Getting Real Series - SMP Scalp Micropigmentation Final Results

About a year ago I had my first SMP (Scalp Micropigmentation) procedure and over the course of several weeks I had what would normally be my third and last session. After everything settled down I was not entirely happy with my results, the frontal hairline was not exactly the shape or sharpness I wanted and some of the SMP work had blown out causing dark enlarged spots rather than fine crisp hair-like dots.

The studio I went to (Studio Sashiko) was more than happy to continue working on my SMP until I was satisfied with the results. About the same time Studio Sashiko had just hired a new very talented SMP technician (Shannon Liddell - The Ink Barber) that I began working with to correct and adjust my Scalp Micropigmentation. I visited Shannon many times while he went over some of the trouble areas blending out the darker spots and also fine tuning my frontal hairline so that it was more natural and softer on the front edge. We even added some white pigment to a few of the darker spots to soften them and blend everything together.

My SMP journey for sure took a lot longer than I was expecting with way more visits to Studio Sashiko then we all had anticipated but the end result I feel is what I was expecting to get from the beginning and I can honestly say I have made some new friends over at Studio Sashiko.

My take away from all of this is that you really need to find a place that will stand behind their work and make sure that at the end of the day you are happy with your results. You also need to make sure that the you see before and after results from the actual SMP Tech that is going to do your Scalp Micropigmentation work, not just some photos the studio has on hand as you never know who actually did that work.

SMP can be a real life changer for a person that is conscious of their thinning hair and is looking for a permanent solution that looks great and is not going to break your bank account or cause you a lot of pain and suffering.

If you live in the Vancouver Fraser Valley area and are considering having SMP work done then for sure book a consultation with (Shannon Liddell - The Ink Barber) over at Studio Sashiko and tell him Mike from GetFitOver40.com sent you!

Getting Real Series - SMP Scalp Micropigmentation Sessions 3

If you have been following me along with my SMP (Scalp Micropigmetnation) procedure I have been having then this post may interest you. I do get a lot of questions on this topic from guys going through what I am going through and wondering  how I like it: What I think so far? Would I do it again? Would I recommend it to others? There have been a lot of questions on this subject and I plan do make an entire video going over many of the repeat questions so stay tuned for that video...

Overall I am very happy with the SMP so far, it sure beats looking like I'm balding and I really don't mind keeping my head shaved. Since I have some hair on top I can go with that close cut look and I only really have to trim my hair every 2-3 days to keep it looking in line with the SMP.

Anyway getting back to this third session, I call it session three but really it's session two since my first session was split into two days to make the first total head covering portion less lengthy each day and easier on the technician Kyle and myself. This latest session was to fill in areas that the SMP did not take hold so well since after about a month, some of the pigment will fade and some will even "fall out" which is what Kyle my SMP tech refers to when some of the SMP dots simply do not take hold at all. After the first go around of SMP (Scalp Micropigmentation), you can expect to have a rather uneven looking result which is magnified by the SMP dots that do not fad and can even expand a bit and look out of place or blotchy.

 

Now that I have had my second fill in SMP the results are looking way better and the unevenness between the faded areas and the dark areas including the larger dots is  for the most part undetectable unless you really get close in to my scalp. I went with a darker overall SMP coloring since my plan is not to shave my hair right down to the scalp, but rather trim the hair using a no guard electro trimmer and keep it buzzed short. If I had less hair on top I would of most likely gone with a lighter SMP (Scalp Micropigmentation) to match a closer shaved head look. You may ask what am I going to do when I lose more hair on top over time. The kind of good thing is that SMP does fade a bit over time and so if I do lose more hair on top and decide to shave my head right down then the lighter more aged SMP will match a fully shaved scalp better. If my hair decides to hang around for a while then I can simply get an SMP touch up later on if the SMP fades more than I would like it to.

I will most likely be getting a 4th session of SMP in about another months time to again fill in any area that may fade between now and then and just even out a few spots like my temple area where it still seems to be a little lighter.

If you like the work I received from Kyle over at Studio Sashiko and you live in the Lower Mainland area of Canada BC then make an appointment with Kyle and see if SMP (Scalp Micropigmentation) is right for you. Make sure to tell him Mike form GetFitOver40 sent you :)

Getting Real Series - My Wife Had No Idea - SMP Scalp Micropigmentation

It's been almost two weeks since I had my initial first two session of Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP) and so far I have not told my wife anything about my decision to get Scalp Micropigmentation. I kind of wanted it to be a surprise and to be honest, I had a feeling she would not notice. To be fair to her I have been shaving my head and keeping it really short lately and the fact that I still have some hair density left means the before and after contrast is not as noticeable as it would be for someone who is mostly bald on top.

I will often shave my beard and it can take my wife several days before she notices I shave it off, I guess that's how couples kind of get once we've been marled for a while. We only really notice the big stuff ;)

Anyway I wanted to let my Wife Nicole know about the SMP and see if she had noticed so I cornered her and made this video to capture my "confessional" so to speak.

Getting Real Series - SMP Scalp Micropigmentation Sessions 1 & 2

If you have not already read my first Article on SMP or Scalp Micro Pigmentation then make sure to do so. 

• Getting Real Series - Going Bald and Scalp Micropigmentation

This week I had my first two sessions of Scalp Micro Pigmentation performed by Kyle the owner of Studio Sashiko. My appointments where for Monday and Tuesday where each day I had a 3-4 hours SMP session. Day one was to address the crown or back area of my head and day two was for the frontal hairline area. I will be going back in about a month to do some fill in and add a bit more density in some areas. It's better to do this type of process using multiple stages rather than going to dense or dark by mistake as it is easier to add more density then take it away.

SMP or Scalp Micro Pigmentation is like getting a tattoo but the needles are not as large so it is actually a little less painful overall and I did use some numbing cream before each process. I would say the pain level while the needling is happing is fairly mild and if anything I felt more irritation after the process than during since my skin got fairly red to the point where I could even feel some throbbing from my pulse especially when I had the crown or back area done. I did not notice this throbbing as much when I had the second procedure done for my frontal areas.

In this video I take short video clips throughout the week so you can follow along how this entire process went and what if this is something you may be interested in it should give you a good idea on what to expect the first couple of sessions.

Overall I am really happy with these initial results, the density is a bit better than I expected it to be but it may soften a bit over the following month. There are some patchy spots that need a some more filling in and my frontal hairline needs to be a little less perfect with some softening right on the frontal hairline edge. All of this is super easy to do and I may even be able to get it all done during my third session which will be in about a months time.

Getting Real Series - Going Bald and Scalp Micropigmentation

This video is the first in a series of videos I hope to create for my YouTube Channel and GetFitOver40 Blog. In this "Getting Real Series" I want to touch upon subjects that at least for me I feel may be more private, so in other words I would normally not share with most people, especially the YouTube community. It is human nature to want to put our best foot forward and we all have things in our lives that we don't want people to see or know about, they may not even be all that bad but for some of us they can be embarrassing or make us feel less than adequate.

What most people, see when they watch one of my videos or talk to me in person is the person I want them to see, the person I wish I was perhaps and that is usually at their best, not their worst. We all tend to be a little this way.

My first subject in my "Getting Real Series" is the subject of going bald and this may not even just be for men, many women struggle with thinning or balding hair and this video will show people in this situation a rather interesting option to correct not only hair loss on top of the head but also in other areas like thinning eyebrows or even lack of facial hair.

There are all kinds of hair loss options out there, some to try and grow your own hair back, some to mask the effects of baldness and the most extreme measures are to surgically transplant hair back where it has fallen out. The cost for these options can vary a great deal and cost as much as several tens of thousands of dollars. Personally I am not prepared to have surgery or pay a ludicrous amount of money to have my hair back but one option that came to my attention called "Scalp Micropigmentation" looks really appealing to me in terms of the look I want to go for, the lifestyle I want to live and the cost I am prepared to pay.

In a nutshell, Scalp Micropigmentation is basically very similar to a regular tattoo but instead of getting a tattoo to create artwork on your body, Scalp Micropigmentation is used to cosmetically create the look of hair on your body, in my case it will add hair density to the areas where my hair is thinning and even over time will continue to create the look of a full head of hair as my real hair diminishes. I will have to keep my hair short since the hair being tattooed does not look like long hair but rather looks like short hair follicles, so a buzzed hair look works really well with Scalp Micropigmentation. If you have some hair on top of your head like me, you can get away with a bit longer hair even with Scalp Micropigmentation since your scalp will have a darker appearance in general making it hard to distinguish between the real hair and the added shaded hair.

Scalp Micropigmentation technicians also use different ink and needles compared to regular tattoo artists since hair follicles are rather small and so much smaller needles must be used. The ink used in Scalp Micropigmentation is also very different and is charcoal based since it must remain a shade of grey even when fading over time. Regular tattoo dyes can go blue or red over time which would lead to a very unnatural looking hair line. Another very important distinction between a regular tattoo artist and a Scalp Micropigmentation technician, is the level of training required for Scalp Micropigmentation. Scalp Micropigmentation is not something you can simply do even if you are a very good artist, you must be trained and certified or again the results will not look natural or believable.

So after a lot of research in the subject of Scalp Micropigmentation, I feel I will be moving forward with this procedure since I am comfortable with a short or buzzed head look and Scalp Micropigmentation will give me a back my full looking head of hair that I once had :) And at a price that is very affordable compared to other solutions out there. If you live in the Langley BC area and are interested in looking into this option for yourself, then you may want to checkout Studio Sashiko! I will keep you posted on my results...