What is Negroid hair (ebony hair)?

In African population the visible density is much more owing to curly hair. The shaft and roots are curly (banana shaped roots)

Number of hair follicles is less per square cm, even then the density looks great owing to curliness.

So requirement of hair follicles is usually less to get good results.

The utmost care is mandatory during separation of hairs in this population. FUE technique leads to more damage to hair grafts (owing to curliness of hair, straight punches are more likely to cut the roots).

Still the recommended technique is strip method in african hairs.

Team has wide experience in negroid/ebony hair. Meticulous strip harvesting and meticulous root separation is required to save their curly roots.

Excessive Sweating Is a Treatable DiseaseExcessive Sweating Is a Treatable Disease

The medical term used for the Excessive sweating is � Hyperhidrosis. Excessive sweating in armpits or on the palms and soles can pose a significant social problem as well as a real daily nuisance. It could be embarrassing to shake hands with sweaty palms, and sweaty feet can cause offensive odor in the feet. Excessive sweat in the armpits could be socially embarrassing leaving one with wet shirts and foul smell.

There are very effective and world class treatments for Excessive sweating available at Cosmetique® to help you put a lid on this smelly problem - Hyperhidrosis. First of all Dr Azim  will determine the cause of your excessive sweating. After Dr. Khan determines and confirms that you do not have any significant medical problem causing excessive sweating he will offer you the best treatment options in your particular situation. It may be a medication in the form of a lotion or spray that you may have to apply a few times a week on the sweaty areas, or the latest treatment called as Iontophoresis or a tiny injection of Botox®.

Q: What is Iontophoresis?

Iontophoresis is a special treatment for excessive sweating in the armpits, or on hands and feet. A computerized machine is used to generate very low voltage special waves through water and the affected area is placed on a wet surface on the machine. These special waves reduce the flow of excessive sweat from the affected area. You will need a series of treatments to bring excessive sweating to normal.

Q: Can Botox® be used for excessive sweating?

YES, Botox® is a very effective therapy for the treatment of excessive sweating (Hyperhidrosis). Botox injection stops the sweat glands from forming excessive sweat. It is simple, safe and minimally invasive treatment. The effect lasts for 3 to 14 months, varying from one patient to another. To learn more about other options to control excessive sweating make an appointment with Dr Azim at Cosmetique®.

Hair loss

Hair loss (alopecia) can affect just your scalp or your entire body. It can be the result of heredity, certain medications or an underlying medical condition. Anyone — men, women and children — can experience hair loss.

Baldness typically refers to excessive hair loss from your scalp. Some people prefer to let their baldness run its course untreated and unhidden. Others may cover it up with hairstyles, makeup, hats or scarves. And still others choose one of the medications or surgical procedures that are available to treat hair loss.

Before pursuing any treatment option, talk with your doctor about the cause of and best possible treatments for your particular type of hair loss.

What is body hair transplant?

The patients with advanced degree of hair loss with minimum donor hairs over scalp need not to get disappointed. The treatment option using hairs (usually taken by extraction techniques) from other parts of body has opened exciting opportunity for these desperate patients.

The possible donor areas are:-

Chest
Armpits/Axilla
Abdomen
Back
Beard
Forearm
Thighs/calves/legs.
Pubic area

Nowadays many patients want removal of unnecessary body hairs (with laser hair removal). In body hair transplant we reap dual benefits of removing unwanted body hairs and transferring them to bald areas over scalp, with no side effect or scaring over donor and recipient areas. While doing this an artistic mixing of body hairs and scalp hairs is achieved over recipient (bald) area to achieve natural appearance.

Face Lift without General Anesthesia

Face lift surgery is performed to pull the loose skin from the lower part of the face backwards and upwards, to give the face a youthful appearance, without a stretched ‘plastic’ look. The natural look after the face-lift surgery is something we specialize in. You don’t want to have a facelift done in a way that is detectable by others. In fact the face lift has to be subtle enough that no one should be able to notice the scars or be startled with a stretched look of your face.

We take pride in our doctors who have invented and refined many procedures performed by thousands of doctors throughout the world. One such technique is the face lift technique using only local anesthesia with minimal surgery. Two cutting edge medical papers of Dr. Azim

• Resuspension of mild to moderate jawline laxity using a minimally invasive technique
• Anterior Face-Lift for Correction of Middle Face Aging Utilizing a Minimally Invasive Technique

were honored to be published in the leading international medical journal Dermatologic Surgery – The official publication of American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (www.asds.net).

These papers are the testimony that we are the pioneers, Alhamdulillah, and perform the most refined minimally invasive face lift surgeries.

The surgery is performed in our out-patient surgery suite using only local anesthesia. General anesthesia has it’s own complications that can be avoided by just using the local anesthesia. The surgery takes between 1-2 hours and patient can immediately go home, and resume the routine activities in a day or two, and can go back to work within a few days.  

The Laser Hair Removal in Pakistan

It is no more a secret that unwanted hair on the face and body (armpits, bikini area, legs, arms and trunk) can be safely removed and reduced permanently using the latest laser hair removal technology. Fortunately, lasers are extremely effective and have proven to be absolutely safe with their more than 13 years of safety track records. Today, Dermatologists, all over the world, believe in the gospel of laser treatment for the permanent removal of unwanted body and facial hair. And just in case you have been misinformed, laser hair removal does not cause cancer.

LASER HAIR REMOVAL-FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

Q: Is the laser hair removal safe?

A: Yes, laser hair removal is absolutely safe, but only with a few considerations. Firstly, the treatment should be done using a high quality laser hair removal machine and secondly it must be done by a competent and properly trained doctor. On the other hand, most burn cases that you may have heard about were either done by an untrained/ill trained doctor, the person may not even be a doctor and/ or with a low quality Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) machine which is not a true LASER. You as a patient should understand that cheap laser hair removal treatment can only be offered by using low cost, low quality equipment which may not be safe and can burn the skin leaving permanent scars. Also, these cheap IPLs are not effective and you may need many more laser hair removal treatments to get long lasting results. So be wise, and choose the right man with the right machine.

Q: Is laser hair removal painful?

A: No. A special local/topical anesthetizing cream is applied prior to laser hair removal that makes the procedure almost completely painless. Some patients with extra sensitive skin may experience a mild needle prick sensation ---- but not pain.

Q: How Many laser hair removal treatments will I need?

A:Well, it varies from person to person. The correct assessment can be made only after a thorough dermatological evaluation. More specifically, especially in females, increased hair growth over the face and body could be secondary to some hormonal imbalance which must be taken care along with the laser hair removal. In some patients only 5-6 treatments are needed while in others 12 or more treatments may be required.

Q: Other laser centers claim to permanently remove the hair in only 4-5 treatments, is that possible?

A: Unfortunately many such clinics are run by unethical doctors with a commercial mind frame or even mere beauticians, who make big claims without any scientific knowledge or evidence. The fact of the matter is that in some cases it may be true, but for most of the patients 6-9 treatments are needed and in some rare patients even more laser hair removal treatments may be required. As mentioned earlier, the hormonal status and hair density gives the final word.

Q: What is the cost of laser hair removal?

A: Although we use the exact same lasers in Pakistan that we use in our U.S. clinics, the cost of laser hair removal in Pakistan is only a fraction of what one would pay in the U.S. The cost of the laser hair removal starts from Rs. 4000 per session, depending upon how much area needs to be treated and the hair density in the targeted area. The exact cost can be determined only after the final assessment by one of our doctors.

Q: Why are our charges for laser hair removal slightly higher?

A: This is not true. Since we use the latest, most effective and the safest lasers made by some of the finest laser manufacturers in the world, we may only seem slightly more expensive than those who use cheaper Chinese lasers or the cheaper, less effective and less safe technologies like Intense Pulsed Light. Whereas a good laser likes Nd:YAG costs between US $ 50000 and 60000, a cheap Chinese Intense Pulsed Light system costs only US $ 3000 to 4000. Consequently, the cost of a single laser hair removal session by our machine would seem slightly heavy on the pocket, but it is, in fact, a much safe and undoubtedly the most effective option available in the world today. Moreover, with such high level technology, a faster response result and only a few sessions are needed which economizes the total cost of the treatment. So the rule is to consider THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ENTIRE TREATMENT RATHER THAN THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF A SINGLE SESSION. We are very proud of the fact that all of our lasers are made in the United States by some of the finest companies in the world such as Cutera, Iridex, Candela and Palomar. These are the exact same laser hair removal machines that are used in our US affiliated clinics in New Jersey and Ohio. Also, it is not just the machines which assure the best treatment. It is "the man behind the machine" who matters even more than anything else. Our consultant dermatologist Dr. Azim Jahangir Khan has more than 18 years of experience in his field. He has learnt, practiced and taught lasers for more than 15 years in the U.S. before returning to Pakistan. He has trained a team of highly dedicated doctors in Lahore to take care of his patients with him in a very efficient way.

Q: What is the difference between LASER and IPL?

A: The word LASER is an acronym made from the first five letters of “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation”. It simply means that a very specific kind of light is amplified or made extremely strong, so strong that it can burn. The beauty of laser is that it only burns a specific color or substance – in case of hair – it is the color of the hair that the laser targets. Therefore, lasers can only destroy the black/brown hair and not the white or grey hair. The safety of laser is also inherent in their very specific damage, so the better the laser, more specifically; it burns only the targeted hair and not the normal surrounding skin. On the other hand, IPL (Intense Pulsed Light), is a broad spectrum light that can damage the skin around the hair. Since the laser technology is far too difficult to build, lasers are much more expensive than IPLs. In a nutshell, if you are looking for more effective yet safe laser hair removal treatment, go for a “true” laser rather than an IPL treatment. Make sure that you ask your doctor to tell you the brand of laser they use and go on the web to make sure that it is a laser by a reputable company. After all it is your health and your skin – so take care of it with the best possible technology, even if it is slightly expensive. The final choice is yours.

Skin Hair & Nail Diseases

Skin diseases A to Z (Information about skin diseases)

COMMON SKIN DISEASES

ACNE (PIMPLES / ZITS):

This is a very common skin disease in adolescence, young girls and boys and even in adults. It is a common mistake to think that it is normal to have acne at puberty and no treatment should be done. In fact, this is a skin disease and wonderful treatments are available that can get rid of the old acne and prevent the new ones from forming. If treated appropriately pimples should leave no mark on the face. When not treated in time they can leave ugly and permanent marks. The treatment usually consists of some medicine to apply on the face couple of times a day and sometimes oral medications may be needed. It is a common mistake to apply steroid creams like “Dermovate” for pimples which, in fact, can worsen the pimples and damage the skin. Acne in most cases is neither caused by any food nor is the lack of water responsible for it. But in general, eating healthy food, avoiding fast food and drinking enough water is good for the body anyway. . Many commercial creams and lotions, to treat acne and make the skin fair, contain steroids that can permanently damage the skin and should not be used without the doctor’s advice. You should consult a qualified skin specialist for the treatment. With the latest treatments available, there is no reason to be walking around with pimples. To learn more about acne Click Here

DANDRUFF (SEBORRHEIC DERMATITIS):

Dandruff is a skin disease caused by mold / fungus and the overproduction of the body oil by the skin oil glands. Simply dry skin does not cause dandruff, so not washing the head is not the solution. Similarly putting the oil in the hair may mask the condition temporarily but is not the cure. Regular showers and the use of a good antidandruff shampoo may be your first step towards the treatment. If not improved a skin specialist can be consulted. With proper treatment this condition can be treated effectively.

WARTS:

These small growths are caused by a germ (virus) and can be transmitted from one person to another. Also, scratching a wart and
then putting the same finger on another part of the body can transfer the disease to that body part as well. These warts can be easily treated by burning with extreme heat or cold using special devices in your skin specialist’s clinic. Self medication by burning them with acids or picking at them can leave unsightly marks and even spread the disease.

HEAD LICE:

Head lice can cause severe itching in the head and is an extremely common problem in school going children. If commonly available remedies like combing hair with a very fine comb after shampooing with anti-lice shampoo do not work, a dermatologist may be consulted.

SLIGHTLY WHITE SPOTS ON THE FACE (PITYRIASIS ALBA):

These light colored spots are NOT caused by Calcium deficiency. It is a form of eczema and can be easily treated by your skin specialist. Avoiding the sun following the treatment may help lighten the surrounding skin thereby making the spots less visible during the recovery period. It usually takes a few months to regain the color in these spots after the treatment.

VITILIGO (LEUKODERMA):

These markedly white spots are not caused by drinking milk with fish. Sour food or Vitamin-C does not cause leukoderma. These are the common myths spread by non qualified medical practitioners. In fact every human being has an immune system (body defense system) to fight off infections caused by germs. Sometimes this defense system starts working against the cells which produce the skin color. These cells are called melanocytes (pronounced as MAY-LANO-SITE). In the beginning of the disease, the defense system just paralyzes the melanocytes and they stop making the color. At this stage they can be salvaged with the proper treatment. If not treated early, the defense system can permanently damage these cells, making the treatment difficult. The treatment usually consists of medicated creams, treatment with ultraviolet light in your dermatologist’s clinic, and sometimes oral medications with ultraviolet light. If no improvement occurs, a latest treatment called ‘Melanocyte Transplant’ is now available in Pakistan. In this treatment the color producing cells are transferred from the normal skin to the white spots, where they start producing the skin color.

UNEVEN TONE & DARK SKIN:

This can be easily prevented by avoiding harsh sun and staying in the shade. Different sun blocks with Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 35 or more and UVA + UVB protection, along with physical protection with clothing, hats and umbrellas can prevent uneven skin tone. Remember, the intense and prolonged sun exposure can darken the skin and make the skin older looking sooner. Normal exposure to the sun is necessary for Vitamin-D production in the body. So try to avoid the direct sun between 10 am and 4 pm when the harmful rays of the sun are at their peak.