Laurie DowningWe all understand that dots on the scalp can only ever be two dimensional, so where do these claims of achieving a 3 dimensional effect come from and how valid are they? We investigate.
Developing In The Early Days
We imagine that in the very early days of SMP there would have been no consideration given as to whether a genuinely three dimensional appearance could be achieved. The ambition would have been simply to put dots where nature had forgotten to, and in so doing achieve coverage. A perfectly noble ambition. It is not a leap from there to imagine that those early pioneers would have had to go through a lot of trial and error, mostly error we reckon, as they sought to understand the subtle differences a change on the shade of pigment would have on the finish for clients with various skin types and hair colour. They must have been as brave as they were persistent.
Thankfully, for all us SMP evengelists, they stuck to their task and a little over a decade ago it was HIS Hair Clinic who first bought SMP to market – albeit under a different name in those days, Micro Hair Tattooing (MHT). The name would subsequently change to distance the treatment further from traditional tattooing.
Ever since the start there have been a steady flow of improvements to the treatment. Whether it be finer, bespoke needles or dedicated monomeric pigments designed not to bleed or change colour the drive has been towards ever more successful solutions to the challenge of achieving a perfect SMP. Along with improvements in technique that saw the needle inserted at various lengths and angles to mimic how the natural follicles really appear on the scalp these advances saw the treatment take its rightful place at the table of potential solutions for a balding client.
Entering The Third Dimension
The addition of the three dimensional effect was another advance in technique. It was discovered that by layering the treatment, starting with the lightest shades at the first session, the visual effect was a pronounced improvement. Although the practitioner did not start out with the intention of achieving 3D that turned out to be the net effect of what he did. Like newspaper photographs in the days before digital printing, when their images were produced with dots of a uniform size that only varied in shade on the grey scale, it was found that a definite 3D effect was achievable with just the right needle and appropriately selected pigments.
Believe The Hype
So not only is a three dimensional effect achievable it is being performed on a daily basis. It has become the standard treatment at any clinic where they understand the technique.
It follows that for the 3D effect to be on offer at your local clinic they will need to have been trained at a reputable clinic in the first place… or will still be going through their own learning curve. Indeed, finding a reputable clinic among the explosion of new ones is ever more challenging… a situation that is made more demanding by the often opaque approach to declaring their experience or background, or worse… they simply lie about it and steal images from competitors to populate the gallery on their site.
Lighting Up The Dark Corners
In a world where the unscrupulous are ready to step in and take advantage of any commercial opportunity it has never been more difficult for the newbie to perform good due diligence. Here at SMP HQ we are always happy to help, if you are wondering which of the local clinics you should be talking to, or have questions about a clinic with which you are already engaged, we are delighted to get your questions and be of any help we can.
Please write to us here
We look forward to hearing from you.
