I grew up in Brazil having an older sister suffering with Alopecia areata, for those who don't know what that is, believe me, it does not look good. My sister Raquel was only 13 years old and I was 10. I saw my sister loose her hair in round patches all over her scalp, and going to school with a bandana to hide the mess in her hair. Imagine for a female teenager how horrible that might have been! That's when my curiosity for hair loss and its causes begun!
Other than being a pretty quite kid, always observing and not talking too much, I was pretty good in drawing stuff. Anything around me I would just....draw! Draw, draw, and observe, and try to put whatever I was seeing on a paper, study it and correct anything I could see wasn't looking realistic enough. Back then I used mostly pencil or pen, those were always available. When I left Brazil behind and ventured to Italy and USA, i was able to work with two giant US companies leading both the hair replacement and hair transplant industry. I worked in the East and West Coast, after severe years of training on causes of hair loss, laser treatment and therapies for hair loss, treatments with Minoxydil, Propecia or Finasteride, hair pieces, FUE or FUE hair transplant....ALL OF THAT...I was able to understand more about it.
My sister now has Alopecia Totalis....basically all her hair has fallen, even her eye brows and her eye lashes. She is not married, and is 48 years old. All my knowledge didn't help her much. Her stressful life back in Brazil and low selfsteem just made her hair fall even more.
I then came across a new technique introduced in Europe many years ago, an art that the canvas in human scalp! How intriguing!!!!! Scalp Pigmentation, as most call, or Micro Scalp Pigmentation, Hair tattoo, etc. I totally knew I could do it and extremely well, not only, but to create just the perfect full head of hair to anyone who needed it.
I studied, got trained, and more training bot in Brazil, Canada and USA.
I am so focused in respecting the distance of my clients hair follicles, and the distance of their hair, their density, studying, in my brain taking the measurements, calculating the perfect distance and diameter of every single dot placed on their scalp. TO recreate a hair line is magical, it is beautiful! How nice is to have the client to engage, and draw the hairline himself sometimes, and tell me, look : I love it this way...that's how it used to be. I smile because....it is so magical to see the eyes of these men and women, filled with hope and after my work is done on their scalp they look in the mirror and SMILE! The recognize that " face" again!
I do wish though, that.....I could had had the time to help my older sister.....sometimes we don't get good at things fast enough, but....I am helping other people. It is a bitter sweet feeling, but it is what it is!
Raquel today, lives in Sergipe - Brazil, a very small town of Brazil. She is very religious, an evangelical Christian preacher, who somehow found joy in her life, and learned not to depend on her physical appearance of lack of hair to be positive and happy! You should see her smile....not much hair, but a gorgeous huge Brazilian happy smile.
Scalp Pigmentation - I sure love being a Scalp Micro Pigmentation Artist - My whole heart delivers the work!