Are There Any Recent Advancements in Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP)?

This below question was asked by a member of our Hair Loss Social Community and Discussion Forums and answered by Nicole, the SMP and Micro-Pigmentation Specialist for Coalition hair restoration surgeons Dr. Ron Shapiro and Dr. Paul Shapiro.

Are there any changes made to the scalp micropigmentation (SMP) procedure since inception? For example, any changes to the ink? I’m just curious if the temporary ink lasts any longer than it used to or if anyone has found a way to make the permanent ink not fade or change colors?

No changes have been made with the ink itself since inception. We have better needles and a better machine now. This makes a big difference because it implants the pigment in such a way that causes less trauma to the tissue which should create a bit of extended longevity. The best thing to come out of the time between inception and today is that we are better able to predict what it will do exactly and have tailored our protocols in a way that it should get our patients some more time between maintenance visits.

I don’t think there will ever be a time that a pigment that doesn’t fade will exist without changing color. The law of color won’t allow that. With time the body is always going to be able to break down implanted pigment in some way. When that happens, instead of it disappearing it starts fading to the most dominant primary color that created it. For instance, black is made of many levels of the color blue and brown is made with more red and yellow. That is why when permanent black SMP fades you see blueish tones and when permanent brown fades you see orange. I’m talking permanent like tattoo pigments and permanent make-up pigments. Those are designed to be life long.

We really know today that special pigments designed only for the scalp are what’s best for SMP because the skin on the scalp is so different than skin on other parts of the body and it really requires different properties. The reason I think we see color change with scalp pigments would be because the wrong color was chosen by the technician right off. I’ve seen technicians choose to put really dark pigment on really light skin and it definitely has a blue hue. This is because the undertone of the skin caused a color change, not because of fading. Good technicians are important.

We really want pigments that are made with smaller particle sizes so that our body can remove them vs seeing these color changes. They may require some maintenance but at least not repair.

Nicole
SMP and Micro-Pigmentation Specialist for Shapiro Medical Group

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David
Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.

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