Swati Tewari
Not everyone can be beautiful and make others look beautiful as well. Dr Shubha Dharmana is one of the few. We at WSL caught up with this Bangalore based cosmetic dermatologist, also the founder and Chief Evangelist of Le’Jeune Medspa, Bangalore and spoke of skin, hair and much more.
Q. As a dermatologist and a hair transplant surgeon, what are the most common problems you come across?
A. India has been a place where you come across demands for skin whitening, removal of unwanted hair, tan removal, pigmentation and anti aging. Interestingly, people always come to us with realistic expectations. A lot of middle class people, mostly men, are also going for hair transplant now. All our procedures include non surgical ways only, without any cuts and stitches.
Q. Has the awareness level gone up among people off late? Has the concept of hair transplant or getting a better skin been received well in India?
A. India has become one of the hubs for hair transplant, especially cities like Pune and Hyderabad. People have become more conscious and they know now they do have a solution to a lot of their skin and hair problems that were left unnoticed till a few years ago. The mentality has changed. Now people are always searching for new ways to make their skin and hair better. The treatments are pretty affordable as well. Thanks to a lot of competition, hair grafting has become Rs30-40 per graft at a lot of places. Though I would always suggest please go for quality.
Q. Who is the most beauty conscious of the two – men or women?
A. You will be surprised that a lot more men come for various kinds of treatment compared to women. They wish to try everything from beard shaping to skin whitening to anti ageing and tan removal. They want to be groomed. This is an interesting trend that I have noticed to be on the rise since the last 3 years.
Q. You have a lot of celebrity clients from Bollywood and Tollywood. What do these clients mostly complain of?
A. My clients from the film industry mostly look for anti ageing, skin whitening. Peeling is another common problem. A lot of them are also coming for hair transplant.
Q. Tell us more about your online clinic
A. I had been getting requests from all across the globe, there were people who wanted to consult and know more about their skin and hair. I decided to come up with this virtual clinic that gave me easy access to my clients no matter where I was. For a minimal fee, anyone can get a consultation done by me. You can even upload pictures so to understand better. We are soon to start video consultations to make it more realtime.
Q. You had been crowned as the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, 2012.Tell us more about yourself. How has the journey been? What inspired you to enter this field?
A. I was into modeling during my younger days. I was always passionate about healthy skin, hence decided to study this further. People always trust you if you have a proper degree. I graduated from the Andhra Medical College after which I left for the UK where I trained in general medicine and Dermatology. I also researched on anti-ageing and deliberated considerably over skin diseases and aesthetic medicines. Later, I also undertook training in Lasers. I relocated to India only two years ago.
Quick fix tips:
- Always use sun screen. No matter how your skin type is, no matter what the weather is like. It helps prevent pigmentation and uneven skin tone. For the Indian skin I would recommend SPF 30 or more.
- Identify your skin type. Don’t go for any skin product randomly.
- If you are not sure of your skin type, get an analysis done by a specialist.
- Do not smoke. It makes you age more quickly and makes your skin dull and dry.
- Cover your hair with a hat or scarf when you go out in the sun.
- Just like your skin it is very important to keep your scalp hydrated as well.
Don’t sit over your problems. There is a solution for everything. Visit your specialist and do something about it.
