Fading unwanted, outdated or badly placed scalp micropigmentation, either to clear it completely or to soften it enough to be worked over properly. Carried out by Alex McKenzie at our studio in Halesowen.
Almost everyone who contacts us about laser removal asks the same thing: how long will it take to get rid of it completely. It is a fair question, but it is usually the wrong one.
If the plan is to have good SMP afterwards, you rarely need a blank scalp to start from. You need the old work faded enough that it stops dictating the result. That is often three or four sessions rather than eight, it costs less, and it is easier on your skin.
Full clearance is the right call when you have decided you are finished with SMP altogether. Those are two different treatment plans, and the first thing we do is work out which one you are actually after.
This gets decided at consultation, before anything is booked, because it changes the number of sessions, the spacing and the cost.
We lighten the existing work until it no longer controls the outcome, then rebuild over the top with fresh SMP. This is what most corrective cases need. A hairline that sits too low, dots that have spread and gone soft, a shade that was too dark or has drifted blue. Fewer sessions, lower cost, and you end up with SMP you are happy with rather than a bare scalp.
Taking the pigment down as far as it will go, with no intention of putting anything back. This is for people who have decided SMP is not for them, or who are heading into a hair transplant and want the area clean first. It takes longer, because the last twenty per cent of pigment is always the most stubborn part.
Lasering one area and leaving the rest alone. Usually a hairline that was drawn too far forward or too straight, or a patch of over-saturated work at the temples, while the density across the rest of the scalp is fine. Precise, and normally the shortest plan of the three.
A large share of this work is correcting treatments carried out elsewhere. If you recognise your situation below, it is something we deal with regularly.
Note the gap between sessions. Laser removal is spaced much further apart than SMP, where sessions sit one to two weeks apart. Your body does the work of clearing the broken-down pigment, and rushing it does not speed that up.
Removal is not simply a case of pointing a laser at pigment. There are a few things that genuinely matter, and anyone who skips them is cutting corners.
A test patch, every time. A small, discreet area is treated first and we wait to see how it responds. Not all pigments behave the same way, and a handful of them react badly. Certain pigment bases can darken instead of lightening when they are first lasered. It is uncommon, it is usually recoverable, and a test patch in a hidden spot is how you find out before it happens across your whole hairline.
Hair in the treatment area. The laser targets pigment, and the pigment in your hair is not meaningfully different to the pigment in your skin as far as the laser is concerned. If you have hair growing through the area being treated, that needs assessing properly, because treating it has an effect on the hair as well. For a shaved scalp this is not an issue. For someone with density on top, it is a real part of the conversation.
What was actually put in. Proper SMP pigment, cosmetic tattoo pigment and standard tattoo ink all respond differently and at different rates. If you know who did the original work or what was used, bring it. If you do not, the test patch tells us plenty on its own.
Four stages, in this order. Nothing is booked in before the first two are done.
We look at the scalp properly under good light. Where the pigment sits, how deep it has gone, how it has aged, and what you want to end up with. You leave with a straight answer on whether this is a partial fade or a full clearance, a realistic session count and a price.
A small area is treated and left to settle so we can see how your pigment responds. This sets the laser settings for everything that follows and flags anything unusual before it becomes a problem across the whole scalp.
Short, controlled sessions spaced four to eight weeks apart. Each one breaks the pigment down further and your body clears it in the weeks between. You will see the change gradually rather than all at once, and we photograph progress so the difference is measurable rather than guesswork.
If the plan was always to rebuild, we stop lasering at the point the old work has stopped getting in the way and let the scalp settle before any new pigment goes in. If you wanted it gone, we keep going until there is nothing worth chasing.
Real clients, photographed in this studio. No stock photography.
Plenty of places will laser pigment off a scalp. Far fewer do the removal and the SMP that follows it, and that matters more than it sounds. Someone who only removes has no reason to think about what the skin needs to be like afterwards.
Reviews from clients treated at our Halesowen studio.
Sending a big thank you to Alex. My hair looks great, so natural looking. I went for a darker look to go with my tan and it looks great in all lights. If you want a natural-looking SMP, use Alex!
Went along with my son to get his SMP. Well done Alex, a difference straight away and he is over the moon with it. Professional from start to finish and the aftercare advice was spot on.
Honest from the first phone call. Alex told me what was realistic rather than just taking the booking, and the finished result speaks for itself. Could not recommend him more highly.
Removal is often one part of a plan rather than the whole of it.
The rebuild after a fade, or a first treatment done properly. Pigment placed at follicle depth to recreate the look of a close-cropped head or to add density through a thinning crown, designed around your skin tone and face shape.
Learn moreCamouflaging FUT strip scars and FUE dot scarring so the donor area blends with the surrounding hair instead of showing through a short cut.
Learn moreWhat standard SMP treatments cost at the studio, how sessions are grouped, and what is included. Removal is quoted separately after assessment.
See pricesTell us what you are unhappy with and send a couple of photos in natural light. We will come back with an honest view on whether you need a partial fade or full removal, a realistic session count and a price, before you commit to anything.
