Ok, I fully admit, I've become an addict of sorts to "appearance-enhancing" procedures since my first foray into plastics 2+ years ago (i got a tummy tuck, arm lift and breast lift back in Dec 2019)

I am pretty confident i'm done with plastics (though ask me again in 10 years, as i may be of a different opinion, lol), but have had a whole bunch of non-surgery stuff done in the last little while: lash extensions, micro-needling, teeth whitening, botox (forhead and jaw), fillers (cheeks and laugh lines), and lib blushing (a natural looking-lip colour tattoo basically).

Anyhoo...I digress...I actually wanted to share the latest thing I succumbed to: Scalp Micro Pigmentation (SMP).

For those that are not familiar, its basically a process whereby a technician tattoos hundreds (thousands?) of tiny little dots all over your scalp to look like hair follicles, and give the appearance of hair density. The majority of SMP clients are men with already bald heads, as the results can be quite dramatic. But more and more women are getting it now, including me!

HOWEVER. It EFFING hurts. I have tattoos on my butt and my forearm, and SMP hurts waaaaaaay more than those did.

And, the sessions are LONG. 5-6 hours each (though I was told sessions are shorter for bald heads...when you have hair on your head already, esp long hair, it takes more time to manoeuvre around it).

I cried for about 4 hours the first time, 12 minutes the second time, and no crying at all the last time. I guess I got used to it.

So check out the before after video below. The vid on the left is me in all my scalp-showing glory. The vid on the right is me immediately after my second session (note that there are still large pigment dots and a few scab formations here). I had my third and final one last week and should be fully healed/final results in about a month. I am very pleased. Especially now that its all over!

P.S. I also wanted to mention that my thinning hair was already an issue before WLS. Any hair that I lost after WLS came back eventually, and I reverted to my regular state of thin hair from pregnancy/childbirth. It's was all the Kid's fault.

P.P.S. Btw, I tried to imbed this video smaller but couldn't figure it out! Sorry!

Edited April 1, 20224 yr by ms.sss

Cool! I have thin hair, and I have found ways of disguising it, mostly. Enough to where I am satisfied.

Cool! I was already thinking of micro blading for the eyebrows and you answered my question about head hair.

Thanks for sharing! I love how you own all your enhancements! I cant wait until I can get these breast done and then see whats next! Hair looks great! But I thought pregnancy is supposed to help your hair not hurt it! *pregnant mom to be speaking.* Have you done microblading? I have super thin eyebrows and am considering it but scared to do anything to my face I can't take back for 2 years.

11 minutes ago, XtinaDoesIt said:

But I thought pregnancy is supposed to help your hair not hurt it! *pregnant mom to be speaking.* Have you done microblading?

You are right...while i was pregnant, i had fabulous thick flowy hair, nice skin and big boobs! LOL.

Once I popped the Kid out, my hair left with her, ...then the boobs followed a few months after.

So its actually a good idea to get the breast lift after the kids...kids do a number on them, man.

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No I haven't done eyebrow micro-blading, my eyebrows are still in pretty good shape. But i did do lip blushing, which is very similar...its like a combo of micro blading and tattooing. And that hurts too btw!, but not as bad as the scalp because my tech used a numbing cream.

I was supposed to get a lash line tattoo, but i got freaked out watching a pal of mine get it, so now i'm rethinking, lol.

Thanks for that info! I'm going grey, so if my hair doesn't bounce back, I'm not sure if this would work, but it's a good option for those who aren't losing pigment.

And yeah, head tattoos hurt like crazy. Known for being one of the worst places for pain, so you toughed it out like a champ. ?

You have been busy @ms.sss. Never heard of this process at all but it’s great you’re so pleased with the result so far: you can really see a difference. Is it a permanent result like tattooing or do you have to have annual or similar touch ups like micro blading?

It’s good to hear about treatments that actually work. So many end up being an expensive waste of money. Micro blading my thin & patchy brows 2 yrs ago was the best thing I ever did @XtinaDoesIt. It’s a bit grit your teeth painful too even with the numbing cream but unsure how it would compare to full tattooing. I also did brow laminating to tame my brows but that was a waste of money. It worked but my brows grow quickly & within a fortnight everything was crazy again & I’d trimmed off a lot of the laminated brows. Dying my brows is the same. By week three I’m using brow mascara to cover the grey hairs.

I botoxed my chin before Christmas & was happy. Last month I decided to do my forehead as well. But it hasn’t lasted. It kicked in really quickly, like 3 days, & it was great. Between my brows is going strong but my forehead is much like it was. ☹️ Maybe I need the industrial strength stuff ?.

I’m way more conscious of how I look: general ageing & the loose skin on my face since my surgery. But not game enough to do facial plastic surgery yet either. Though last week when the young girl asked if the children’s pjs I was buying were for my grandchildren may be I should. Boy did she get an earful from me. Everything from gender stereotypes (not every woman has children), ageism, making generalisations, being presumptuous, etc. Also pointed out that I’m not that old that the children couldn’t be mine.

Wow that really is a big difference - looks fab! I think I would be too chicken to have it myself though - pain is to be avoided at all costs I'm sure you're thrilled with how you look having had those little nips and tucks - it's like the icing on the cake of weight loss

My belly is getting really flabby now 70lbs into this but I'm a big fan of spanx and so far they're really doing the job. I have a holiday in July so will need to see how I feel in swimwear - I suspect a lot better than the last time I wore it, and I will be getting some with all the underwiring and pulling in power I possible can! (Any recommendations anyone?)

11 hours ago, Smanky said:

Thanks for that info! I'm going grey, so if my hair doesn't bounce back, I'm not sure if this would work, but it's a good option for those who aren't losing pigment.

And yeah, head tattoos hurt like crazy. Known for being one of the worst places for pain, so you toughed it out like a champ. ?

Lol, yeah i was feeling pretty bad a$$ and proud of myself when it was all done (during, not so much).

Im starting to get greys myself, granted im at less than 50 grey hairs in total at the moment and i henna my hair to blend em in better with my regular black hair. Though by the time im willing to go full on grey (and if im willing to go through this again!) the tech said the pigment would be adjusted lighter to work with greys.

We’ll see…

Edited April 2, 20224 yr by ms.sss

10 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Is it a permanent result like tattooing or do you have to have annual or similar touch ups like micro blading?

They do fade, and will require a touch up anywhere between 4-8 years (depends on the person and their lifestyle).

Alternatively, can get mini touch ups every couple years instead of a full touchup (i.e., one session)…which is probably more acceptable for me cuz a full session is really long.

We’ll see, who knows, I may opt to go G.I. Jane someday (? too soon???)

10 hours ago, Arabesque said:

I botoxed my chin before Christmas & was happy. Last month I decided to do my forehead as well. But it hasn’t lasted. It kicked in really quickly, like 3 days, & it was great. Between my brows is going strong but my forehead is much like it was. ☹️ Maybe I need the industrial strength stuff ?.

I didn’t know one could botox the chin? I thought it was just fillers down there? Does it give appearance of firmer chin? Change the shape?

As for botox, i have the opposite result: my forehead jabs last longer than the brow-betweens. I suppose this is due to the type of faces we make? I tend to crinkle my nose in disgust alot lol. Maybe you tend to produce “oh really?” looks ?

4 hours ago, Spinoza said:

My belly is getting really flabby now 70lbs into this but I'm a big fan of Spanx and so far they're really doing the job. I have a holiday in July so will need to see how I feel in swimwear - I suspect a lot better than the last time I wore it, and I will be getting some with all the underwiring and pulling in power I possible can! (Any recommendations anyone?)

One-pieces would be the easiest choice, but if u wanna go the two-piece route, a high-waisted bottom keeps everything in nicely. Bonus points for high-cut leg openings (makes ur legs look longer and you hips slimmer!)

Though once you get closer to goal, you may find that just the ability to wear a string bikini outweighs the already diminishing self-consciousness. I was wearing them pre-plastics with wrinkly tummy and all (but i did still wear tube or halter style swim tops cuz my deflated boobs needed some containment)

This is very interesting. I have tattooed eyebrows because I lost most of them and they were thin to begin with. I've had thin hair problems all my life (anemia, thyroid, bad luck).

12 hours ago, ms.sss said:

I didn’t know one could botox the chin? I thought it was just fillers down there? Does it give appearance of firmer chin? Change the shape?

As for botox, i have the opposite result: my forehead jabs last longer than the brow-betweens. I suppose this is due to the type of faces we make? I tend to crinkle my nose in disgust alot lol. Maybe you tend to produce “oh really?” looks ?

I did my chin because I was getting some of that old lady dimpling with certain expressions. It’s helped with that, skin is smoother, & reduced the length & depth of my marionette lines. Can still smile, frown, grimace, etc. Can’t do fillers because of my bee allergy. (The neutraliser causes the body to produce the same reaction as for a bee or wasp sting so because my body overreacts to the sting it will likely overreact if they need to use the neutraliser.)

Yeah, my face is pretty animated. Have to consciously work at hiding what I’m thinking or feeling. The forehead Botox was freaky to begin.

Edited April 3, 20224 yr by Arabesque

On 4/2/2022 at 3:38 PM, ms.sss said:

One-pieces would be the easiest choice, but if u wanna go the two-piece route, a high-waisted bottom keeps everything in nicely. Bonus points for high-cut leg openings (makes ur legs look longer and you hips slimmer!)

Though once you get closer to goal, you may find that just the ability to wear a string bikini outweighs the already diminishing self-consciousness. I was wearing them pre-plastics with wrinkly tummy and all (but i did still wear tube or halter style swim tops cuz my deflated boobs needed some containment)

Really helpful - thank you!