For many men, going bald means losing their confidence as well as their hair.
Now, increasing numbers are opting to have a ‘hair tattoo’- a new non-surgical technique which gives the illusion of a shaved head and which is now available at Crown Clinic.
The procedure, called Micro Scalp Pigmentation works by drawing tiny particles of pigment on the scalp to resemble short hairs.
Small dots of ink to replicate each hair follicle are tattooed on the head, giving the overall illusion of shaved stubble, with a visible hairline.
This can disguise receding hairlines, bald patches, and scarring on the head. It is also popular with women who may have permanently damaged their eyebrows through over plucking and want to cover up the damage.
The Micro Scalp Pigmentation (MSP) takes between two to five hours depending on the extent of the bald or thinning area, and most people have two to three sessions.
The procedure costs around £2,000 to £3,000 – cheaper than hair transplant surgery, which usually costs £7,000.
A hair transplant is a surgical technique where individual hair follicles are taken from a ‘donor site’–usually the back of the head – and implanted into the balding part of the body.
MSP is less invasive, in that it does not require surgery, and can help men who do not have any hair follicles to move.
It can be used by men with male pattern baldness, or hair loss conditions such as alopecia.
Male pattern baldness, the most common type of hair loss, affects around half of all men by 50 years of age.
It usually starts around the late twenties or by their late thirties.
It is hereditary, and is thought to be caused by oversensitive hair follicles, linked to having too much of a certain male hormone.
It can also affect women – usually those who have gone through the menopause – and tends to cause hair to thin at the top of the head.
The England footballer Andros Townsend has almost certainly had Micro Scalp Pigmentation (MSP) to cover up his male pattern baldness.
You can see how his appearance has altered in these before and after pictures. The balding area around his temples has been filled it and he now has a full hairline. Townsend, 25, may have had a conventional Follicular Unit Extraction hair transplant,
where donor hair is extracted from the back or side of his scalp and used to bolster his hairline. This is the same procedure had by Crown Clinic patients Calum Best, Gogglebox’s Chris Steed and football pundit Didi Hamann in procedures performed by our surgeon Asim Shahmalak. Dr Shahmalak also performs FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation) transplants where the donor hair is removed in a strip. TV doctor Christian Jessen had two FUT procedures with Dr Shahmalak.
If Townsend, 25, has had MPS, the treatment will last him between three to five years before the tattooing fades and needs topping up.
Whatever procedure he has had, Andros should be congratulated: his hair is looking a lot better.
If you would like to know more about the new MSP treatments available at Crown Clinic please ring on 0845 2100 300.