Now tattoos are coming into vogue for the tops of our heads! It’s the latest in line as a “treatment for thinning hair”. Actually it is not what we think of as a treatment so much as another way to disguise our aging process. The websites tout that it replicates the natural appearance of real hair…I will let you decide! The good news is that it can be done for all stages of thinning to balding, on all ages, colors, races and skin types. The latest laser hair restoration processes are also able to work on all ages, colors, races and skin types…but a completely dead follicle would benefit from this “ink”. They typically use 3-4 shades of ink and take 3 sessions of 3-4 hours each over a month. Refills and touchups, they note, will be needed. The ink cartridge has 3 needles, and the colors are injected into your second layer of skin in the area treated. Ouch!

They offer a common 12 month guarantee (for what?…fading? errors? ooops, I changed my mind?) and they also offer laser reversal (I guess for all of the above!). The cost is $3,500-$5,000 per head for the three sessions typically needed and $415 per hour thereafter for maintenance.

Oh, and don’t forget your plane tickets and hotels as this is so far only available in the UK, Australia and Poland. Unlike any natural hair loss treatment you have redness for a couple of days, blood spots or blood filled scabs that do fall away after 5-7 days and you need to stay out of the sun and chlorine during treatment. Thereafter, sunscreen is a MUST. There is no exercising, shaving of area or washing during treatment and it does clash with Botox (although the reasons were never given on any website that I could find). As far as I can tell, this process Replicates but does not Rejuvenate hair. It could be used to camouflage scarring from hair transplant surgery. Those surgeries are being found out to backfire as hair thins out overall on the head and scars enlarge and are seen much more prominently through thinning hair. It would also be good for those completely bald who want a “shadow” of hair that looks like they just shaved (a day ago)…and then it is recommended that one shave every 2-3 days.

I am finding that laser hair therapy…low level cool lasers used in a pulsing mode for 15 minutes every other day…are a much more effective female hair loss treatment and thinning hair treatment for men as well. The Nutreve Personal Hair Therapy Laser always seems to rise to the top when I compare pricing, ease of use (they offer a hands-free stand), amount of coverage area and number of actual lasers (some companies fool you with LEDs). Nutreve’s laser hair brush (or laser hair comb it is sometimes called in articles) actually resembles neither. It does have a brush type soft grip handle that angles down and has a smooth (easy to keep clean) curved surface that fits the curve of your scalp. The 35 lasers are powered by a re-chargeable lithium ion battery. It is light, portable and discreet. They offer a 6 month no questions asked return policy and a 12 month manufacturer’s warranty. When it comes to using a laser hair brush for hair loss, this company can’t be beat. No heat, no major expense (around $600), no pills and NO NEEDLES. Ouchless…..priceless!