Most Popular Cosmetic Procedures for Men: From Botox to Liposuction

We have come a long way from where beauty standards were only subjected to women. With the advent of the 21^st century, more and more men started becoming conscious of their appearance and hence started adopting various beauty regimes to take care of their skin and hair.

In the past five years, this has escalated further and men have forayed into various cosmetic procedures to fix their imperfections. The advent of metrosexual men who are concerned about their appearance and grooming has boomed the businesses for the cosmetic industry to a large extent which was previously only resorted to women.

As such, the gap between cosmetics and masculinity has been bridged strongly than ever before. But what are the fields that gain the most attention from men when it comes to their beauty regimes? What are the costs, misconceptions, and risks involved?  We take a sneak peek into everything here.

10 Most Popular Cosmetic Procedures for Men

To give you a picture of the popularity of the men’s cosmetic industry, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons recently conducted a study. It showed that in 2019 alone, 1.3 million cosmetic procedures were operated on men in the US. Out of those, a whopping 211,000 were surgical.

As you can see, the numbers do the talking. But believe it or not, men’s cosmetic procedures still account for less than 10% of the overall cosmetic treatments in the US. This number is slowly expected to rise with each passing year. So, you can only imagine how huge this industry is. Below are the top cosmetic procedures for men.

Botox

Botox injections are no longer a feminine arena. Men have been actively turning up to medical clinics for Botox to get rid of various cosmetic problems, primarily among them being the treatment of wrinkles.

Some of the most common areas where men prefer Botox injections are in their forehead in order to reduce the appearance of creases, in the corner of their eyes to treat crow’s feet, around their lips to treat laugh lines, and between their eyebrows to prevent frown lines.

In this process, botulinum toxin is injected into your facial muscles. Although it sounds poisonous, when used in limited quantity, it can help trick your nervous system to ensure your muscles relax instead of contract, thereby reducing wrinkles. Its effect can be seen in 1-4 days.

Liposuction

Liposuction is essentially the cosmetic procedure to remove fat substances from your body. The most common areas where men seek liposuction are upper arms, lower abdomen, love handles, neck, chest, thighs, and chin.

During this process, your cosmetic surgeon will mark the areas (in lines or circles) where you want the treatment to be done. Based on your requirement and the cost, various techniques can be applied for liposuction, including ultrasound-assisted liposuction, laser-assisted liposuction, and tumescent liposuction.

Hair Transplant

More than 25% of the men worldwide suffer from alopecia, a medical condition that causes hair to fall out. Unfortunately, men can start developing it as early as their 20s. What’s worse is that for a long time many men didn’t even seek any treatment for it and accepted it as their bad luck.

But not anymore! Hair transplant has become extremely prevalent among men. So, now you can say goodbye to those bald patches. This treatment involves taking hair from one part of your body and harvesting it on your scalp.

It can be performed in two ways – Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE).

In FUT, a strip of the skin from the donor is extracted for obtaining individual follicular units which are then transferred to the concerned area. On the other hand, in FUE, the individual follicular units are directly excised from the scalp.

Blepharoplasty

As men age, their eyelids stretch. As a result, the muscles supporting the eyelids weaken. This leads to droopy upper lids, sagging eyebrows, and bags under your eyes. It is nothing but the accumulation of fat above and under your eyelid.

Blepharoplasty is the cosmetic process of treating droopy eyelids by the removal of excess fat, skin, and muscle from the concerned area. It not only has aesthetic purposes; it can help your vision too since sagging skin around your eyes can reduce your peripheral vision.

It is done by cutting along the fold of the eyelid (for the upper lid) and below the eyelashes (for the lower lid), extracting out the excess fat, and closing the cut.

Facelift

This is a broad category in itself and involves both traditional invasive methods and new-age non-invasive methods such as dermal fillers and laser treatments.

For your face, it is the usual crow’s feet, lip lines, laugh lines, forehead lines, marionette lines, worry lines, and bunnies that call for a facelift.

People are adopting non-invasive facelift treatments such as dermal fillers, which are smooth-gel-like injectable solutions, and needless treatments because of low-risk, minimal pain, and faster recovery time.

Neck Lift

When it comes to your neck, sagging skin can give the appearance of a turkey neck, which, in turn, makes you look wider and heavier than you actually are. Therefore, people resort to neck lift for elongating their neck, removing a double chin, and creating a sharper jawline.

A neck, although an often ignored area of your body when it comes to appearance, can hold a special place in dictating your overall look. This is because your neck supports your head and the way it does alongside its shape can enhance your posture and proportions.

Similar to a facelift, both invasive and non-invasive treatments are available for you.

Rhinoplasty

The shape of the nose can dramatically change your appearance, and with age, it can worsen giving you an uneven, disproportionate look. Fortunately enough, we have rhinoplasty for you.

Depending on your nose condition, you can personalize your rhinoplasty treatment and make changes to just your nose bone or your cartilage or the skin of your nose, or all three.

Apart from improving appearance, it can also help fix a birth defect and improving breathing conditions. It is done by administering local or general anesthesia (depending on your condition) and making an incision between your nostrils or at the base of your nose for fixing the concerned issue.

Otoplasty

Otoplasty is the cosmetic procedure of reshaping your outer ear, known as the pinna. It can help in fixing a defective outer ear, reconstructing a deformed one, or in some cases, even build an outer ear for those who don’t have one due to trauma or congenital conditions.

Usually, an otoplastic surgeon operates on your concerned ear defect by creating an external ear that has a natural contour and proportion. This is done by moving, reshaping, or even augmenting the cartilage of your outer ear.

Depending on your conditions and requirements, your surgeon would make incisions either in the inner creases of your ear or on the backs of your ears. Once excess skin or cartilage is removed or added to the area, he or she would fold your cartilage into a proper shape before securing it with stitches.

Gynecomastia

Gynecomastia is the cosmetic procedure of removing or reducing male breasts. For centuries, men have dealt with this dreadful physical condition. As natural as it may be, the embarrassment and stress it causes can’t be ignored.

And since you can’t just eliminate your breasts through exercise and diet, external help in the form of cosmetic surgeries is often sorted by clients.

During the process, your surgeon not only removes the excess fat from the area but also treats the abnormal tissues through mastectomy.

Chin Augmentation

Chin augmentation helps in enhancing the size and contour of your chin. Men prefer this treatment since it helps them in having a more defined chin that has a masculine structure to it.

Genioplasty helps in improving your overall facial harmony. It can be done through implant augmentation wherein silicone implants are attached to your chin or it can also be done through sliding Genioplasty wherein your chin bone is cut and repositioned by sliding back and forth.

Cost of Body Enhancements

This is extremely subjective depending on what exact treatment you are performing and to what degree. To know the exact cost of treatment for your specific requirements, you can contact our clinic and our expert will assist you with the best solution.

Stigma Associated with Men Going Under the Knife

Yes, we have come a long way but as we discussed earlier, male cosmetic procedures are still frowned upon in many societies. In many places, men who undergo these treatments are perceived to be unmanly, weak, and effeminate.

This can be highly discouraging for those seeking treatments.  For many men who want to opt for such treatments, such stigma can hold them from taking the help. As such, they tend not to opt for these treatments even when they have the resources, avenues, and time to do so.

What is the Background of Such Men?

Needless to say, most men seeking cosmetic procedures come from affluent backgrounds due to the high cost involved. Also, most of the clients are usually urban. Although people in the entertainment industry form the majority of the clients, corporate and media sectors also garner the attention of such treatments.

It is believed that as these procedures become more common, their prices will come down and more people would be able to access them.

Common Misconceptions and Mistakes in Choosing the Surgeon

Keep in mind the following guidelines before finalizing your surgeon:

• Don’t be persuaded into doing anything that you don’t want to do.
• Beware of huge discounts since it may be a sign of your surgeon cutting cost on proper equipment and staff.
• Always check for your surgeon’s accreditations.
• Try and gauge your surgeon’s definition of beauty.
• Always get a second opinion.
• Get to know the risks involved alongside the recovery period.
• Do your own research and find out about the viability of the procedure you want to opt for.

Complications

As with any other medical procedure, complications may arise with cosmetic treatments too. This is why having multiple clear-cut healthy discussions with your surgeon prior to the procedure is crucial. We recommend you to be as transparent as possible.

Some of the most common complications associated with cosmetic procedures are as follows:

• Bleeding
• Blood clots
• Organ damage
• Nerve damage
• Scarring
• Infection
• Hematoma
• Seroma

If you face any of these complications, contact your surgeon immediately.

Our Specialist

Dr. Shahram Mortazavi has more than 26 years of experience in aesthetic procedures, dermatology, and cosmetic surgery. His specialization includes aesthetic/cosmetic non-surgical procedures of face enhancement, facial rejuvenation, nose jobs, body contouring, breast treatment, and more. He is one of the most renowned aesthetic & cosmetic physicians in Dubai. Book an Appointment and talk to him for your personalized treatment.

Conclusion

The taboo associated with male beauty regime and men seeking cosmetic procedures still exist in some society but thankfully more and more men are coming up and eliminating these prejudices and ending the shame associated with it.

Cosmetic procedures can be healthy when done with the right intentions and at the right place. Make sure you are doing it at a certified medical clinic and be transparent about your medical history to your surgeon.

Even if you are opting for non-invasive treatments, it is important to let your doctor know of your lifestyle, diet, and medical history for safety purposes.

In addition, stop drinking alcohol and smoking prior to the cosmetic procedure, and if possible, avoid it for 2-3 weeks after the procedure as well. This will help you in reaping more benefits from the treatment and your skin or hair will be healthier.

Compliment this with eating healthy, and sleeping for eight hours alongside meditating, exercises, and usual skincare regimes and you have a perfect routine for your skin and hair.

Lastly and most importantly, be realistic of the outcomes. Cosmetic procedures are practical methods. They are not meant for you to look like a movie star. Focus on your requirement, do your research and practice all the guidelines laid down by your doctor.

References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3987263/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3199845/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32221209/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25415087/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18620982/