Blake Bloxham Posted November 18, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted November 18, 2012 Jo, Nice to see how well the temporary ink faded away. Additionally, I think 18 months is a nice time frame. Did the patient complain about any discoloration in the ink during the fading process? I know Milena likes using only black inks to avoid this, but curious as to whether or not it still occurs? "Doc" Blake Bloxham - formerly "Future_HT_Doc" Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum All opinions are my own and my advice does not constitute as medical advice. All medical questions and concerns should be addressed by a personal physician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member aaron1234 Posted November 19, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted November 19, 2012 Very cool. I definitely appreciate these pictures. Could use more like 'em for SMP cases. Dr. G: 1,000 grafts (FUT) 2008 Dr. Paul Shapiro: 2,348 grafts (FUT) 2009 ~ 1,999 grafts (FUT) 2011 ~ 300 grafts (Scar Reduction) 2013 Dr. Konior: 771 grafts (FUT) 2015 ~ 558 grafts (FUT) 2017 ~ 1,124 grafts (FUE) 2020 My Hair Transplant Journey with Shapiro Medical Group Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member aaron1234 Posted November 19, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted November 19, 2012 And are we sure that this is not Jason Kidd? Dr. G: 1,000 grafts (FUT) 2008 Dr. Paul Shapiro: 2,348 grafts (FUT) 2009 ~ 1,999 grafts (FUT) 2011 ~ 300 grafts (Scar Reduction) 2013 Dr. Konior: 771 grafts (FUT) 2015 ~ 558 grafts (FUT) 2017 ~ 1,124 grafts (FUE) 2020 My Hair Transplant Journey with Shapiro Medical Group Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Jotronic Posted November 21, 2012 Author Senior Member Share Posted November 21, 2012 Jo, Nice to see how well the temporary ink faded away. Additionally, I think 18 months is a nice time frame. Did the patient complain about any discoloration in the ink during the fading process? I know Milena likes using only black inks to avoid this, but curious as to whether or not it still occurs? Hi Blake, No, the patient told me that the color did not change, it only faded as it is designed to do. I agree that 18 months is a nice time frame but this is different from one patient to the next. Beauty Medical told me that some patients have results that last three years so it depends on the amount of sun exposure the patient has, how fast the skin cycles, etc. One thing that must be clarified is that there are NO black inks used in Beauty Medical SMP. None. The Truth is in The Results Dr. Victor Hasson and Dr. Jerry Wong are members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member zenmunk Posted December 2, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted December 2, 2012 Sweet. Thanks for the photo-documentation. Great to be able to add this form of SMP to our arsenal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member trinder Posted February 3, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted February 3, 2013 How much would that have cost? if its every 15mnths that it starts to fade, it could end up costing alot of money after a few years. For scars it could be more cost effective to have BHT, as long as they're carried out competently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member socates123 Posted April 3, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted April 3, 2013 Could it be used to conceal FUT scars? Will this be the new toppik? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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