I deeply regret getting SMP

[Longtimelurker84]

I am posting this here as I need as many eyes as possible to see it. I've been browsing hair loss boards on a daily basis since 2003 but this is my first tine posting anywhere. I am 33 and I had SMP done 2 months ago to add density to my temples. The ink quickly faded and now I am left what looks like grey patches along my hairline. Is there ANY way to have this pigment lasered out without destroying the follicles that are still there? I desperstely want to restore my natutal appearance.

[Sean]

Sorry to hear this.  Was the SMP just in the hairline?  Or was it across the scalp?

who was the person that did the work?  Have you reached out to them?  Whether or not you lose hair depends probably on how deep they went in.  The more repeat steps with lasers in any area, the greater the risk.  I read that somewhere.  

Here is an article that may help with your question:

http://www.smpdebate.com/how-to-reverse-a-scalp-micropigmentation-treatment-by-laser/

Edited August 18, 2018 by Sean

[Markee]

Can't really see any  grey patches along your hairline ?

Edited August 19, 2018 by Markee

[JayLDD]

You still clearly have quite a lot of hair, smartest move would be to grow it out a bit more so it isn't visible (I doubt it would take that long) and get on finasteride to help maintain what you currently have.  Laser isn't a great option when you have a significant amount of hair in the area and in a few years the SMP is will fade by itself. 

[Gasthoerer]

Agree with Jean. It is hard to detect now, and with a few mm longer hair, no one is going to see it.

Just sit it out. It has fadded so quick already.

Not to say: Name the "artist" who has done it and never set a foot in there again.

[Djlazerblue]

i wish you would of found me before doing this. THIS IS WHY IM HERE PEOPLE WHO DOUBT ME

You didnt need any SMP your hair is perfectly normal it looks natural you needed talking out of doing this then you wouldnt be here now anyway damage is done so lets not go over it,

There is a Cream you can buy that will break the pigment down in your skin it wont effect the follicle it will minimise the effect very much, have a look for it on google i forgot what its called, it works for tattoos, Peace

 

[True]

Temporary SMP faces out 100%

[John Orion]

On 8/20/2018 at 11:09 AM, True said:

Temporary SMP faces out 100%

Does it?

Is there anyone whose "temporary" SMP has actually disappeared completely?

[bald-and-bearded]

There is one person on the SMP forum here who got temporary SMP in Italy and didn't fade. It formed a very strange pattern and the clinic advised him to laser remove it.

There aren't many examples of people whose temporary SMP faded out completely. I remember seeing one in a blog somewhere. It seems like most people just get it touched up as it starts to fade.

OP, please share the clinic name if you are comfortable with it. 

Someone had mentioned "Picoway" laser to remove SMP without causing much damage (from his personal experience).

[Gatsby]

Trichopigmentation is designed to have a short life in terms of fading and is supposed to fade out within 12 - 18 months though from what I've seen it appears to remain to some extent. Scalp Micro Pigmentation (SMP) lasts much longer and requires a touch up every five years (or that's been my experience). A lot rides on how you look after scalp ink performed correctly like protecting it from the sun (from bleaching quickly), etc. The depth of SMP is deeper than Tricho which is why it lasts a lot longer, etc.

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

Longtimelurker,

I'm sorry to hear that you are disappointed in your SMP results.  The first question I have is, did you undergo permanent or temporary SMP?  The nice part about temporary SMP is that it completely fades away after some time so if you don't like it, you aren't stuck with it.  On the other hand, SMP requires ongoing maintenance in order to keep the same look.  Permanent SMP sounds good in theory, but when it fades, it becomes discolored but never fades away completely.  This makes getting touch-ups much more difficult.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant

[ciaus]

18 minutes ago, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

Longtimelurker,

I'm sorry to hear that you are disappointed in your SMP results.  The first question I have is, did you undergo permanent or temporary SMP?  The nice part about temporary SMP is that it completely fades away after some time so if you don't like it, you aren't stuck with it.  On the other hand, SMP requires ongoing maintenance in order to keep the same look.  Permanent SMP sounds good in theory, but when it fades, it becomes discolored but never fades away completely.  This makes getting touch-ups much more difficult.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant

 

The permanent ink fades, but if it changes colors/'discolors' you went to one of the wrong places to get it done.

This is a 3 year old topic started by someone that only posted once using an account, and now its been resurrected today by another new account, probably the same guy. Where was this SMP done? Help others to avoid them as well. And did you just have one session done, or the standard 2 or 3 sessions over several weeks? 

[HappyMan2021]

the procedure needs to be called a scalp tattoo instead of SMP. Then more people would be aware of the risks involved. 

Edited December 30, 2021 by SadMan2021

[Sean]

On 8/18/2018 at 12:01 PM, Longtimelurker84 said:

I am posting this here as I need as many eyes as possible to see it. I've been browsing hair loss boards on a daily basis since 2003 but this is my first tine posting anywhere. I am 33 and I had SMP done 2 months ago to add density to my temples. The ink quickly faded and now I am left what looks like grey patches along my hairline. Is there ANY way to have this pigment lasered out without destroying the follicles that are still there? I desperstely want to restore my natutal appearance.

Longtimelurker,  how are you doing now?  It has been a while.  Have you found any solutions or left it as is?  Hope all is well. 

[ciaus]

6 hours ago, SadMan2021 said:

the procedure needs to be called a scalp tattoo instead of SMP. Then more people would be aware of the risks involved. 

 

Absolutely not, there's already a close association with traditional tattooing and SMP and that's a major problem in terms of people getting bad SMP done.  SMP uses different ink formulations and tooling to deposit the ink at a higher level in the skin layering. There are a lot of traditional tattoo artists out there that have haphazardly expanded their existing businesses to cash in on SMP without getting the proper training, ink formulations, and tooling.

** That's why you have to do careful research for SMP like you would for a HT doctor. ** No need to mess around with existing definitions.

[bald-and-bearded]

On 12/31/2021 at 12:26 AM, SadMan2021 said:

the procedure needs to be called a scalp tattoo instead of SMP. Then more people would be aware of the risks involved. 

I see what you mean. This needs to be taken as seriously as getting a tattoo on the scalp.

I wish there was generally more standardisation and regulation in the market. Especially when it comes to long term behavior of the inks used, it is quite a gamble. People with no hair at all have little to lose because they can laser it all off, but those with hair have to be all the more careful.

[SeanT1]

I met a guy in turkey who also had this strange blue effect after SMP.
Seems to be more common than not.

Is this due to a poor choice of doctor?
Are any SMP treatments actually worthwhile?

[ciaus]

3 hours ago, SeanToman said:

Is this due to a poor choice of doctor?
Are any SMP treatments actually worthwhile?

Have you read any of the replies on this topic or did you just look at the pictures? What we have here is the SMP equivalent of going to a hair mill in Turkey and getting a bad transplant. Like has already been said, do your research people, like you would for a hair transplant.

As the thread develops I'm beginning to get suspicious that the person who started the topic and then bumped it with new accounts is trying to 'poison the well,' so to speak on SMP. Maybe one of these hair transplant clinic reps that doesn't want SMP to get too popular.