To the uninitiated, this may seem a strange subject for a post. The truth of the matter is that some providers treatments CAN turn blue after a short period of time, but this never happens with scalp micropigmentation treatments completed by HIS Hair Clinic. Here we explain why.
The logic behind the question is understandable, after all, if regular tattoos turn blue or green over time, why shouldn’t SMP treatments do the same? The reality is that the outcome depends greatly on which clinic you choose for your treatment.
From where does this concern originate?
Over the last few years, more and more providers around the world have started to offer scalp micropigmentation treatments to the general public. These providers are owned and operated by individuals from a wide range of backgrounds. Some are hair transplant surgeons, some are permanent makeup practitioners and a few are tattoo artists. The majority of new providers however, started out as clients of existing clinics and saw a commercial opportunity that they chose to pursue.
These groups have one thing in common – most of them had no prior experience of actually conducting SMP treatment sessions. They had to learn through trial and error. Some made mistakes and have since improved their process, whilst others continue to offer an incorrect interpretation of what scalp micropigmentation should be.
Above: This is the kind of high quality result you can rightfully expect from HIS Hair Clinic
The SMP process is more complex than you may realise. It is nothing like inking a regular tattoo, nothing like the application of permanent makeup and certainly has nothing in common with hair transplant surgery. The equipment used is highly specialised (all HIS equipment is completely bespoke), our pigments are designed solely for the purpose and the actual application technique is not the same as any other cosmetic process. The only way to complete a high quality SMP treatment that will stand the test of time is by using the right equipment, the right needles, the correct pigments and utilising a trained, highly skilled practitioner.
Unfortunately the increasing demand for this type of hair loss treatment has resulted in a number of rogue providers, that operate without proper development of their technique, with no effective aftercare processes in place and with an apparent disregard for the wellbeing of (and the results achieved for) their clients.
Why do some providers treatments turn blue?
Professional scalp micropigmentation applications should be completed using unique and highly specialised SMP pigments. However due to a lack of knowledge and/or experience, many providers use tattoo inks or permanent makeup pigments to complete this task. These materials are wholly inappropriate for SMP applications.
Tattoo inks and permanent makeup pigments are made up of several constituent colours and shades to achieve the final colour of black. This black shade is then diluted to produce the required shade on the grey scale to match the natural hair of the recipient. Over time as the pigment deposits are attacked by the immune system and exposed to ultraviolet rays from the sun, they break down under the skin into their original constituent colours, hence why blue and green shades are often seen.
How are HIS Hair Clinic pigments different?
This discolouration process simply cannot happen at HIS Hair Clinic because our pigments are designed solely for the purpose, and are made up of pure black compounds only. There are no constituent colours so no matter what they are exposed to, they do not contain any other colour than black. It is therefore impossible for the pigments used during any HIS Hair Clinic treatment to turn blue, green or any other colour other than black or grey.
What about those HIS Hair Clinic clients who report a blue hue to their heads after treatment?
During a scalp micropigmentation treatment, thousands of tiny micro-punctures are made in the recipients scalp. In some clients this can produce bruising. The colour of these bruises combined with black or grey pigmentation can sometimes produce an illusion, witnessed as a slight blue hue to the scalp area. The same phenomenon is sometimes seen (although rarely) when the client is severely sunburnt after their treatment. Both of these effects are quite uncommon (we estimate less than 1% of clients are affected). On rare occasions when they do occur, the problem corrects itself after a few days when the bruising or sunburn has subsided.
On even rarer occasions, the skin itself can react to the pigmentation process and create a slightly blue hue. This affects a tiny minority of clients and goes away after a few days. In most cases the client has fair skin and fair hair.
These are not common occurences, they affect an almost negligible proportion of our clients and have no bearing on the overall effectiveness of the final results. After treating more than 10,000 clients over a 12 year period, there is not a single documented case of a HIS Hair Clinic treatment turning blue and staying that way for anything more than a few days.
For more information please see the following resources:
- Speak with thousands of past and prospective clients in our forum
- Find out more about our treatment
- The best clinic for SMP? Be careful who you believe
- What will your SMP treatment look like in 10 years time?
- Pigments and pigmentation specifics
- Got an aftersales question? Email support@hishairclinic.co.uk
