Woman’s Hair Loss Inspires Tattoo Artist to Deal with Thinning

A woman in Los Angeles has taken drastic measures to try and deal with her hair loss - by turning to her tattoo artist and asking him to draw new hair on her scalp.

The tattoo artist posted an album with photos of each stage of the procedure including Before (top right) and After (top left) images

Hair 'drawn on'

Having apparently lost some of the locks at her hairline to Traction Alopecia a hair loss condition which can arise when hair is repeatedly pulled back in a tight style such as cornrows or braids the woman seems to have been inspired by the growing popularity of micropigmentation.

Whilst micropigmentation - a form of medical tattooing - is based around the idea that many thousands of tiny dots in varying shades, when tattooed onto the scalp will collectively give the illusion of a natural, grade-1 haircut, the LA tattoo artist she visited seems to have taken another route.

Instead of colour matching individual dots, the artist appears to have “drawn on” and layered new individual hairs. You can see the before and after photos here or via the DoWork West Facebook page, to see what you think. Style website madamenoire.com, who picked up on the story, are not convinced it is a trend that is likely to take off.

“This could be clever, and kudos to the tattoo artist for his good work,” they write. “However, I can’t imagine what that tattooed edge is going to look like once it goes through the healing process and what if this woman wants to colour her hair in later life? What then?”

And they have a point; due to how exposed the scalp is in comparison to other areas people tend to get tattooed, the sun can cause ink can to fade quicker. Micro-pigmentation hair tattoos need to be 'topped up' or redone every one to three years, according to permanent makeup and medical tattoo specialist El Truchan of Perfect Definition.

Click to View Ms T's Full Traction Alopecia Treatment Success Story

Alternative option

In many cases of Traction Alopecia where the hair follicle has not actually died, and once the punishing hairstyle has been changed, it may grow back of its own accord albeit slowly. However, specialist treatment for Traction Alopecia can help to speed up recovery.

Belgravia's approach is based around using high strength minoxidil products from the range available at our clinics, which is applied directly to the hairline or other areas where hairloss is apparent. A specialist talks clients through exactly where and how to administer this solution as well as giving them a demonstration, as well as refreshers if they ever forget how to apply their minoxidil.

Although minoxidil is clinically-proven for the treatment of male and female pattern hair loss, it has been used to promising effect for a number of other conditions too. View Belgravia's Traction Alopecia Treatment Success Stories to see how just a fraction of our clients managed to regain their hair through using treatments based around this type of medication, often supplemented with additional hair growth boosters.

Belgravia client “Ms T” is a very good example of how a bespoke hair loss treatment course can make a big difference to edges that have been affected by Traction Alopecia. Photographs taken before the start of her treatment show marked hair loss along the front of her hairline and at her temples; photos taken from the same angle at seven months show a much fuller head of hair. “Thank you for giving me my confidence back,” says Ms T's entry in our clinic comments book, "I can now proudly wear my afro and even get compliments".