I am a member of a group that involves various hair loss experts. In recent weeks, the biggest discussion has involved something called hair loss drug tattooing. Better known as skin microinfusion of medications (MMP®).
Scalp Microinfusion of Drugs by Tattooing
The doctor or professional who performs this procedure on you is not actually tattooing ink into your scalp. He or she just uses tattooing equipment to subdermally microinfuse drugs into your scalp that then remain there for a while and slowly get absorbed by the skin.
The very first scientific article that ever described the use of tattoo machines (dermatographs) to deliver drugs came from the Netherlands in 1997. In this case, it was a successful result in treating warts with the drug bleomycin.
The term “microinfusion of drugs into the skin (MMP®)” was
first described by Arbache and Godoy in 2013. It entails the use of tattoo equipment to infuse medications into the skin. Hair loss is just one of many conditions that this unique drug delivery method can help.
In the past, I have discussed various new hair loss treatments that entail scalp drug delivery via injections, wounding and other methods. Among these include dutasteride injections (also known as mesotherapy or nappage); finasteride injections; microneedling and minoxidil combination treatment for better drug absorption; Botox injections for hair growth; PRP injections; ultrasound drug delivery; and Alma TED laser delivery.
Note that that there are actual scalp tattooing of ink processes such as tricopigmentation (short-term) and scalp micropigmentation (long-term) that give an illusion of hair coverage. I have covered both of these in lengthy blog posts in the past.
The Brazilian Experience
There are two Brazilian doctors who are among the world leaders when it comes to this procedure. Both have posted many details about equipment, needles, depth, technique and more in our group, but I did not try to search all their comments for now.
1) Dr. Carlos Wambier (who is also a renowned practicing dermatologist in Rhode Island). I have embedded a drug tattooing video from his YouTube channel further below. Also check out his Instagram. If I resided in the US east coast, I would likely try to see him.
2) Dr. Pablo Cirino (based in Brazil). He calls his technique “combined regenerative” since he combines drug tattooing with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections. Below is one of this patient’s before and after hair regrowth photo. Make sure to check out his great Instagram videos.
Dr. Wambier just oversaw a dutasteride and minoxidil drug tattooing training session in Florida last week. The poster is on the right. He also includes platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and mesotherapy as part of the protocol.
His go to is the use of dutasteride combined with minoxidil. In a 2023 paper that Dr. Wambier co-authored, this combination is called minoxidil-dutasteride tattooing (MDT).
In the US, he gets his minoxidil base compounded by Chemistry Rx, a company I have mentioned before. Dr. Wambier is also looking forward to using topical exosomes at some point.
It seems like a number of others (e.g., this clinic) have been doing this procedure in Brazil, and some have even published studies describing the results. One recent 2023 study also has the well known Dr. Antonella Tosti as a co-author.
A 2022 article on tattoo therapeutics delivery of medicine had the following quote from yet another Brazilian dermatologist:
“Samir Arbache, a dermatologist at São Paulo Federal University, uses tattoo machines to treat a variety of dermatological conditions including alopecia. Arbache started the company Traderm, which commercializes tattoo medical supplies, and so far, he has trained more than 2,000 doctors on how to use tattoo machines for drug delivery and vaccination.”
Of note, Samir coined the registered mark MMP, which is used by dermatologists who have trained under him.
Dr. Wambier video from 2024:
Dr. Cirino video from 2022:
