Cosmetic surgeons in Dubai have found many of their patients are asking them to carry out hair transplants. Eyebrows, eye lashes and facial hair seem to be the main problem areas.

One Dubai surgeon, Dr Riad Roomi, said since 2009 when he started his practice there has been around a 78% increase in requests for this type of surgery. He told reporters: “People are more educated, and the expectations from hair restoration and plastic surgery are a lot more realistic. Everyone wants to look natural and a lot depends on the surgeon the patient goes to.

He added: “Patients have come to me with disastrous results that I have had to correct because they have gone to inexperienced surgeons.”

“One particular case changed my philosophy on hair transplants because I used to think that people went in for treatments only for themselves.

“A few months ago, a blind gentleman came to me. He said, ‘I wanted to feel the hair on my head.’ After the treatment, he called me to tell that his family thinks that he looks 20 years younger.”

One of the more popular operations is eye lash surgery. One patient, a lady, said: “I used to have very thin eye lashes and a lopsided eye-brow. I got it surgically fixed. I mean, let’s face it, not all of us are genetically born beautiful and the industry I work for requires me to look conventionally perfect.”

It is isn’t known for sure why hair transplant surgery has suddenly become more popular in places like Dubai, but people in the region are now more confident in themselves that they seemingly are prepared to pay out good money to improve their looks. And that includes their head and facial hair.

But it isn’t just Dubai that has seen unprecedented increases in visits to cosmetic surgeries for hair treatment. A Turkish surgeon from Istanbul, Dr Melike Kulahci said: “In terms of figures, the increase in the number of our patients is approximately 15 per cent per year.”