Sham Al-Zahabi is proof that real skincare starts in the lab, not the marketing deck. A Cambridge-trained material chemist researching the extracellular matrix at the cellular level, she's spent over a decade moving between elite research and the cosmetics industry itself and channeled all of it into DAO Derma, the Cairo clinic she founded that's already ranked among the city's best. Part scientist, part entrepreneur, part daughter of one of the Arab world's most famous singers, Al-Zahabi has built a name entirely her own: rigorous, compassionate, and impossible to ignore. Maison Nur’s, Editor-In-Chief, Kaniz Ali catches up with Sham Al Zahabi in the heart of New Cairo, Egypt.

Kaniz: Tell us about your background
Sham: I was born in Damascus in 1992, so my roots are deeply Syrian, but Egypt is truly where I grew up and where so much of who I am was shaped. I moved to Cairo in 2005, and it became home in every sense of the word. I feel as Egyptian as I do Syrian, and I think that duality has shaped the way I move through life with a lot of emotion, resilience, warmth, and curiosity. I was always drawn to science, especially chemistry and physics, so pursuing Chemistry at university felt very natural to me. Chemistry didn’t just become a field of study; it became a way of thinking. It taught me to understand systems, reactions, energy, and connection and I still apply that lens to everything in my life, from business to relationships to the way I understand skin, wellness, and human behavior. I was also raised in a way that gave me freedom, freedom to explore, to fail, to try, to evolve. My mother never put limits on who I could become. She taught me to treat life as an experience to be lived fully, and that mindset has stayed with me. Today, I’m mainly based between Cairo and wherever life, work, and curiosity take me. I love travel, I love beauty, and above all, I love connection.

Kaniz: What inspired you to pursue a career in medicine?
Sham: I didn’t arrive at this world through medicine first I arrived through chemistry. I fell in love with understanding the why behind skin long before I fell in love with treatments themselves. I’ve always been fascinated by what’s happening beneath the surface: the molecular changes, the biological responses, the science that explains why skin behaves the way it does. That curiosity kept growing, especially because I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by brilliant people doctors, chemists, scientists, and thinkers who constantly challenge and inspire me. Once I understood what was actually happening on a cellular and molecular level, I couldn’t unsee it. That’s what pulled me from the lab into aesthetics and wellness: the ability to take science and turn it into something transformative, personal, and deeply human. For me, medicine and aesthetics are not separate from care they’re simply another way of helping people feel better in their skin and in themselves.

Kaniz: What inspired you to open clinics in Egypt, Dubai, and Qatar
Sham: At the heart of it, it all goes back to my mother, Assala. I promised her a long time ago that I would keep her young and beautiful forever and the older I got, the more I understood that her beauty was never just external. It was energy, spirit, discipline, softness, strength, all of it. She truly believes in beauty from the inside out, and that belief eventually became the philosophy behind DAO. DAO Derma was born from that promise, but it grew because there was a real need for a different kind of aesthetic space one rooted in science, honesty, and human connection. Egypt came first very organically, long before there was ever a “brand” attached to it. Dubai and Qatar followed for the same reason many meaningful things in my life have followed: real demand, real trust, real partnerships, and a shared belief that people deserve a higher standard of care. With Dubai in particular, partnering with Apparel Group felt especially aligned because it was built on the vision of women who understand that beauty is never just skin-deep.

Kaniz: What services do your clinics offer?
Sham: Across DAO Derma, we offer a full spectrum of aesthetic and wellness treatments, from injectables, laser and energy-based technologies, and advanced skin rejuvenation protocols, to body contouring, IV wellness drips, and regenerative treatments. We’re constantly evolving with the science, so whenever there’s a technology or treatment that genuinely adds value and delivers results, we study it carefully and bring it in with intention.

Kaniz: What sets your clinic apart from others?
Sham: What sets DAO apart is that we never treat a face in isolation we treat a person. Every decision we make is rooted in science, but guided by connection. I’m the kind of person who will sit with a device brochure and a scientific paper before I ever allow that technology into a treatment room. I need to understand what it does, how it works, why it works, and who it’s truly right for. That’s the DAO difference for me: it’s not trend-led, it’s science-led. It’s not about doing more, it’s about doing what’s right. We care about long-term skin health, not just instant gratification. And above all, we care about the human being sitting in front of us — because beauty, to me, always starts from within.

Kaniz: What is your favorite treatment to perform, and why?
Sham: I’m always drawn to treatments that are non-invasive but genuinely transformative — the kind that make someone look fresher, healthier, more radiant, but still entirely like themselves. That’s what I love most: subtle power. Real improvement. Real skin. Right now, one of the things I’m most proud of is the DAO skin protocol we’ve built around three essential steps: hydrate, repair, stimulate. My doctors and I have seen over and over again that meaningful skin transformation happens when those three things are approached in the right order and with the right strategy. It’s not about one miracle treatment — it’s about understanding skin deeply enough to know what it needs, when it needs it, and how to support it properly.

Kaniz: Which treatments are most loved by your clients?
Sham: Without a doubt, skin rejuvenation treatments are among the most loved especially anything that delivers that “your skin, but better” result. I think today’s woman is incredibly informed. She doesn’t necessarily want to look “done”; she wants to look rested, fresh, healthy, and like the best version of herself. That natural refinement is what people are really looking for, and it’s something we care deeply about at DAO.

Kaniz: As a wife and mother, how do you balance your demanding career and family life?
Sham: I don’t know if I believe in perfect balance I think I believe more in rhythm. Some weeks my family needs more of me, and some weeks DAO does, and I’ve made peace with that. What matters to me is staying present in whatever role I’m in at that moment. What keeps me grounded is the quality of the people around me my family, my team, my closest friends. They remind me who I am outside of work, and they also push me to become better within it. I think balance becomes easier when your life is built around love, trust, and people who genuinely want to see you thrive.

Kaniz: How do you manage patients who have unrealistic aesthetic expectations?
Sham: One of the things I’m most grateful for is that DAO has never been built around pressure or overcorrection it’s been built around philosophy. Our patients understand what we stand for, and our team reflects that same mindset. We’re very honest, very transparent, and very committed to preserving individuality rather than erasing it. So when expectations don’t align with what’s healthy, realistic, or beautiful in the long term, the conversation becomes very simple for us. We guide, we educate, and we protect the patient first. That trust is something we’ve worked very hard to build, and it’s a huge part of why the DAO relationship with our patients feels so personal.

Kaniz: What does your clinic specialize in, and what are you best known for?
Sham: DAO specializes in science-led aesthetics treatments and protocols that are rooted in real medical understanding, but delivered in a way that still honors beauty, individuality, and emotion. We’re known for being early adopters of technology, for bringing advanced devices into the region, and for approaching aesthetics with a deeper level of intention. If I had to sum it up in one sentence, I’d say this: we never separate the medical from the beautiful. That’s the entire DAO philosophy.

Kaniz: What does a typical week in the life of Sham Al Zahabi look like?
Sham: Fast-paced, layered, and never boring. My weeks are usually a blend of clinic walkthroughs, strategy meetings, studying for my PhD, creating content, spending time in the studio making music, and staying connected to my patients and my family. No two days really look the same, which I actually love. But in the middle of all of that, I fiercely protect moments of stillness time alone, time to think, time to reconnect with God, time to hear my own thoughts again. I’ve learned that if I don’t make space for that, I can’t show up fully for anything else.

Kaniz: If you weren’t an entrepreneur, what would you be?
Sham: A university professor, without hesitation. I love learning, but I also love translating what I learn and passing it on. Teaching has always felt very natural to me. There’s something so powerful about helping someone understand an idea in a way that changes how they see the world.

Kaniz: What are the biggest pros and cons of owning your own businesses?
Sham: The greatest part is that every win feels deeply earned and even more than that, you get to watch the people around you grow with you. Building something from the ground up with a team you believe in is one of the most rewarding things in the world. The hardest part is probably that there’s no real clocking out. Your mind is always on, your heart is always in it, and the responsibility never really leaves you. But to be honest, I love that too. I think the most difficult moments in business are often the moments that reveal your character most clearly. They show you who you are, what you’re made of, and what kind of leader you want to become.

Kaniz: If you could disappear for a week, where would you go and why?
Sham: Somewhere quiet, warm, and deeply connected to nature. I’m happiest around sun, sand, and water anywhere that makes life feel slower and simpler. If I could disappear for a week, I’d want it to be somewhere with no schedule, no noise, and no pressure to perform. Just space to breathe, reset, and come back to myself.

Kaniz: What’s the best advice you’d give to someone starting their own business?
Sham: Stay true to who you are, because eventually that’s the only thing people can really feel. Lead with pure intention, build with integrity, and never lose your connection to the people around you. Business can teach you strategy, numbers, systems, and scale but none of that means much if you lose yourself in the process. The strongest businesses are built by people who know what they stand for, who stay curious, and who understand that real success is never created alone.