Ron Hendon

Ron started as a body artist in his hometown of Athens, GA. He then opened a tattoo and piercing studio in the 1980s after graduating from the University of Georgia. His studio was unique, it operated more similar to a medical office than a tattoo parlor. He made safety, sterility, and hygienic practices a priority. Beyond his own studio, he advocated for regular health inspections of tattoo establishments to protect consumers, which was not the norm at the time.  

 

Choosing a more medical, customer-oriented environment over the rough and rowdy atmosphere of most body-art studios, Ron's message/practice resonated with clients who were seeking tattoos for reasons beyond simple cosmetic desire. One was a young single mother who wanted to cover a large disfiguring scar stretching across the length of her left breast. Knowing that scar tissue would not hold pigment like normal skin, Ron initially refused to do the tattoo. But after the client insisted she understood the risk of the pigment not taking, Ron agreed to do a small section. He experimented with needling techniques and groupings to pigment the scarred area more densely. A month later, the woman returned to show Ron an amazing and unexpected result. The texture of the scar tissue was itself normalizing and becoming noticeably flatter. Her scar was disappearing.This watershed moment lit a passion in Ron to help those who had previously been told that their ailments were not treatable.

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In the late 1990s, Ron started traveling around the globe to share his groundbreaking techniques with other professionals and show that tattooing has potential beyond simple cosmetic needs. As a result, Ron continued to innovate and he sees unlimited possibilities in micro-needling and its applications.