Laser hair removal is best avoided when pregnant. Getty
Laser hair removal is best avoided when pregnant. Getty
Laser hair removal is best avoided when pregnant. Getty
Laser hair removal is best avoided when pregnant. Getty

Pampering during pregnancy: what’s safe and what’s not?


  • English
  • Arabic

There's no denying that pregnancy is a precious, magical time, albeit sometimes challenging and emotional. Never mind that your body is flooded with hormones and ballooning out of shape, but even your skin, hair and nails can take on a life of their own. You want to pamper yourself, but when it comes to beauty treatments that are safe, Dr Google only leads you down a rabbit hole of conflicting advice. We turn to the experts for some more definitive dos and don'ts, and to find out what's safe for mums-to-be.

Hair care

Hair dyes and treatments often employ peroxide, bleach and other chemicals, so is it safe to colour your hair while pregnant? Alison Keogh, co-founder of Headkase Salon in Dubai, says expectant mothers are right to be wary, but technology in hair colour has improved dramatically, and brands such as Wella offer ammonia-free colour ranges. One chemical in permanent colour called PPD (Paraphenylenediamine) can cause allergic reactions, she cautions, but most leading brands have removed this ingredient.

Balayage highlights, which are applied away from the skin and scalp, are safe to get while pregnant. Photo: Headkase, Dubai
Balayage highlights, which are applied away from the skin and scalp, are safe to get while pregnant. Photo: Headkase, Dubai

The balayage technique ensures dye does not come into contact with your skin or scalp during application, and is considered completely safe. ­However, Keogh recommends avoiding popular treatments such as permanent hair straightening and the Brazilian blowout. "To be honest, as a salon, we don't recommend them in general. The identifying trait of ­keratin used in such treatments means the presence of large amounts of cysteine, a sulphur-containing amino acid. Also, the presence of ­formaldehyde can create an uncomfortable procedure for both client and stylist as it has a strong, unpleasant odour. There are more friendly options on the market these days, but we would advise waiting until after baby arrives for these treatments."

Face facts

Nathanael Aknine, founder of Maison Lutetia Dubai, says his beauty clinic errs on the side of ethics when it comes to expectant mothers. "We would concentrate on 'feel-good' treatments, and any cosmetic journey would start post-pregnancy when the hormones have balanced out."

Pregnant women should avoid ­products containing active anti-­ageing ingredients such as retinoids (including retinol and vitamin A), and hydroquinone as these are dangerous for the baby when taken orally or ­topically, adds Dr Michaela Churruca from Maison Lutetia Dubai. Beauty products containing active vitamins should also be avoided in case of hypervitaminosis, a condition caused by extremely high levels of vitamins, which can be toxic.

Cleansing facials are safe in the ­second and third trimesters, as are mild peels using a low percentage of glycolic acid. Other skin procedures that are considered safe include rejuvenation treatments such as microneedling, LED light therapy and mild microdermabrasion, as no chemicals are involved, adds Churruca. She advises against aggressive treatments such as fillers and laser hair removal as no clinical trials exist to say these are safe for pregnancy, plus pregnancy hormones mean the skin is prone to burning and swelling. Botox is completely out of the question, as it is a known toxin and dangerous for the foetus.

Body balance

Churraca advises against hot tubs, saunas and steam rooms for these nine months. “The pregnant body is going through so many changes in temperature, body mass and weight that very hot environments may increase the risk of hypertension, drowsiness or even fainting, which is extremely dangerous for the baby as the oxygen supply would be cut.”

It’s widely known that tanning booths and beds should be ­avoided during pregnancy because of the UV light and risk of radiation. Robe Aires, from Bodyworx Medical Centre in Abu Dhabi, says spray tans are not recommended for pregnant women, either, as there have been no studies to prove its safety. Organic spray ­tanning products are considered safe, but check that they do not contain any parabens, alcohol, perfumes or preservatives.

Carla Beggs, head therapist at Browz in Dubai, has worked in the beauty industry for 15 years and advises against any massage in the first 12 weeks as both baby and body are growing rapidly. She recommends a pregnancy massage by a trained ­expert in the second or third ­trimester. Maternity massages are fantastic for relieving the stress, aches and pains brought on by pregnancy, but ensure the salon you visit caters for expectant mothers.

Brows and lashes 

All semi-permanent make-up is to be avoided by mums-to-be, Beggs says. Popular brow procedure microblading involves cutting the skin around the brow area and, as the body heals differently during pregnancy, this is not advised, she says. Also, there is a higher risk of infection. Similarly, the pigment used in microblading contains small amounts of iron oxide, which is unsafe.

Lash extensions are fine, Beggs says, as they are applied individually using non-solvent glue that is hyper-­allergenic. Likewise, lash lifts and tints that use natural ingredients are risk-free.

Lash extensions and last lifts are both deemed safe during pregnancy. Photo: Browz, Dubai
Lash extensions and last lifts are both deemed safe during pregnancy. Photo: Browz, Dubai

Tooth and nail

Kicking back in a reclining chair to enjoy a mani-pedi is one of the luxuries that mums-to-be can safely indulge in. Just ensure you visit a well-ventilated salon to ensure the smell of the nail paint doesn’t make you nauseous, especially in the first trimester. Ten 10 Avenue ­Beauty Lounge in Dubai recommends ­avoiding gel or acrylic treatments as the UV light used to dry the nails can be harmful, plus the fumes can be quite intense.

When it comes to oral hygiene, Dr Lina Shaar, of Dr Michael's ­Dental Clinic, says that in a healthy ­pregnancy, fillings and ­cleanings are safe in the second and third ­trimesters. But for a difficult ­pregnancy, it's best to wait until after delivery. X-rays can be harmful for the baby, so avoid complex ­procedures such as veneers, implants and crowns. Teeth whitening, too, is not ­recommended when you're pregnant or breastfeeding, as the ­concentration of whitening ingredients is far higher in this procedure than in everyday toothpaste.

As You Were

Liam Gallagher

(Warner Bros)

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

Match info:

Manchester City 2
Sterling (8'), Walker (52')

Newcastle United 1
Yedlin (30')

Abandon
Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay
Translated by Arunava Sinha
Tilted Axis Press 

Ready Player One
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance

How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers

Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.

It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.

The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.

Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.

Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.

He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.

AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”

A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.

Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.

Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.

Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.

By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.

Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.

In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”

Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.

She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.

Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The%20specs
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Scores

Wales 74-24 Tonga
England 35-15 Japan
Italy 7-26 Australia

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PROFILE OF HALAN

Started: November 2017

Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport and logistics

Size: 150 employees

Investment: approximately $8 million

Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

Jurassic%20Park
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESteven%20Spielberg%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sam%20Neill%2C%20Jeff%20Goldblum%20and%20Richard%20Attenborough%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Like a Fading Shadow

Antonio Muñoz Molina

Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez

Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)

The%20specs
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UAE squad

Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.

UAE tour of Zimbabwe

All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

Race 3

Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

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BULKWHIZ PROFILE

Date started: February 2017

Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: E-commerce 

Size: 50 employees

Funding: approximately $6m

Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait

Red flags
  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
  • Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
  • Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
  • Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
  • Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo 

 Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua

 Based: Dubai, UAE

 Number of employees: 28

 Sector: Financial services

 Investment: $9.5m

 Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. 

 
Day 2, Dubai Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Pakistan’s effort in the field had hints of shambles about it. The wheels were officially off when Wahab Riaz lost his run up and aborted the delivery four times in a row. He re-measured his run, jogged in for two practice goes. Then, when he was finally ready to go, he bailed out again. It was a total cringefest.

Stat of the day – 139.5 Yasir Shah has bowled 139.5 overs in three innings so far in this Test series. Judged by his returns, the workload has not withered him. He has 14 wickets so far, and became history’s first spinner to take five-wickets in an innings in five consecutive Tests. Not bad for someone whose fitness was in question before the series.

The verdict Stranger things have happened, but it is going to take something extraordinary for Pakistan to keep their undefeated record in Test series in the UAE in tact from this position. At least Shan Masood and Sami Aslam have made a positive start to the salvage effort.

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Company%20Profile
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Company%20profile
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
  • Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
  • Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
  • The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
  • Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
  • It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
  • Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
  • Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
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UAE Falcons

Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.

 
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million