Offering an accurate answer to this question is extremely difficult to do. Pain thresholds vary from person to person. The treatment doesn’t penetrate particularly deeply into the skin, however, it does break the skin’s barrier and underneath that barrier are nerves so you’re going to feel it. 

There are several things you can do that will help to make your personal experience the best it can be. Your technician will also be there for you and can answer any questions you may have.

• Ensure you are relaxed when you arrive at the SMP clinic. Wear your comfortable clothing, bring your Airpods, get your favorite playlist on standby and be yourself, we do have access to pretty much any music in the treatment room. We also have access to hundreds of films. The procedure can last the best part of half a day and so you may as well treat the experience as a leisurely one.

• Consider taking a codeine-based pain killer before you arrive at the clinic. Avoid at all costs Aspirin as it is a known anticoagulant and if you are taking any other type of blood-thinner certainly seek medical advice before undergoing scalp micropigmentation treatment.

• And finally, place yourself into the right frame of mind prior to treatment. Fear and pain are closely linked. The tenser you are the more sensitive you’ll be. Try some breathing exercises, or even ten minutes of yoga beforehand.

Please remember that any discomfort you’ll experience is worth it. Scalp Micropigmentation is a treatment that is, by its own nature, life-changing. It is known to not only conceal the devastation that hair loss can induce but can restore confidence levels.

If you’ve been considering treatment and you’ve been asking yourself, does Scalp Micropigmentation hurt? And you are still unsure about receiving SMP for this sole reason, please pick up the phone and chat with us.