Manchester man forks out £2,000 to have tiny dots tattooed as hair on his head - and his wife loves it

A man who forked out £2,000 to have thousands of tiny dots tattooed as hair on his head says his wife loves his new look.

Anthony Donnellan, 44, opted for 'scalp micro-pigmentation' - instead of a traditional hair transplant - when his hair began to fall out. Scalp micro-pigmentation is the process of tattooing permanent small ink dots - designed to recreate the look of hair. The procedure usually takes three sessions of three hours each to allow time for the initial layer to heal.

After having his third and final session at Final Chapter Tattoos in Hyde, Manchester, by artist Dean Gunther, 35, Anthony says it's "boosted his confidence" and was "worth the pain".

Anthony, a falconer, from Prestwich, Manchester, said: "My hair started falling out in my bald spot and I thought I'd try it and I'm glad I did. I've seen a few bad jobs of it but Dean - the tattoo artist - has done a great job. It can be a bit irritating whilst you're getting it done, but it's definitely worth the pain. It's boosted my confidence loads. I'm over the moon with it. I feel 21 again."

Anthony joked: "My wife lets me in the bed now - I don't have to sleep on the couch. She was delighted with it."

Anthony's wife, Sian, 32, said: "His confidence has completely grown - he used to walk around with a hood and cap and you can just see he's beaming now. There's no caps, no hood and no coat. He would never get in any family pictures and now he wants to be in all the pictures and he's happy. It just looks so natural as well."

Anthony's transformation was done by Dean - who owns Final Chapter Tattoos in Manchester. Dean has been a tattoo artist for over 15 years and has only recently started offering this new procedure.

Dean says the inking - which costs as much as £2,000 - requires making sure all the dots are consistent to create the look of hair, which can be "tedious" work. The eventual result is a new permanent head of hair for the client, which Dean says can be "life-changing."

Dean, originally from Cape Town, South Africa, but now living in Hyde, Greater Manchester, said: "It makes me feel very good. If the client's happy then I'm happy. You're essentially changing someone's life. It might not seem like a big deal for some people but for others it's life-changing.

"The most difficult part is getting the dots evenly spread and not doing it too dark straight from the get go. It's a long process but after a few months and sessions that's when you'll get the true result of how it will look for the rest of your life."

Dean says this procedure is nothing like any other job he's done before.

He said: "I've been tattooing for 15 years now but this is totally different. If you push a dot into the skin with different amount of pressure you can end up with inconsistent dot work on the head. It's very tedious. It's almost like a mini operation or procedure, it's not just a tattoo. You've got to be so subtle with it. You can't have quick hand movements."

He believes this new procedure to be a "game-changer". "I've had quite a few requests for this from clients and I think it's getting more popular all the time," he added. "It makes people very happy."

Anthony says he opted for the unique procedure after hearing about the problems friends were having with hair transplants.

He said: "I've heard how painful the full hair transplants are. I'm impatient and I like to rush stuff and get it done. My mate had a hair transplant and it all fell out again and he was having nothing but problems so it swerved me away from that. Two of my friends now want this scalp micro-pigmentation done instead."