Enough borrowing from the boys!
Over the past decade, the women’s fashion / beauty industries have borrowed heavily from the boys. Slouchy “boyfriend” jeans, shirts, and jackets have become so prevalent they are a staple of almost every woman’s wardrobe. Lately, even “boys’ brows” are having moment. (Witness the popularity of Glossier’s “Boy Brow” pomade. Frequently sold-out, mentioned all the time on social-media, it seems like if you put the descriptive-word “boy” in front of anything, it has instant mass-appeal.)
The prevalence of “boy” stye does not necessarily indicate a desire to be androgynous, nor actually look like a boy. Instead, aesthetics are still distinctly male or female, but the idea of “boy” helps surmise the beauty-goals of so many people: to look effortlessly put-together. (Accordingly, Glossier described their “Boy Brow” product as being “inspired by healthy, face-framing brows”.)
It seems only fair that with all of the “boy” style influences, eventually boys would want to make the most of current looks and trends for themselves.
Although still under-represented in the mostly female-dominated industry, males are finally the fastest growing segment of consumers in the aesthetic world. A survey by Allergan found that 48% of men are open to discussing injection-treatments for facial wrinkles.
Additionally, 71% say they want to look good and almost half are willing to spend money on their facial appearance — 40% admitted they would spend more than $250 for a single treatment.
Although it was slower to happen for men than women, ultimately it’s not surprising that men are starting to take advantage of the beauty-options available to them.
“Men’s motivations to get injections are really similar to women’s.” says Sarah Sidiqi, NP, cosmetic-injector at Philadelphia’s About Face Skin Care. “Injections are incredibly appealing because the treatments are efficient, quick, and discreet.”
“Most men are generally as concerned about their appearance as women are, although they don’t necessarily admit it. Social-media forces men to critique and evaluate themselves just as much as women.” says Kellie Gater, another Philadelphia-based nurse-injector. “When men don’t like what they see in the mirror, they want a fast solution. They may be interested in doing something for themselves, but they don’t even know what options exist for them.”
Sidiqi agrees that similarly to women, the two biggest driving-forces are subconscious peer-pressure (people want to stay competitive with their personal and professional competition) and social media.
“Social-media, where your appearance is everything, is a huge motivator to moving forward with cosmetic treatments — especially when it comes to things like online-dating and selfie prevalence.” adds Sidiqi.
For 2017, it’s also becoming increasingly socially-acceptable for men to openly care about how they look. “It’s OK to take pride in how you look. It’s OK for men to admit they get Botox or Dysport, wax their eyebrows, or get manicures.” comments Gater.
“A polished appearance helps everyone feel more confident, but specifically for men it provides a confidence-boost that lets them feel more more competitive in the job market,” concludes Sidiqi.
Gater recommends male patients begin preventive / maintenance injections as early as their 30s. However, she reveals “it’s never too late to start”.
Sidiqi adds that “everyone would prefer not to go under the scalpel. Botox / Dysport treatments every three-months is much more appealing option.”
Additionally, Sidiqi notes that in order to make male patients feel the most comfortable proceeding with treatment, it is important for the provider to have a firm grasp on the anatomical differences between male and female faces. For example, men intrinsically have larger foreheads, more vascular faces, bigger muscles, their mandibles protrude more, their glabellas are wider, they have less facial fat than women, and thicker skin.
“Men feel more comfortable and confident undergoing a treatment — and ultimately end up more satisfied with their results — when they know that their provider has a good understanding on how to work with their features. This way they can trust that they’re always to get an appropriate, customized approach,” concludes Sidiqi.
Currently, the most popular injection-areas for men include:
- Glabellar lines
- Smile Lines
- Forehead
- Frown Lines
- Double Chin (Kybella)
Due to different facial structures of men and women, it doesn’t seem like “boy-tox” is going to be a female-craze anytime soon, but if men are taking advantage of easy ways to feel better about themselves, that’s a boy-trend we happy to celebrate.