A clinic in Toronto is offering a new way for those suffering from hair loss to cover up what they've lost: tattoos.

HIS Hair Clinic opened last fall. It offers clients scalp micropigmentation services, or hair tattoos.

They are similar to traditional tattoos except instead of an image that is inked onto the skin, clients get thousands of dots on their scalp that resembles hair follicles. The finished look resembles a shaved full head of hair.

"Our typical client is generally someone who wants to cover scars, has alopecia (spot bladness) or someone who has lost their hairline and wants a more youthful look," the clinic's co-founder, Ian Watson, told CTV Toronto on Thursday.

Watson, who was one of the clinic's first customers 13 years ago, says scalp micropigmentation is relatively easy to maintain.

"I don't need shampoo – it's easy to deal with," Watson said. "It's just an easy way to style my bald head."

There are currently 15 HIS Hair clinics around the world, including the one in Toronto.

Clients can choose from 100 different shades of hair colour. During the tattooing process, ink is added on top of ink to create a 3-D effect. The treatment is not as painful as getting a traditional tattoo, but clients will still feel something.

"It's not pain-free," said the clinic's other founder, Ranbir Rai-Watson. "Most describe it as irritating as opposed to being painful."

Ian Watson says the treatment is permanent, but like a regular tattoo, it can be removed with laser therapy.

The cost for a hair tattoo varies depending on how much hairline needs to be filled in. A full head of hair is priced at $3,500 and takes two three-hour sessions to complete.

Watson says his youngest client so far was 13 years old, and the oldest 67.

He says while many of his clients are men, they've also helped female clients with thinning hair. But instead of thousands of dots to mimic hair follicles, female clients typically get a solid tattoo to cover up patches on their scalp.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Pat Foran