Scalp MicropigmentationMelbourne

Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP) is an effective solution for individuals dealing with various types of hair loss. Whether you are experiencing male or female pattern baldness, thinning hair, or scarring, SMP can help restore the appearance of a fuller head of hair. It’s also a great option for people with conditions like alopecia or those who have lost hair due to medication or accidents.

SMP can help with:

• Male Pattern Baldness (AGA)
• Female Pattern Baldness (AGA)
• Alopecia (all types)
• Thinning or fine hair
• Patchy hair loss
• Hair loss due to medications
• Scarring from surgeries, injuries, or conditions (including FUE/FUT scars, strip scars, and accident scarring)

This treatment not only enhances hair density but can also improve self-esteem by providing a natural, fuller look.

Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP) and hair transplant surgery are both popular options for addressing hair loss, but they differ in their approach, costs, and recovery. While you can combine both treatments for optimal results, SMP offers several unique advantages over traditional hair transplant surgery:

1. Safer Procedure

Unlike hair transplant surgery, which involves incisions, anaesthesia, and potential side effects from chemicals or medications, SMP is a minimally invasive treatment. It doesn’t require surgery, meaning there’s no risk of scarring, infection, or complications post-procedure. When performed by a licensed artist, SMP has a much safer profile.

2. Low Maintenance

SMP is a low-maintenance solution compared to other hair restoration options. While hair transplants often require long-term care, medications, or regular treatments, SMP doesn’t require such investments. Once done, the results are permanent, with touch-ups needed only every 2 to 5 years, depending on factors like hair loss progression, sun exposure, and skin type. It’s a simple, one-time procedure with minimal upkeep.

3. Non-Invasive

SMP is a non-invasive procedure that doesn’t involve any incisions or the need for donor hair. It doesn’t cause damage to your existing hair follicles and won’t leave scars on your scalp. This makes it an excellent choice for people who prefer a non-surgical, low-risk alternative to traditional hair restoration methods.

4. Cost-Effective

SMP is typically more affordable than hair transplant surgery, which can be quite expensive, especially when factoring in multiple sessions, post-operative care, and potential revisions. Even with touch-ups every few years, SMP remains a cost-effective long-term solution for hair loss.

In summary, while both treatments have their merits, SMP offers a safer, lower-maintenance, non-invasive, and more budget-friendly option for those looking to restore the appearance of a fuller head of hair.

There is no one answer to this, as everyone has a unique situation that they find themselves in on their hair loss journey. If you have more advanced hair loss, typically this will require around three sessions of SMP, ensuring you are healing in between each session. Each session itself depends again on your personal level of hair loss, but it can range between 1-4 hours.

Once the treatment is completed, many clients tend to come back in after 5 years or so to have an SMP touch-up. To find out how many sessions you would require, please book a free consultation with one of our SMP artists.

Although the sessions are relatively stress-free, there are a few key things you can do to prepare yourself for each of the SMP sessions you may need for your individual treatment plan: 1. Shower and wash your scalp before the session, as you won’t be able to wet your scalp for a few days after your treatment.

2. Depending on the oiliness of your scalp and skin, it might be best to moisturise your scalp 7 days before your initial SMP session.

3. Do not drink alcohol or consume any other drugs in the 48 hours leading up to your treatments.

One of the key benefits of scalp micropigmentation is that as a non-surgical hair loss treatment, there are very few risks associated with the procedure. The following risks and potential complications are important items to keep in mind, particularly when searching for an experienced and professional SMP artist:

• When applied incorrectly, the end results can look quite unnatural or uneven on the scalp.
• Skin infection or irritation due to unsterilised equipment or unsanitary working environment.
• Some people may be at risk of an allergic reaction to the specialised SMP pigments applied to the scalp.
• If you are someone who is prone to keloid scars, it’s advised that you should not receive scalp micropigmentation treatment.

Once again, researching a licensed and professional SMP artist who operates out of a health department approved clinic is essential for a smooth and sanitary SMP process.

The great benefit of being a non-surgical procedure, is that the recovery from SMP is generally quick and straightforward. Most people can return to their normal activities almost immediately. However, there are a few important guidelines to follow:

• Avoid intense exercise or activities that cause heavy sweating for the first seven days after treatment. Gentle exercise is fine from day two.
• Keep your scalp out of direct sunlight for at least 28 days after each session, and wear a hat or other protective covering outdoors.
• To ensure the best long-term results, protect your scalp from sun exposure by applying SPF 50 sunscreen when outdoors.
• After each session, avoid swimming pools and the sea for at least 14 days, and steam rooms and saunas for at least 28 days.

If you have any other questions in relation to aftercare for SMP, please get in touch with the team at Foli Sim.

Our Melbourne studio is at Level 2, Suite 221/55 Flemington Road, North Melbourne VIC 3051: a short run from the CBD and close to the Parkville medical precinct. There's metered street parking on and around Flemington Road and paid parking nearby, though spaces move quickly during the working day, so allow a little extra time if you're driving to a session.

North Melbourne is led by two senior practitioners, Kelly Dawes and Dave Ticconi, both internationally recognised scalp micropigmentation artists who present at conferences and workshops. Either can carry out your treatment, and you're welcome to request one; in practice availability often decides it. Whoever you start with will normally see your plan through, so you're not re-explaining your goals to a new artist halfway.

Yes, this is the classic scalp micropigmentation result. Pigment is placed across the whole scalp to replicate the shadow of closely shaved follicles, so a bald or heavily receded head reads as a full head of hair kept deliberately short. It suits men who've already accepted the shave and want the definition and hairline back. You keep shaving as normal afterwards; the SMP simply removes the bare, shiny areas that give the loss away.

It depends on your plan. If you're going for a shaved look, we'll usually ask you to arrive shaved or very closely clipped so your artist can see and work on the full scalp. If you're having density work through existing hair, you keep your hair: we'll advise on the ideal length beforehand. Your artist will tell you exactly what's needed when your sessions are booked, so nothing catches you out on the day.

Grey and salt-and-pepper hair is handled by lowering contrast rather than matching grey directly: pigment is diluted to a soft, cool tone that reads as stubble against your scalp instead of as dark dots under light hair. Done well the effect is a subtle, uniform shadow. If your hair is largely grey your artist will be candid at the consultation about how strong an effect is achievable, because contrast is what makes SMP visible.

SMP is frequently used to reduce the visual contrast of alopecia patches, blending bare areas into the surrounding scalp so they stop standing out. The important caveat is that alopecia areata can move (patches may regrow or new ones appear), so the plan needs to account for that, and the result may need revisiting. Your artist will look at how active and stable your alopecia currently is before recommending an approach.

Fading is normally gradual and fairly even, softening in tone rather than dropping out in blotches. Uneven fading is usually driven by sun exposure (the crown and hairline take the most UV and will lighten first if left unprotected) or by skin type variation across the scalp. SPF 50 whenever you're outdoors is the practical fix. A touch-up every few years restores the depth and evens out any drift.

SMP doesn't damage existing follicles and doesn't rule out a transplant later, and the two are often deliberately combined: SMP behind a transplanted hairline can make a limited graft count look considerably denser. Sequencing matters, though. If a transplant is on your horizon, say so at the consultation so your artist can plan around the likely donor and recipient areas rather than working blind.

Yes, but the plan changes. If you're in your twenties or early thirties and still losing, your artist designs for where your hair loss is heading rather than where it is today, and may recommend treating a broader area or staging the work. This is exactly the conversation to have at the free consultation. Anyone promising a design that will never need revisiting on an actively receding scalp is overselling.

Kelly and Dave typically book treatment sessions three to four weeks ahead, so it is worth starting the conversation before you need an appointment. Consultations are usually available sooner and are free, in person, by phone or by video. If you are working to a date (a wedding, a holiday, a return to the office), tell us when you book and we will map the session spacing backwards from it.

Regularly. North Melbourne draws clients from across regional Victoria and from Tasmania, and the studio's position near the CBD makes it straightforward to reach from Southern Cross or the airport. Do your consultation by phone or video first so your first trip is a treatment rather than a conversation, and we'll book your session dates together so you can plan flights or drives around a fixed schedule.

Yes, consultations are free in person, by phone or by video, and the video option covers most of what an in-person visit does. You'll be asked to send clear photos of your scalp in good light beforehand so your artist can assess your loss pattern properly, and we can produce a free digital simulation from those same photos. Call 1300 668 490 or use the enquiry form and we'll be in touch within 24 hours.