The Rise of Cosmetic Hair Tattoos: A Modern Approach to Hair Restoration

Health and beauty products/services for men now represent some of the fastest-growing items in the industry, none more so than in the area of hair loss. The world has moved on from those traditional old-fashioned days when it was deemed vain and distasteful for a man to care about his appearance and do his best to look good.

Here at Luxe Micro, we are thrilled times have finally changed and men can now embrace their looks and do what they can to enhance them. In this article, we will chronicle the rise of cosmetic hair tattoos and discuss all aspects of this revolutionary, modern approach to hair restoration.

Original options to combat hair loss

When it came to the subject of male-pattern baldness, previous generations were limited in the extreme. Men could effectively choose between:

• Making the best of what they had
• Wearing a wig
• Growing what they could and combing it over
• Losing the lot

Understandably, not all of those appealed to everyone suffering from hair loss, and some have become somewhat of a running joke over time. But the problem persisted, as it always will, and some new, ground-breaking solution was required.

As time moved on and new techniques and materials became available, hair transplants became an option. Painful and obvious in their earliest incarnations but much less so as time progressed and advancements continued to arrive and flourish. It seemed we might have reached the apex of what was possible in terms of tackling men’s baldness. But another contender was waiting in the wings:

The alternative solution

The other runner in the pack, quietly, unassumingly making huge strides of its own in amongst all this activity, scalp micropigmentation became an alternative choice that ever-more men were becoming aware of and opting for. There are a number of very good reasons why more men than ever are getting hair tattoos:

• It negates the need for expensive implants or surgery

The treatments boast fantastic, convincing results to match or better those of any other while requiring no lengthy, painful processes to complete. It would be disingenuous to say the treatment was painless, it is a tattoo after all, but the pain is brief and lessened because the needles are thinner and less penetrating, as we will discover later.

• The time frame for success is drastically reduced

Once the process begins, the effect of there being hair where before there was none is instant. One of the main reasons so many men were put off going down the transplant route in the past is that it takes so long. In the meantime, it is blatantly obvious a procedure of this kind has been undertaken, and the very thing men hope to draw attention away from becomes unavoidably obvious.

• A positive reputation, borne via word-of-mouth

Always a sure sign of the tangible quality of products or procedures, word-of-mouth recommendations are proven to be trusted and acted upon far more than any paid advertising or sophisticated PR campaign. Men are likely to discuss their treatments among themselves and make their own enquiries once they see the excellent results and hear glowing endorsements.

• Tattoos have become more and more common as the decades have passed

Men and women alike think nothing of adorning their bodies with patterns of ink. The taboo has been broken in many places and this is another sure reason why more men than ever are getting hair tattoos.

• Scalp micropigmentation treatments are affordable by comparison

Scalp micropigmentation treatments are certainly less expensive than hair transplants, but it is important to clarify the exact price before commencing. This is something any company worth its salt will be sure to discuss with clients during their private consultation.

A modern approach

So, what exactly is scalp micropigmentation treatment? It is a process whereby anyone wishing to give the appearance of having more abundant, thicker hair in certain areas can have a series of tattoos on their scalp or face to give that impression. The effect is created by building up a series of tiny, two-dimensional dots to give the appearance of stubble growing. A particularly effective technique when clients want to boost areas that have started to thin out and blend them in with existing follicles.

The results can be startling and highly successful almost instantly, but the treatments can be performed incrementally in order to mask the effect and introduce it slowly if required. They can also be performed repeatedly over time, to ensure colouration remains strong and can be adjusted to match natural changes as and when necessary.

Why scalp micropigmentation ‘treatment’?

The process is referred to as SMP or scalp micropigmentation ‘treatment’, rather than just a tattoo because there is much more to it than first meets the eye. Before anything else, clients receive an in-depth private consultation with an expert in both the process itself and advanced hair styling. They work through all the options on the table based on the client’s existing hairline and have a frank, open discussion on how to improve their look.

We are all aware some men are exceptionally sensitive about their hair loss, or there may be some medical or other reason for needing the treatment. With a reputable, professional company like Luxe Micro, all the trained technicians are aware of this and are duly respectful and compassionate at all times.

Colour-matching

Matching the colour of the client’s existing hair, if there is any, is an essential part of the skin micropigmentation treatment. It is not uncommon for technicians to mix custom colours using hundreds of different-coloured inks, as even extremely short hair follicles reveal some of their colour in certain light conditions. Nothing is left to chance in order to achieve the best possible outcome every time.

Why not just visit a regular tattoo artist?

This is a good question, and there are several important differences that make it unwise to simply ask your local tattoo artist to ink a series of dots onto your scalp, namely:

• The consultation

As described above, a private consultation with a knowledgeable, experienced technician is crucial to the overall success of the treatment. Tattoo artists are unlikely to have in-depth knowledge of hairstyles and effects that look authentic, nor the potential psychological effects of hair loss and treatments.

• The needles



Tattoo needles differ from scalp micropigmentation treatment ones in some important and impactful ways. Body tattoos are designed to penetrate more layers of skin and place the ink at a deeper dermal level than ones used on the scalp, so the needles are heavy-duty by comparison. The needles used in SMP are much thinner and not perfectly round like their tattoo-parlour cousins. The reason is hair follicles are not round when looked at under a microscope and seem much more authentic and organic en masse when an irregularly-shaped needle is used.tting hair tattoos:

Who can benefit from scalp micropigmentation treatment?

Scalp micropigmentation treatment can benefit absolutely anybody who wants to create the illusion of hair growth where there is none for whatever reason. It is a highly preferred choice for patients suffering from conditions affecting the hair like alopecia and areata and a common choice for clients wishing to cover scarring on the scalp. They can also be used to give patients receiving cancer treatment the appearance of stubble if they feel self-conscious about the hair loss associated with those procedures.

Disadvantages of scalp micropigmentation treatments

There are very few, if any downsides to scalp micropigmentation treatment, but it would be churlish to not mention any we can think of. The only real disadvantage we were able to conjure up is that, as with any tattoo, the body will naturally break down the ink over time. As we have seen, SMP tattoos sit on a shallower dermatological layer and are therefore prone to fading over time. With sweat, lotions, and weathering from the sun and other elements, clients will probably need to return for ‘touch-up’ treatments every few years to maintain the desired effect.

Contact us

Luxe Micro is proud to be the longest-running scalp micropigmentation expert in Melbourne and knows compassion and integrity are everything when building a stellar reputation in the industry. If you have been wondering why more men than ever are getting hair tattoos, you should give us a call here at Luxe Micro and discuss it with our trained, professional staff. They can walk you through all the details and aspects of scalp micropigmentation treatment and will always give you open, honest answers, guidance, and advice.