Your body may be aging, but you feel great, and you’d like to look as young as you feel. That said, you don’t want to be the only guy in a waiting room full of women at the plastic surgeon’s office. Nor do you want the doctor to look at you sideways when you start asking about a facelift or liposuction.
If this is your hangup, we have great news for you. You’re not an outlier–you’re part of a growing army of men who are interested in looking their best with the help of cosmetic procedures.
(Pavel Danilyuk/Pexels)
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 13% of all cosmetic surgery procedures are performed on men.
The Society’s 2017 report shows increases for different procedures:
- Breast reductions for men: up 32% since 2000
- Buttocks lifts for men: up 254% since 2000
- Dermabrasion for men: up 100% since 2000
- Lip augmentations for men: up 60% since 2000
- Lower body lifts for men: up 4284% since 2000
- Tummy tucks for men: up 107% since 2000
- Upper arm lifts for men: up 5235% since 2000
Rather than simply being acceptable, cosmetic procedures for men are in vogue! And you can join the vanguard.
Why the increase in cosmetic procedures for men?
- Living well, living longer. In 1920, the average life expectancy for a man was 53.6 years. Illnesses like whooping cough, scarlet fever, and tuberculosis were common mortal threats. One hundred years later, the life expectancy of a U.S. man is up by 20 years, thanks to modern medicine, immunizations, better health education, improved sanitation and living conditions, better access to healthy food, etc. And we’re not just living longer. Many of us are living far better than our forebears. We’re fit and energetic and we want our appearance to reflect that.
- Keeping up with the women in our lives. There has been a 33% increase in cosmetic procedures for women since 2000. In some cases, this has resulted in women looking significantly younger than their husbands or boyfriends. To close up that gap, many men are considering cosmetic procedures as well.
- The Zoom Effect. If the pandemic had you staring at your face all day on Zoom, you may have started to notice things that hadn’t bothered you before: age spots, “turkey neck,” jowls, or saggy eyelids. This left many men wanting something better for their appearance.
What are the most popular procedures?
If you’re looking for a fresh look, you may wonder where to begin. While you should start with a visit to your plastic surgeon to find out what services could rejuvenate your appearance, here’s a list to consider. It features several of the trending procedures for men that may appeal to you, too.
Non-surgical
Dermabrasion. Skin can bear the scars of life’s wear and tear. If you’re seeing acne scars, wrinkles, or age spots when you look in the mirror, dermabrasion provides a way to minimize these imperfections. Your doctor will use anesthetics to numb your skin, then use a rotating device to remove your top layers of skin. Your body will then regenerate new skin that looks younger and smoother.
Botox and filler. Looking to plump up your skin to restore youthful fullness? Botox injections can relax contracted muscles and, in the process, smooth out facial wrinkles. Fillers (also known as soft tissue fillers) can also be injected to plump up lips and fill in wrinkles, such as those around the cheeks and lips.
Surgical
Neck lift. Missing that tight jawline and the tautness around your chin and neck? Talk to your Lexington neck lift surgeon. A neck lift surgery can remove extra skin and be combined with liposuction to eliminate a double chin. Your surgeon may also add facial implants such as a chin augmentation to improve the contour of your chin and neck.
Facelift. Once the almost-exclusive domain of women, facelifts for men are trending. Depending on what area of your face is showing the most signs of aging, you can opt for partial facelift procedures including the mid-facelift, which pulls up sagging cheeks, and the mini facelift, which targets jowls. Your Lexington face lift surgeon can help you know which procedure would be best for you.
Eyelid lift. Eyes can really show age. You may have puffy or droopy eyelids or an excess of skin drooping down from your brow to create “hooded eyes.” An eyelid lift can get rid of the extra skin and fat that create these problems. A lower eyelid lift can reduce bags under your eyes by eliminating fat and tightening up the skin.
Rhinoplasty. Nose jobs were the most popular plastic surgery procedure for men in 2019, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Some men are trying to repair structural defects such as a deviated septum so that they can breathe easier and snore less. Others may be looking to improve their profile or decrease the width of their nose or reshape the tip of their nose. Others may want a nose that is in greater proportion to their face.
Breast reduction. Want to regain those tight, toned pectoral muscles that you used to show off by the pool or just look great in a t-shirt? So do the many men who are seeking breast reductions. Age and weight gain can cause mens’ breasts to get larger and saggier. There’s also an imbalance of the hormones estrogen and testosterone that can cause you to develop more breast tissue.
Liposuction. Tired of the Dad Bod? Even eating right and exercising may not be enough to get rid of stubborn accumulations of fat. Liposuction around the midsection is particularly popular to help men restore that V-shaped physique.
Just as women do, men deserve to live full lives at any age and look good while doing it. This is possible through surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures. Don’t be fooled into thinking these procedures are just for females. Join the many male patients in Lexington and Louisville who are benefiting from facelifts, neck lifts, and a host of other appearance-enhancing procedures.