SMP for hair transplant scars
Hair transplant scars are a source of significant anxiety for millions of men, and also a significant number of women, who have had hair restoration surgery at some point in their lives. Even with modern hair transplant techniques, the issue is that no physician can prevent the continuation of hair loss after surgery. As time progresses and more hair is lost, many people opt for further procedures to mitigate against ongoing thinning of their hair. This leads to more significant scarring and of course there is less hair available to cover the scars. Eventually, many men reach a point where they would simply prefer to shave their head. This is problematic after hair restoration because scars become much more obvious with no hair to conceal them, leaving the patient in a catch-22 situation where their hair looks bad because of how much density has been lost, but they can’t do anything about it. Even if the patient keeps their hair, they often find they have to style it a certain way or use temporary concealer products to make it appear thicker and to hide the scars. Hardly an ideal long term solution.
Hair transplant scar types
There are four different kinds of scars that patients carry, depending on the nature of the surgical method used:
- Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE or ‘dot’) scars
- Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT or ‘strip’) scars
- Plug scars (typically from pre-1990’s surgery)
- Scalp reduction scars
Each of these scar types presents different challenges from a camouflage point of view, and the nature of how they are concealed is quite different. To what degree the scars can be hidden depends on a number of factors. The color of the tissue in comparison to the surrounding skin, the scar texture, the extent to which it has healed, its size, width, position, whether it is flat, indented or raised, the shape of the head, the amount of hair surrounding the area and not least the skill of any practitioner chosen to remedy the situation, all play a part. As you probably realize, research is important to ensure you choose the right option for you, and if necessary, the right practitioner to help you.
Common scar camouflage methods
Temporary concealers
The easiest and cheapest method, however also the least effective, many people use concealers such as Toppik, DermMatch or Nanogen to make their hair appear thicker, subsequently hiding scars under the hair.
Scalp micropigmentation
A pointillism method of tattooing, scalp micropigmentation is the most common option for concealing scars of all types.
FUE into the scar tissue
Typically used to hide FUT scars, this surgical process requires the grafting of hair units into the scar using the FUE method.
Scar revision surgery
A method for historic or bad FUT scars, the scar tissue is surgically removed and the wound is sealed using modern suture techniques.
Laser revision
As laser techniques improve, some clients are turning to Fraxel or Vbeam laser techniques to make their scars less visible.
Concealing scars with scalp micropigmentation
A pointillism-based tattooing method, scalp micropigmentation has been around for decades but was really innovated and rolled out internationally from 2009 onwards. Scalp micropigmentation is a hair loss solution available through thousands of specialist clinics, however it is increasingly used for scar camouflage too. In fact, SMP has become the world’s most common solution for scar recipients. Scalp micropigmentation for hair transplant scars Hiding scalp reduction scars with scalp micropigmentation It is important to note that a high level of artistry, as well as specialist knowledge of the process, is required to deliver effective results. We do not recommend visiting a tattoo parlor for this procedure, in fact many hair transplant surgeons also produce sub-par results in this area.