By Milly, Owner of Real Me SMP.
I’ve always had thin hair, fine strands, and not many of them.
In secondary school, I was teased for having greasy hair. I washed it daily, but when there’s not a lot of it there, the scalp’s natural oils don’t get soaked up. They sit there. I changed my usual shampoo and conditioners for premium salon-quality versions but to no avail.
In my early 20’s, I discovered hair extensions. The before and after pictures of girls going from bobs to long curled, glamourous thick hair had me hooked. These offered a great solution to the lack of length and thickness at the end of my ponytail. However, they do not disguise the fact my scalp still shows through gaps in the hair or cover up the long parting at the back of my crown. Hair extensions, like all hair pieces and full wigs solutions, are expensive, short-term fixes with high maintenance and ongoing care costs.
In 2019, during my divorce, my hair loss accelerated. I went from having thin roots to large patches of scalp visible from a distance. During my early teens, whilst complaining about my thin hair, I remember my grandmother telling me about the time when her dad died unexpectedly. She then developed alopecia for almost a decade.
Whether my hair loss was caused by stress or just a lack of nutrition at a hectic time, I knew the anxiety my hair loss caused me had to be resolved. I had my extensions removed and bought my first wig. It was high quality and constructed from natural hair, but it was also costly.
I justified the cost by thinking that if this is what it takes to feel comfortable in public again, it’ll be worth it. What I hadn’t considered, though, was the British weather, particularly the wind or how hot you became on a sunny day. The worst thing was how it made me feel when I had to take it off at night. One particularly awful experience was when I visited the dentist only to have it slip off my head when the dentist reclined the chair. I was utterly mortified and embarrassed in equal measure.
After almost 12 months of wearing a wig daily, having needed to replace it more than once, the costs began to mount. I realised that wigs were not the long-term solution for me.
I then began researching hair loss supplements to try and at least maintain what hair I did have left. Regrowth miracles don’t exist, but a good combination of Omega 3,6 and 9, biotin and iron seemed to be the best daily supplements, along with my usual daily multi vitamins.
Whilst considering whether a horrendously expensive hair transplant might be the solution I needed, I discovered Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP). It was a chance discovery, and at first, I thought I was looking at pictures of a successful hair transplant procedure before and after. The hair density was clearly and very drastically improved. I was then astonished to learn this procedure was a form of cosmetic tattooing.
The rest, for me, is history! I have been spreading the word about the best hair loss solution ever since. A permanent, long-term solution. Drug and chemical-free with immediate results, what’s not to like. SMP really can make you “feel like the real you.”