Of all the hundreds of questions I am asked, week in week out, the most common request by far is for my opinion on which is the best scalp micropigmentation provider, or which individual is the best technician. It is never an easy question to answer, although of course I completely understand why people ask.

In a way I’m glad that people want to know, because it means that prospective clients are doing their research. The more research you do, the better the chance of getting a great treatment and avoiding the myriad of bad providers out there. A little knowledge in that regard, can only be a good thing. It’s important to be informed, especially when the choices you make will affect your life so profoundly.

The “Best” is not a universal fact

Unfortunately there is no league table of technicians whereby they can be pitted against one another and ranked. I recently posted a list some of the world’s best clinics, and I will publish a similar list of recommended technicians very soon, however, ranking technicians against one another would be impossible. Besides, I don’t believe I have the right to make that judgment, and nor does anyone else.

The ability level of a technician is a subjective thing, and furthermore, the best technician or provider for Mr Smith may not be the best for Mr Jones. It depends on what you believe constitutes a high quality treatment, your budget, your location and also on your own very personal requirements.

Let me give you an example. London-based Hair Ink has a great reputation for womens scalp micropigmentation treatments, but just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean they’re necessarily the best provider for you. If you’re suffering with a specific type of alopecia, like areata, and a great technician with a lot of alopecia areata experience is within reach and within budget, they may be the better choice.

Furthermore, you may really like the work of a particular technician because they are great at density creation and blending, but if you are absolutely set on a feathered hairline and another technician is renowned for that skill, again, they may be more suitable for your needs.

Of course, we all want the ‘ultimate’ technician – the guy or girl who is amazing at everything. These people do exist, but they’re few and far between. Unless you have a substantial travel budget and a lot of free time, the usual route is to find the very best technician within a reasonable distance, say, a hundred miles or so.

My point is that the best provider or the best technician is almost impossible to determine. A more prudent (and relevant) question would be:

“Which technician can best satisfy my requirements?”

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the tide can turn in favour of a particular technician. For example, one minute Zang Miah in Los Angeles is regarded as the best technician in the world. The following week it’s Matthew Iulo, Chris McGuinness, Graig Lauricella or Jonathan Gerow in NYC. Next, it’s Paul Clark or Simon Lane in Birmingham, Daz Day in Mansfield, Milena Lardi in Milan, or Steven Grietzer in Miami. Next month it might be Terry Jones in Liverpool, Antonio Abbagnato in London, Valerie Weber in Philadelphia or Leah Matsch in Minneapolis.

Who is regarded as the best depends on what week (or day) you happen to do your research, and which technician’s work has been publicized more than others at that moment in time. Again, it’s another reason why trying to discover the world’s best technician is almost an irrelevant undertaking.

Here are the questions you should be asking of your preferred provider:

• How long have they been trading?
• How many high quality examples of work can they demonstrate?
• Do they provide an adequate volume of believable, transparent information?
• What pigments do they use? Do their pigments have a good track record?
• Do they offer a guarantee? What are the terms?

Here are the questions if you have a specific technician in mind:

• How were they trained, and by whom? Were they trained online, or face to face?
• How much experience do they have personally?
• Do they have any particular specialisms, i.e clients with scars/alopecia?
• Are they likeable? Do you feel you can trust them?
• What do their past clients say about them?

Always remember that just because someone you know had a great experience with a particular technician, doesn’t mean the same technician is suited to your own requirements. Whatever style, pigment shade or density was used during their procedure was highly personal to their own needs, not to yours. Your treatment should follow it’s own plan, using the strategy adopted for other clients treatments as a basis for ideas only.