Scalp pigmentation

[baldjoeg]

Ben and Ozz,

Well said. I prefer to shave  the dome myself. It does not take that long and I enjoy it. I really like the results -  a smooth shiny dome that I enjoy.

[benlen]

Baldhog, intriguing that you say that the tattoo lasts roughly five years? When you had the treatment done, was there any sort of guarantee on how long it would last?

That time limit is good to know though, particularly in terms of as we age, because I think having a perfect hairline at 60 with a shaved head style would appear really unrealistic. I think if I had this treatment done, at that point I'd let it go, lol, because this is really more of a young man's game in terms of looking good.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Also it isn't really permanent. The ink goes halfway as deep as a traditional tattoo making laser removal relatively easy (as easy as having a laser shot at your head can be, of course . Also the sun will fade it over time, so either in about 5 years you get a touch-up, or you let it keep fading in which case it will appear you're losing your 'hair' all  over again and you'll soon be back to square one (albeit minus $3k!).

Well, not to be the Doubting Thomas, but I doubt you'll be at square one--and if the purveyors of this say so, I believe it would be prudent to ask them for independent and authoritative proof in writing that you can verify.  It's the dome--and if it doesn't work out like they say--and that's a possibility I should think you seriously consider--you'll be left with a smudge, a mess that will have to be covered up.  This hasn't been done long enough for any proof by example, that is a guy from 20 years ago back at square one.  Frankly, I'd wager they won't provide any independent and authoritative proof because it can't be done.  Believe it from this guy, in twenty years, without shaving you'll have enough scars and mementos that you won't want the buyer's remorse smudge in addition.  Just my opinion--it's your dome.  

[TxTa2Guy]

I think a lot of you are too into your "sly" and wanting other to be only "sly"

I don't want to be "only 'sly'!"  I want to by sly with wonderful art on my Bald By Choice head. But since I first shaved my full head of hair off over three years ago so I could get it tattooed, I have wished I had done it years ago. I didn't/couldn't do it before because I had an addiction to being a long-haired guy for over forty years. I understand those who seem to mourn their lost head of hair. But I'm glad I finally moved beyond being hung up on being a long-hair, came to love being bald, and reached nirvana!

but most of these dont even look bad at all. It's weird to me but ive seen people with it in real life and nobody noticed he was bald or thought he looked stupid.

I don't think I have seen a guy with tattooed hair so I could not express an opinion whether it looks stupid. I have heard for years about guys who had very little facial hair getting a permanent five-o'clock shadow tattooed on their face. I haven't seen that either, so far as I know. Even if I thought it did look stupid, it would be none of my business. But I am absolutely certain that 24/7/lifetime dark shadow over my head and face is NOT anything I want!

The hair I have left everywhere on my body is getting to be almost all gray or white, so I don't have any five o'clock shadow, but I am sure that if I was going bald, I would shave it off and if I had a shadow and didn't like it, I would laser the remaining hair off instead of tattooing more, darker shadow. In fact I often wish I had lasered my hair off before I got my head tattoo so I didn't have to shave it off to show my tattoo in all of its glory. But if I had a shadow from my remaining hair, the art I have tattooed on my head would obscure the shadow, so mission accomplished anyway!

you dont get it from a real tattoo artist you got to a type of doctor (at least in canada) you have to get it touched up once a year, first time is free, second time is about 200-300 and you need that at least every year . . . the thing is the price it probably cost about 5000

My tattoo artist gives free touch-ups for life! That is a way better deal, but then he is not a doctor and doesn't charge like one! Mine cost around $1K to complete and has only been touched up once, and that was to fix the little spots that either weren't adequately inked originally or were damaged during healing. I may get it touched up someday, but it will look great for years without repairs. That is way better than an five year guarantee. I have some ink that is over 13 years old, has never been touched up, and still looks great.

the tattoo mimics the appearance of a shaved head. They blend the 'dots' into your existing hair, so when you shave your head, it now looks like you have the 'shadow' on top and at the hairline, not just on the sides like bozo the clown. . . . Of course if you let your hair grow, everyone could see the difference and it would look ridiculous. . . . Also you have to know what you're looking for- and fter all, how many people have ever heard of such a things as tattooing your head? It sounds ridiculous. 99.999% of the world has never heard of this so would never think for a million years I have a tattoo on my head.

This one is absolutely my personal favorite!

At least Bozo has a sense of humor! And he doesn't have his shadow permanently etched all over his scalp.
"Ridiculous," baldhog says, "99.999% of the world ... would never think for a million years I have a tattoo on my head."  That may be true.
But for me, I realize than I probably am more tattooed than at least 99.9998% of the people in the whole world. And I bet 99.999999999% can figure out about mine being a tattoo.

I think I would rather have flames or tiger stripes  

I'm not trying to get everyone with hair loss to do what I did. I just assume you came here to SBG for information and opinions. And that, delivered with a wry smile, is all I offer.

[Slyfive]

This is something I didn't even think of, it's the same with mine, and most other artists, touch ups are free for life, so you'd think they would offer the same with such an expensive service.

[Gary~]

If anyone wanted this done then perhaps they could get it done by a tattoo artist at a much smaller cost?

I reckon that if you downloaded a bunch of the photos of the finished product and showed the artist some of these and maybe some videos that a good artist would be probably able to do it. You could let the artist practice on some skin on your stomach or something.

And you could even get the artist to wear a white coat so he or she would be a "doctor" too.

[benlen]

If anyone wanted this done then perhaps they could get it done by a tattoo artist at a much smaller cost?

I reckon that if you downloaded a bunch of the photos of the finished product and showed the artist some of these and maybe some videos that a good artist would be probably able to do it.

I seriously doubt that. From what research I've done into various scalp pigmentation clinics, it is a process that was honed after some serious trial and error, and the process is different.

Then again, this is from their mouths entirely, so it is difficult to say for sure.

[chgobuzzbald]

I did meet the HIS Hair Clinic founder, Ian, a couple months ago. I saw his head and touched it. He was experimenting on himself with various size needles over the years and pigments. Their pigment is pure black with a bit of variation which is why they have not seen ( on 11 years so far) the color changing to green etc. He simply looks like a guy who has a mixture of grey and black stubble. In feeling his head I did feel the true horseshoe ring of stubble and the rest smooth yet colored in the same way. My only criticism was they made his hairline down to low onto his forehead for someone about 40 or 45 years old. Beyond that no average person could detect this "stubble" is made of ink. He just looks like he shaves his head and has grey/black stubble shadow growing back.

For myself I am considering it to help reduce considerable HT scars in the sides/back from ill advised transplant work when I was younger and insecure. If I had a scarless scalp i would just shave most likely. There is an attraction to this in that it does mimic the appearance of a full head of hair which is appealing to very young guys certainly, even today with so many buzzing and shaving by choice. SOme of their clients leave the crown area intentionally sparse so they still look as if they are balding naturally and shave their heads. Others go too far down onto the forehead as if they will always be 15 years old, that is a mistake and what many here have seen which makes this look a bit silly as guys age.

Their success  at HIS CLinic is in the super small size of the needles which a regualr tattoo artist would not have. They are careful to leave some space between the micro dots so they are not shading an entire area which looks strange and quite fake. ALso each dot is not shaped the same so  to avoid an artificial result.

At Good Look Ink they seem to be more into just shading the scalp dark which looks painted and fake. On women who have thinning hair scalp shading  from Good Look Ink  works with their very long hair which a most women will never buzz or shave off.

I do suspect as this becomes more widely known in the years ahead it will be popular with many guys. They still have basically shaved heads or maybe a 1/8 inch buzz. This does not really look good with longer and thinning hair or receded hair which calls attention to the "ink stubble". One still has to have the confidence to buzz/shave their head which is really what this site teaches us all to do and be successful. I value this site very much. My personal message is NEVER consider an HTranspant. If you must do something, then do this micro ink but keep it soft and natural.

[baldhog]

Baldhog, intriguing that you say that the tattoo lasts roughly five years? When you had the treatment done, was there any sort of guarantee on how long it would last?

That time limit is good to know though, particularly in terms of as we age, because I think having a perfect hairline at 60 with a shaved head style would appear really unrealistic. I think if I had this treatment done, at that point I'd let it go, lol, because this is really more of a young man's game in terms of looking good.

Yeah you're right about looking good being a young man's game- my dad's in his late 60s and he doesn't care one twit what he looks like. Wears sweat pants outside, flip flops and socks, doesn't comb his hair- it's awesome! (I do know there are plenty of older gents who do look dapper and still care, but my old man's not one of them)

Anyway they've been doing this treatment for 10 years, so they have a certain amount of track record to go off of. They said everyone's scalp and immune system is different, so everyone holds the pigment for a different amount of time. They said most people experience some fading by year 3-5, so a touch up would be needed.

What they've also begun to do is laser off pigments to reflect age or personal choice. For instance ChgoBuzzBald mentioned he met the owner who's hairline was way too low for a guy his age. The owner has since raised his 'hairline' by lasering off the pigments in the front, giving himself a more natural and age appropriate look.

And to answer SlyFive, touch-up treatments are much  cheaper than the initial treatment.  Once you've had your initial treatment, subsequent ones within that first year are free. Any sessions after that- 3 yrs later, 5yrs, whatever, you're charged an hourly rate. Still not cheap, but not thousands of dollars either.

Btw that's a sweet lion tat on dude's head.

[baldhog]

Would you be game to show a photo?

I'll PM anyone with pics (or a link to pics) if they're interested.

[Baldnbald]

Would you be game to show a photo?

I'll PM anyone with pics (or a link to pics) if they're interested.

Baldhog,

I would be interested in seeing your pics.