It affects millions of people, and for those dealing with it, alopecia is traumatic and terrifying. When the hair falls out, it often strips a person of their confidence too, with devastating results.
But one local lady, armed with a tattoo gun has set up shop to make a difference, writes Sammy Jones.
Arianne McIntyre has worked in education, helping children in Milton Keynes for nearly 20 years, and the caring lady is now spending her spare time bringing hair to those bare bits that cause people such pain, with an innovative new treatment called Scalp Micro Pigmentation.
“Hair tattooing replicates hair follicles with a cosmetic technique,” Arianne explained, “It’s something suitable for all ages, skin and hair colour.”
It isn’t a particularly quick procedure - sessions are a couple of hours each, with three sessions in all. But it is much cheaper than a costly hair transplant (prices start from a few hundred pounds), and the effects are permanent.
“It is a solution for baldness in both men and women, but can also be used to add density to thinning areas, camouflage scars and burns or treat hairline recession,” Arianne said.
She has passed rigorous training, and is now practicing the game-changer at Liquor & Ink, the tattoo parlour based within The Craufurd Arms venue in Wolverton.
“It was really important for me to offer the best quality work, but to do it in a studio that is welcome and inviting. I want anyone who feels anxious about attending to feel reassured and confident as soon as they walk through the door. Liquor and Ink is the perfect place for that.”
Arianne has previous salon experience doing the more common beauty treatments, and her partner inks bodies for a living, working as a tattoo artist in the area.
But this is more than just a job, Arianne says. It’s about helping people to feel good about themselves again.
“Watching a man who lost his hair in his early 20s looking in the mirror and touching the hairline created by SMP with a big smile makes it worthwhile,” she said.
“And meeting a lady who had worn wigs her whole life being able to have the ‘buzz cut’ illusion that SMP created for the days when she wanted to go wig free was fantastic,” she added.
September is Alopecia Awareness Month, and Arianne wants to see a change in attitudes surrounding the condition.
“We want to encourage everyone to get talking and to say to everyone ‘you are not alone.’
For more information on Scalp Micro Pigmentation visit the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SMPinkedfromthetop/
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