Working with different skin types in SMP
There are so many skin types, that identifying skin tones and textures and applying pigments and treatments correctly can be quite complex and difficult to navigate. In this tutorial, Marc discusses how adaptability is key when considering varying skin types and textures so that your pigment and application can be tailored for best effectiveness. In his honest account, drawn from personal experience, Marc shares his top tips for treating tougher skin and explains how occasionally a client’s skin type is susceptible to change in between appointments.
Here, you’ll learn about adjusting your needle size, increasing your hang time where required, and reducing and minimising the pain that might be felt by your client during treatment time. Marc suggests that your ability to troubleshoot during sessions is something that can only be gained through experience, but this tutorial will equip you with the foundations to get started with your best foot forward.
Lets talk about skin
We want to talk about skin types, and by skin types, we’ve got different types of skin tones. That is the shade of skin that somebody is, so going from lighter to darker and we are going to talk about that a little bit later. By skin type, I’m talking about is the firmness of the skin. You’re going to get some skin that is firm like on your knuckle, and you’re going to get some skin that is quite fleshy like on your Palm and anything in between.
As well as having that, you’re also going to get times when the skin is quite loose and baggy and it moves around, you’re going to get other times where it’s tight, so you’ve got a couple of factors that come into play. We’ve got the fleshiness of the scalp. We’ve also got the looseness of the skin. Coupled together, we need to be really adaptable in every situation. We don’t always know right at the start of each treatment how it’s going to react. We’ll have a first session client and he comes to me. He’s got beautiful skin. It’s quite tight. It’s not too fleshy. That’s probably your ideal client. He’s been well moisturized. The skin is quite soft to work on and you can have the dream client and you work through.
He comes back for his second session, something’s changed. Now it’s toughened up, so you’re going to have to be adaptable. He comes back for his third session. Now it’s loosened off, it’s okay. You’re back to where he was in the first session. When we are working through each individual client, we need to be adaptable. We need to learn what approach to make for each different skin type. I’m going to give you a few options…
To learn more about scalp micropigmentation and skin types, why not check out our SMP
master class hosted by the award-winning Scalp Micropigmentation artist Marc Allen.
