Dr. Iman Al Haj: Redefining Beauty Standards in Qatar

A true professional to her name, Dr. Iman Al Haj has always known she wanted to be a surgeon, since the ripe age of 5. Pursuing that dream started off with her fascination with blood and complicated organs like the heart. Fitting really, that she be interested in the most important organ in the human body, as hers was always and remains wide open for her patients.

After getting her medical degree from Dubai Medical Collage, Dr. Al Haj pursued her residency work in the U.S. working at the General Surgery Training Residency Program at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. As well as another program of the same caliber at the University of Texas.

With these residencies under her belt, Dr. Al Haj committed to fellowships that transformed her life. “While I was doing my residency, I met one of the top heart surgeons in the world, the late Dr. Denton Cooley, and he asked me why I wanted to become a heart surgeon. I told him that it was the complexity of the heart. He told me that one day when I am a mother, that this would interfere greatly with my lifestyle,” Dr. Al Haj remembered.

It was then that Dr. Cooley suggested that she tries out plastic surgery. “He sent me to his friend who was a plastic surgeon and really helped me make that transition,” said Dr. Al Haj.

“It was immediate love”

She took her new-found love of plastic surgery and enveloped it into humanitarian work in Mexico. “I travelled for a week to do surgeries every other month for burn victims, especially children,” added Dr. Al Haj. “It was very gratifying, it’s enough to see the mothers’ reactions.”

Trained in hair transplant and acute and critical care in burn reconstructive surgery, Dr. Al Haj worked in shrine hospitals all over Texas, and has come to Qatar to lend us her expertise.

Her treatments range from the latest technology in hair transplant, to the latest state of the art tools for anti-aging medicine. Her patients are part of her growth and she will provide them with the best possible care she can give. “I can’t sleep without knowing that I did everything I could to make the patient happy,” said Dr. Al Haj.

Speaking of getting the job done, Dr. Al Haj has taken patient care to the next level by creating and establishing her own secret weapon to after surgery care: her skin line! Made entirely of natural, concentrated, herbs and fruits, you can almost smell the freshness right off the bat.

“When I left school, I started my own practice back in 2008. After lots of procedures, what bothered me was after a patient got a facelift, laser skin resurfacing, heavy dermabrasion, they never knew what to apply. They were very scared to actually apply anything, because they were afraid of allergic reactions, interference with healing, but they also wanted to look great,” said Dr. Al Haj. “I wanted to create that foundation finish to my sunscreen so that there was no need for makeup.”

Dr. Al Haj had a friend who had a chemistry lab. While brainstorming some products to create, Dr. Al Haj developed her very first sunscreen. “The main after care for any plastic surgery is sunscreen,” she said.

All it takes is just a couple of months, 3 to 4 to be exact, for the natural glow to come back to your skin. “We don’t use anything commercial in the skin line, everything is herbal: pumpkin, rosemary, berries, green tea, I love green tea in my skin line,” said Dr. Al Haj.

“It’s been 8 years now! And people are always asking for more”

An array of products can be found in this exquisite skin line made especially for you. From masks, to creams, to mists, to sprays, it seems like nothing is off limits when it comes to flawless skin.

Although metals are very popular now, “I don’t agree with having too many metals in our body, remember, we are not made up of metals, it’s also been related to diseases, aluminum, for example, is linked to Alzheimer’s,” said Dr. Al Haj.

A firm believer in longevity in beauty, Dr. Al Haj only uses the best ingredients for her skin line. She also doesn’t believe in commercializing it as that would devalue the product with the high demand. “If nature has given us rosemary, vitamin C, and oils, why should we go to the hard stuff? Gold is a great product we use it a lot for arthritis treatment, but it’s a line of therapy, it is not a line of treatment,” added Dr. Al Haj. “I am completely against metals… I don’t even use it in my own life,” she concluded.

Well there you have it! A humanitarian, a passionate surgeon, and a dedicated doctor with the warmest heart, Dr. Iman Al Haj is your best option