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    Did You Trademark the Term “Scalp MicroPigmentation”?

    Feb 14, 2014/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /Pigments

    I know you have a scalpmicropigmentation.com site, but I saw other companies and websites on the Internet using SMP with a trademark sign or a registered sign. Did you invent SMP or are you using SMP without permission?

    The technique of micropigmenting the scalp has been around for many years, but it has not been widely referred to as “Scalp MicroPigmentation” until a few years ago (since 2010). When we first entered the pigmentation market back in 2010, we tried to come up with various names for the process, such as scalp tattooing and scalp micro tattoo. Dr. Pak came up with the term “Scalp MicroPigmentation” in early 2011, which we abbreviated to SMP. We figured it was a good, catchy term and built our marketing based on this new naming.

    We even hired a lawyer to file a U.S. Trademark with the Patent office, but the SMP trademark was rejected on the basis that it was a common descriptive term that was abbreviated. We do own the scalpmicropigmentation.com domain, but anyone can use the SMP terminology. Legally, you cannot place a trademark or registered sign after it. I realize other companies shamelessly do this, but that is false advertising and representation. It’s akin to putting a ™ or ® after the words “computer” or “automobile”. Anyone can use the the abbreviation “SMP” and it is not a brand.

    In the end, we are happy that the terminology of “SMP” and “Scalp MicroPigmentation” caught on. If anything, it gives us passive exposure for the small investment we made on purchasing the domain name.

    Tags: smp, scalp micropigment, scalp micro pigmentation, trademark

    Can I Use Body Hair and SMP to Give it a Textured Look?

    Feb 14, 2014/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /FUE, Hair Transplantation, Pigments

    Hi Doc

    Love your website please keep up the good work it is very much appreciated. I have been reading your website extensively and understand the difficulties with transplanting body hair ie arms, legs, chest on to the scalp different rate of growth etc. However would it be possible in the following scenario:

    I usually have my hair shaved ie blade 0 or 1, thankfully I have one of those heads that look better shaved rather then with hair! I am 33 years old with black hair Norwood class 4 I am loosing may hair slowly but its not apparent yet.

    Now with the combination of SMP to give it that shadow look and transplanted hair from chest, arms to give it ‘texture’ as the hair will always be blade 1. In this scenario would it be possible to use body hair combined with SMP?

    Thanks Doc

    We have been using FUE grafts for added texture on a person like you who gets Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP). However, we use scalp hair… not body hair. Body hair transplant success rates are variable and the texture is not the same. If you are going for the “stubble” look, scalp hair will give you a better texture.

    That said, we’ve found that after having the SMP done to the full head, most people usually realize that having a hair transplant to get the “stubble” texture is not an issue (as they once thought).

    Tags: smp, pigment, hair transplant, hairloss, hair loss

    Which Comes First in a Master Plan — SMP or Hair Transplant?

    Dec 20, 2013/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /FUE, Pigments

    Dr. Rassman / Dr. Pak,
    If, after consulting with you and establishing a masterplan, a patient were to undergo SMP with the intention of having a hair transplant in the near future, are there aspects of the procedure that require particular consideration?

    For example:-
    (a) Would the SMP hairline have to be positioned slightly further back than the original hairline to allow for the creation of a transition zone during an HT?
    (b) Are the SMP dots used as a template for an HT?
    (c) Would the integrity and visual effect of SMP ink be damaged or compromised by HT-surgery incisions?
    (d) Do you advocate using a darker pigment to provide better camouflage to the scalp, or do you always match the ink to the patient’s existing hair colour, even if it’s greying/white?

    Or is it advisable to have SMP after a hair transplant? Thank you.

    Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

    Each and every patient is different and there is no rule. You can have Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) first and a hair transplant later. Or you can have the transplant first and SMP later. I have had patients who had SMP on a completely bald scalp and later had a small FUE surgery to add texture to the hairline.

    The hairline for SMP and a hair transplant is placed in the same proportionate height according to what the patient and doctor agrees on. If a patient ever considers having a full HT later on in life they should let the doctor know of this possibility so the SMP hairline can be placed slightly back to make room for some transition zone… but in my experience (in practice) this rarely happens, because most bald patients who are undergoing SMP will never consider a full HT since it will never give them complete full hair coverage. Most bald SMP patients would rather have a good hairline and later consider an FUE option for added texture (not fullness).

    I do not advocate darker ink for better camouflage. I advocate a specific shade of ink that matches the complexion of skin and hair combination. If the patient’s hair turns grey later on in life, the SMP shade will make the roots look dark. If you apply SMP all over the scalp it would not matter if the hair turns grey, because there is a base SMP color. Many patients with grey hair have SMP and it actually makes their hair look less grey and they look a little younger. If there is ever a drastic mismatch where your hair turns completely white (not grey) like Santa Claus, then I suppose one must consider dying their hair. Completely white hair will not work with SMP unless you shave the white hair.

    Tags: smp, pigment, scalp micropigmentation, hairloss, hair loss, hair transplant

    In the News – How Hollywod A-Listers Fight Hair Loss

    Oct 4, 2013/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /Pigments

    Snippet from the article:

    In a town obsessed with staying (or at least looking) young to remain on top, more than a few men agonize over going bald. Superficial though it might be, many derive confidence and a perception of power from a full head of hair.

    Which is why anyone who’s anyone in the follically challenged Tinseltown set has come to rely on a few good doctors. Armed with the latest technology, these gurus — having moved far beyond yesterday’s telltale hair plugs — know how to help a man sprout hair or at least give the appearance of doing so, using several techniques from shots to transplants to tattoos.

    Read the rest — Leg Hair Transplants and Scalp Tattoos: How Hollywood’s A-List Fights Baldness

    Dr. Pak is quoted about SMP in the article — “There are a lot of actors who have had bad hair-transplant scars or are covering a bald spot, and this frees them from using makeup,” says Jae Pak of the New Hair Institute on L.A.’s Miracle Mile.

    Tags: smp, hair loss, hairloss, hollywood reporter

    Should I Use Clippers or a Face Shaver After SMP?

    Sep 11, 2013/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /Pigments

    Hi Dr. Rassman!

    I am thinking about getting SMP for the entire scalp. I have had several hair transplant procedures so there is a considerable amount of scarring. I want to shave my head close to the scalp and have been told that I should still be able to do this. I am confused about whether I should use clippers (Oster 76 – 00000 Blade) or a face shaver (Remington 91/Remington 6150). Which would be better for me to use after the SMP procedure?

    They all work, you just have to use what is most comfortable and convenient for you. I have no preference.

    Tags: scalp micropigmentation, smp, shaving, head shaving

    August Is National Hair Loss Awareness Month

    Aug 5, 2013/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /Drugs, Hair Transplantation, Pigments

    This August marks the 13th year for National Hair Loss Awareness Month, which was established by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) to raise awareness about this treatable condition that affects an estimated 60 million men and 40 million women in America.

    The above snippet is from a press release I was sent, and I want to elaborate about how this is a treatable condition.

    For those of you who look into the mirror every morning and see the signs of hair loss, you should know that there are many options available for you to slow, stop, or reverse hair loss without surgery by using medications such as finasteride (for men) and minoxidil (for men and women). Additionally, there other modalities that can make your hair look thicker without surgery, such as Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP). Of course, there is also hair transplant surgery, an example of which can be found here.

    Granted, many readers of this site are knowledgeable about the treatment options available, but just in case some of you weren’t familiar with them, I hope the above was helpful.

    Tags: hair loss, hairloss, awareness, dermatology

    Hair Transplant Expectations — Hope vs Reality

    Aug 2, 2013/by William Rassman, M.D./3 /Hair Transplantation, Pigments, Repair

    Here’s a story about a patient that has had four total hair transplant procedures — procedure #1 and #2 in 1995-1996 with us totaling 3286 hair grafts, procedure #3 with another doctor a couple of years ago of 1000 grafts, and finally procedure #4 (to fix procedure #3). This gentleman continued to lose hair after his first two procedures in the mid-1990s, and although he did not like what was happening to him, he was reluctant to have another procedure.

    That is, until he saw an advertisement for hair transplants at $2/graft. At that price, he decided that one more surgery would solve his problem. Unfortunately, this cheap procedure produced a harsh, detectably grafted hairline which made him never really satisfied with the final results. He came back to us to correct this harsh hairline to some degree about a year ago with one of our standard hairline repairs, but he still did not like his look and the larger grafts from procedure #3 still showed.

    We are all torn between what we hope to achieve and what we really end up achieving, and progressive hair loss during the treatment phase does not help the problem. This particular patient had unrealistic expectations and that is why he went to another doctor who, based upon promises, sold him a procedure that just made him angry with himself for falling for a sales pitch. As planned, after the repair of the frontal hairline that we performed a year ago, he came in for Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) about a month ago and told me that he is now euphoric with the results (today was the last SMP procedure).

    “Why didn’t you offer me this 15 years ago,” he asked. I told him that it was not available until three years ago. “Innovation moves at its own pace, driven by problems that need solutions,” I told him. This innovation took time and the right circumstances to find its place in our treatment regimen. He continued to discuss the personal toll that he experienced with his hair loss and his recent dependency on surgery to fix something that he did not like. “It was not pleasant, but now things are different,” he continued. And he can put the entire hair loss experience and the toll it took on his self confidence behind him. It was rewarding to hear this from him, so I decided to share it with our readers.

    Many people can not achieve their goals of a perfect end look because they either:

    1. don’t have enough hair to cover the balding area
    2. their balding pattern is advanced and the supply/demand equation for hair does not math out, or
    3. they continue to lose hair without a Master Plan that took into account the progressive nature of the hair loss.

    Scalp MicroPigmentation bridges the gap for many people who fall into the above categories. Doctors want to believe that given enough money, every person that they treat can get a full head of hair; however, nothing can be further than the truth.

    I continue to write this blog because it is an important part of our practice, educating patients and bringing them to understanding what is happening to them. At the last ISHRS physicians meeting, I was told many times that the doctors in this industry read my blog and that it has become a resource for them when dealing with their patients. That just adds to our (editors) satisfaction in knowing that this blog is a good community service.

    Tags: hair transplant, hair restoration, scalp micropigmentation, smp, hairloss, hair loss, reality

    Having SMP Done in Between Transplanted Grafts?

    Jul 26, 2013/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /Hair Transplantation, Pigments

    Hey Dr Rassman,

    If a patient were to come and request to have as many grafts that their donor supply would allow then have the SMP procedure done in between those grafts and also had the scar camouflaged in the back of the scalp, wouldn’t it be nearly impossible to tell the persons head of hair from a non balding person?

    Like for those individuals with high donor densities if some had 10,000 grafts placed on their scalp then had the micro pigmentation procedure done i would think they would be able to get close to their juvenile hairline back and they would also be able to grow their hair out to probably a number 1 clipper without it looking too odd. What are your thoughts on this?

    Yes, we have done this before. Here’s an example of a patient that wasn’t satisfied with his transplant and had SMP done to give it a fuller look. Another patient that comes to mind had SMP done first, then had 500 or so FUE grafts placed into his head to give him the feel of stubble.

    Though, if you’re going to have 10,000 grafts placed, I would probably wonder why you’d want to shave your head down to a 1 guard.

    Tags: smp, hair transplant, pigment, scalp micropigmentation

    Scalp MicroPigmentation vs Traditional Concealers Like Toppik

    Jul 12, 2013/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /Hair Products, Pigments

    I recently started using Toppik and I’m always worried that it’s going to come off on my pillow or I’ll get caught in a rain storm and have my “hair” wash away. SMP would be like a permanent Toppik, yes?

    I had a discussion with one of our hair transplant patients who continued to use Toppik to get the fullness he needed despite having a reasonable hair transplant result. This man in his late 50s received around 5500 grafts, which was not quite enough to cover his entire Norwood class 6 balding pattern, so he became dependent upon using concealers like Toppik and DermMatch even after the transplants were completely grown in.

    This patient is a daily swimmer, and with his primary exercise being in the pool he was always wearing a swim cap to deal with the Toppik running down his head once it got wet. I told him about Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) and how it could be done to supplement his hair transplant to increase the illusion of fullness, much like what he was doing with the concealers. He had the SMP done and was able to give up the Toppik dependency.

    He said, “Now I swim without a swim cap and you can not believe the freedom I got by that SMP treatment. I am single and now that my hair looks like I am 40 again, my life has turned another page“.

    Tags: smp, toppik, dermmatch, concealers, scalp micropigmentation, hairloss, hair loss, hair transplant

    If I Have Little Hair Left at the Hairline, Would SMP Be Easy to Spot?

    Jul 11, 2013/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /Pigments

    I have heard that scalp micro-pigmentation can look quite artificial if you have none or very little hair remaining on your frontal hairline. To what extent does it look artificial under the conditions I previously mentioned? Is it artificial to the point that anybody walking around with it can easily be spotted or is it more subtle (i.e you would really need to pay attention to the person)?

    All of this is of course assuming that the head is either wet shaved or buzzed to a 0. I know it’s not perfect but with little existing hair remaining can micropigmentation still frame your frontal hair line in a somewhat natural and realistic way without catching the attention of every on-looker?

    I don’t mind telling those I am close to but I wouldn’t want everybody looking at my head either. I’m 24 now, I still have a hairline but I will probably be totally bald (norwood 7) by the time I’m 30 or 35. I would just like to know and I don’t want to be pressured into doing it or anything like that.

    If I understand your question correctly, you have lost much of the frontal edge of your hairline and want it put back with SMP. You seem to understand that if you have SMP done at the leading edge of the hairline where you lost the hair, that you must shave your entire head and keep it short. That’s the most important thing to know, and we call that the bold look on our website.

    One should not be able to tell the SMP from normal hair, even close up, provided that the scalp is completely shaved. If you allow the surrounding hair to grow out too long, it will create an obvious change in depth that would make the areas with SMP look different. But if you keep it shaved, it will blend in just fine.

    Tags: pigment, smp, hairloss, hair loss, scalp micropigmentation

    Removing SMP with a Laser?

    Jul 10, 2013/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /Pigments

    A while back you mentioned a new SMP pigment that might be reversible with one laser treatment. Sorry if I missed your follow up on that. How did that turn out?

    The pigment we use for Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) is reversible with laser pigment removal; however, it may require more than one treatment. There is also a risk for hair loss with the laser pigment removal.

    A while back, we were made aware of an ink that was reportedly able to be removed with one laser treatment, but the company that produced the product apparently was sold and the ink hasn’t been made available.

    Tags: smp, pigment, hairloss, hair loss, laser removal

    A Remarkable Change Made from SMP on a Thinning Scalp (with Photos)

    Jun 28, 2013/by William Rassman, M.D./5 /Photos, Pigments

    This patient came to see us after having a hair transplant (from another clinic) that still left him not a full as he would like. We offered Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) as an alternative option to having further transplant surgeries. He took this alternative option and the transformation was very exciting.

    It would have taken between 3500-6000 grafts had he gone the hair transplant route and the results would have taken possibly 16 months for two procedures. The results you see here were instantaneous — no waiting period — although he had some touch-ups after the initial session.

    Click the photos to enlarge:

    After:

     

    Before:

     

    Tags: smp, scalp micropigmentation, hairloss, hair loss

    Is SMP Basically a Permanent DermMatch?

    Jun 27, 2013/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /Hair Products, Pigments

    Hello dr Rassman
    Am thinking about having SMP but am not sure if i will get the same result as dermmatch. i had HT about 8000 grafts, and now when i use dermmatch with a little of toppic fiber my hair looks perfect but i want something permanent. so please i need help to decide.

    DermMatch is a kind of powdered paint (albeit a crude description) — it is not permanent and while it is not detectable up close when applied correctly, you can feel it and it does come off on your pillow and hands if you rub your scalp. Toppik is a similar temporary camouflaging product, but it adds little fibers to existing hairs to provide a visual bulk.

    On the other hand, Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) is permanent, you can not feel it by touch, and if it is done by someone that knows what they are doing it should not be detectable up-close. Everyone is different and whether this is what you want to do is a something you’ll need to decide on.

    What I would suggest is that you attend one of our Open House events in Los Angeles. We hold them every month in our office and we show off actual patients who have had SMP done so you can see it being done, feel it (with the permission of the patient) and look at it up-close to judge the answer to your questions yourself. Seeing and touching is believing.

    Tags: dermmatch, toppik, hairloss, hair loss, scalp micropigmentation, smp, pigment

    Can a Younger Patient Have SMP First, Then Have a Hair Transplant Years Later If Hair Loss Progresses?

    Jun 24, 2013/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /Hair Transplantation, Pigments

    Hey Doc,

    Regarding the order of SMP and a HT (either FUE or Strip) – is an order of procedures preferred or needed? Specifically, if a younger candidate with the beginnings of thinning hair wanted to get SMP first to “fill in” some thin spots while anticipating the need of a HT procedure down the road, would the ink from the SMP hurt the recipient area? Thanks so much!

    There is no real anatomical risk to the Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP); however, there is something that we call the Master Plan that you need to discuss with your doctor, which includes planning for SMP and hair transplants.

    If you want us to be your doctor, please contact my office at 800-NEW-HAIR and send me some good photos. I will be happy to offer you a free consultation and keep your photos confidential.

    Tags: smp, pigment, hairloss, hair loss, hair transplant

    People Guessed I Was 20 Years Younger After I Had SMP Done

    Jun 18, 2013/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /Age, Pigments

    A 55 year old male patient had a complete Scalp MicroPigmentation of the scalp done. He has changed his hairstyle from long hair with a balding pattern to a shaved head.

    He sent me this short email that I wanted to share:


    About a week after my procedure, I was at a party where I met a number of guys that I didn’t know. Sometime later in the evening, the topic of conversation shifted to age, and we did the “guess my age” bit. Guesses of those who were in the 50 year old range were pegged between 45-60. When it came to me, they all guessed I was in my mid 30s! Totally made my day.

    Awesome! I’m glad your day was made and I’m pleased that you’re enjoying your new look.

    Tags: smp, age, hairloss, hair loss, pigment, scalp micropigmentation
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