Hair Tattoo and Scalp Tattoo Austin, Texas & Houston, Texas
It can be called a Head Tattoo, Hair Tattoo, Scalp Tattoo and many other things. But is SMP even classed as a Tattoo?
Houston, Austin and San Antonio are home to many great tattoo artists and as far as I am concerned, this IS a tattoo. We use ink, we use needles, we put them into the skin. It is a tattoo. In fact, when SMP started – it was referred to as Micro Hair Tattoo or MHT. However, this doesn’t mean you should just go to a regular tattooist – just like you shouldn’t come here to Houston, Texas or Austin, Texas and have me do a regular tattoo on your arm. I’ve repaired many hair tattoo procedures over the years, and a good percentage of them were done by very talented tattooists here in Texas.
Before and After Hair Tattoo, Houston
Here are some of the key differences:
- Ink – I use a medical grade ink. I’ve experimented with a lot of different inks – my left leg is a collection of around 12 different inks that I have tried out. And over time I have found an ink that is safe for scalp micro pigmentation, does not change color, the skin retains it well (reducing fading) and above all – is predictable when all is settled down and healed. My ink will not change color, it is impossible. Ink choice, I have found, is especially important here in Texas like Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio are all famed for humidity!
- Needles – I use 2 types of needles. 1 single point needle, this provides a minute-sized dot which is perfect for the finer details (broken + softer hairlines especially) and for acute blending. Occasionally I will treat a whole head with this needle if the skin is very tight or if the client’s natural hair follicles are unusually small. But 90% of my time I will use a 3 point needle to pack more ink into those tiny dots and achieve a consistent deposit. When I worked for HIS Hair Clinic in Houston, 3 point needles were used 100% of the time but the single finer needle definitely does have it’s a place when we are looking for perfection and the tinier details.
- Technique – Adding to the above – the Scalp Pigmentation Technique of placing a dot into the correct layer of skin, not dragging the needing or be tempted to draw is much different.
- Art Vs Photorealism. There is a margin of error allowed for certain tattoos, even artistic license. Meaning – small quirks can often be attributed to artistic license. With Scalp Micropigmentation hair tattoo, we are not making something that should appear as art or something that is usually bragged about or shown of. We are talking about a form of pointillism that should be as close to matching natural hair follicles as humanly possible.
Be wary of anybody saying this is a “medical procedure,” Hair Transplant surgeons especially, as this means they can charge much more $$$ for a procedure that they don’t even specialize in.
There are other minute differences but the above is a general overview on the differences. I hope this helped you in your scalp micro pigmentation (not head tattoo!) research. And if you have any questions or need any advice, regardless of who you decide to perform your treatment, I will be very happy to help you. Contact Here.
Ian Dennis, Houston, 2018.
