FOR Dr Wod Al Khateeb, helping patients feel confident in their own skin starts with understanding the whole person, not simply treating what they see in the mirror.
As owner of Dr Wod Cosmetic Clinic, Dr Wod brings more than two decades of medical experience to a practice centred on personalised, preventative and holistic care.
“For me, wellness means taking a proactive approach to health, with a focus on prevention, healthy lifestyle choices and the pursuit of optimal wellbeing,” Dr Wod said.
Her approach begins with listening. During new-client assessments, Dr Wod considers medical history, medications, lifestyle, smoking, healthy habits and individual goals, helping identify opportunities to support patients beyond their initial concern.
“Sometimes, adding just a few extra questions can uncover an opportunity to support a patient in a way they may not have considered,” she said.
That may involve education, lifestyle changes or encouraging a patient to discuss an underlying health concern with Dr Wod or their healthcare practitioner.
Dr Wod said this person-centred approach is particularly important as people move through different stages of life, with sleep, nutrition, exercise, stress and hormones all influencing skin and overall health.
For women, this can include hormonal changes associated with menopause, which can affect the skin’s collagen, thickness and hydration.
“The skin is our largest organ, and it is much more than something we see in the mirror,” she said. “The goal is not to look like someone else or to stop ageing, it is to feel healthy, confident and comfortable being yourself.”
Dr Wod’s own journey has been shaped by the people who have supported and guided her throughout her career, including her father, a professor and plastic surgeon, who she describes as her “first and greatest teacher”.
“I am deeply grateful for the men who have shaped my life and journey,” she said, also acknowledging the professors and mentors who guided her career and her husband, who has been her partner in life, business mentor and one of her greatest supporters. Dr Wod also expressed gratitude to her team.
“My journey has been shaped by remarkable women, but also by remarkable men, and I believe there is enormous strength in acknowledging both.”
While aesthetic treatments remain part of her practice, Dr Wod believes they should complement, rather than replace, broader wellbeing.
For Dr Wod, the ultimate measure of successful care is how a patient feels when they leave the clinic.
“I want them to feel heard, valued and more confident… because they have taken the time to care for themselves and their wellbeing.”
