Our Story
SMP-Ink SF is a premier scalp micropigmentation and paramedical tattoo studio in Danville, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. We specialize in restoring what hair loss takes — confidence, identity, and the simple feeling of looking in the mirror and recognizing yourself again. Our services include scalp micropigmentation (SMP) for men and women, hairline and density restoration, scar and stretch-mark camouflage, and permanent makeup — microblading, ombré brows, lip blush, and permanent eyeliner.
We were built on a single conviction: this work is never “just cosmetic.” The clients who sit in our chairs are often at their most vulnerable — hiding thinning hair, covering scars, carrying the quiet weight of a body that no longer feels like their own. They deserve an artist trained without shortcuts, who treats their story with care. Every appointment begins with an honest consultation about what SMP can genuinely do for your situation. You’re never sold here — you’re guided.
Meet our Artists
Jennelle Harris-Martinez
Founder & CEO of SMP-Ink SF · Original Co-Founder of SMP-Ink (2018) · Co-Founder of Academy of Pigments · Master Paramedical Practitioner · Published Author · Emmy-Featured Artist
ennelle Harris-Martinez is an award-winning, Emmy-featured scalp micropigmentation artist with more than 15 years in the beauty industry — and one of the most recognized names in SMP in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Raised in the Bay Area, her passion for beauty began early, leading her to makeup training at Kryolan in San Francisco. After earning her Cosmetology diploma, she built a career in men’s hairstyling and makeup artistry before advancing into esthetics — studying the science of skin, ingredients, and the latest techniques. Her love of teaching took her to one of San Francisco’s top beauty colleges, where she led classes in chemical peels and bridal makeup.
Then life redirected her. After years inside one of San Francisco’s most prestigious salons — where she was once laughed out of the office for predicting microblading would change the industry — she watched her best friend lose her hair to chemotherapy. She couldn’t stop the disease, but she found something she could do. Late nights of obsessive research led her to scalp micropigmentation, and the first time she saw the before-and-afters, she knew, bone-deep, that this was her calling. She never asked for permission again.
Jennelle’s SMP career began at Full Micropigmentation, where she trained and became a Master Artist. In 2018, she became an original co-founder of SMP-Ink, helping build it from the ground up into one of the most respected paramedical studios in the Bay Area. Today she independently owns and operates SMP-Ink SF in Danville — thousands of clients later, with an Emmy feature, industry awards, and a reputation built on doing the work the right way.
Her connection to this craft is also deeply personal. After both of her pregnancies, Jennelle experienced postpartum hair loss herself — the thinning, the widening part, the quiet ache of not feeling like yourself in your own reflection. She knows that feeling firsthand. It’s why she treats every client’s hair loss not as a cosmetic problem to fix, but as a piece of someone’s identity to restore.
Jennelle is also the published author of Confessions of an SMP Artist, and her expertise has been featured across television, print, and industry media — including an appearance on Destination SF (KPIX Channel 5 / CBS San Francisco), a cover feature in Soeleish San Francisco Magazine, and guest features on The Scalp Solutions Podcast and BarberVUE TV. In 2021, she co-founded Academy of Pigments with Rodger Ponce, training the next generation of SMP and permanent makeup artists.
Rodger Ponce
Co-Founder of Academy of Pigments · Master Paramedical Practitioner · International SMP Trainer · U.S. Army Combat Veteran
Rodger Ponce is a Master Paramedical Practitioner, international scalp micropigmentation trainer, and Emmy-featured artist — and his path to this work began with his own reflection.
A proud combat veteran of the United States Army with a background in law enforcement, Rodger spent two decades in careers defined by a single principle: you train people properly, or people get hurt. There is no acceptable version of “just enough.”
His introduction to SMP was personal. Living with his own hair loss, Rodger was introduced to scalp micropigmentation by a fellow veteran — and after getting the procedure done on himself and seeing the difference it made in his confidence and the way he carried himself, he knew immediately he had to be part of this industry. He came to SMP to camouflage his own scar and strengthen his hairline, and walked away with a calling.
He brought his military standards with him. As a certified SMP artist based in Danville, CA, Rodger has served clients across New York, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Houston, Oakland, and San Francisco, and trains artists internationally. Bilingual in English and Spanish, he co-founded Academy of Pigments with Jennelle in 2021 on a shared belief: that every artist entering this industry — and every client who trusts them — deserves training without limits. Rodger takes deep pride in giving clients back something they thought was lost forever: a strong, natural-looking hairline, and the confidence that comes with it.