In-person scalp micropigmentation training is back on the calendar at Studio Kiku. Billy DeCola teaches the next class in Vancouver on January 15 and 16, 2027, from 10 am to 5 pm both days, and registration is open online now.
The two studio days are the second half of a two-part SMP certification. The first half is online, and it opens to you the moment you enrol.
Part one happens at home
The Online SMP Training Course is the prerequisite for the studio days. It is more than 30 hours of theory and live demonstrations that you work through at your own pace: the fundamentals, the equipment, consultations and pricing, and the business side of SMP.
You finish it with a Studio Kiku Academy certificate, so you walk into the studio already knowing the material. The two days in Vancouver are spent on the machine, not on a lecture.
Two days on real people
The studio days run in a small group. You watch Billy work a live model first, then you take the machine yourself and place pigment while he corrects your depth, spacing and angle as you go.
Over the two days the class covers hairline design, male pattern baldness, female density and hair transplant scar concealment, all on real people. You leave with two certificates: the online one from part one, and an in-person SMP Certification.
Who teaches the class
Billy began tattooing at the Miami Ink Tattoo Studio in Miami Beach in 2009, was a cast member on TLC's "NY Ink", and moved into scalp micropigmentation in 2015. He has taught SMP ever since and still performs it at Studio Kiku.
"I've trained hundreds of students who have gone on to become [scalp micropigmentation] artists," Billy DeCola said on the FADED Podcast.
Thirty hours of homework before January 15
The studio days come with the online course included, and the online course is the prerequisite. The class is built for students who arrive already knowing the material, so plan your schedule around more than 30 hours of lessons before January 15. The time in Vancouver goes to the machine, with Billy correcting your work, not to catching up on theory.
Two courses you can take from anywhere
Not everyone can be in Vancouver in January. The Online SMP Training Course is also sold on its own at Studio Kiku Academy, for artists who want the theory and the demonstrations without the studio days.
Billy's second online course covers a different skill: the Online Saline Removal Course teaches saline tattoo removal for permanent makeup. It is 28 video lessons with four live demonstrations on brows and lip blush and a certificate of completion, made for PMU artists, SMP artists and tattooers.
To hold a seat for January 15 and 16, register on the in-person training page.
Thanks for reading.