While it’s a blessing to be able to enjoy all the tech tools that have come along in the last few decades, the bottom line is that we are always in the limelight. Looking healthy and youthful is an investment in both our careers and in our social lives. If we want the images that go out with our Tweets and Face Book entries to reflect our wellbeing, it makes sense to work out, to eat healthy, to maintain a youthful appearance, and to take the best possible care of our skin.
Women have been aware of the advantages of looking their best for a while. They know that people who are unhealthy-looking suffer in the workplace and in social situations. In order to compete at the highest level, they have long taken advantage of the modern miracles available through plastic surgery and professional skincare. A tuck here and a puff there can take ten years off, and enhance one’s confidence level tenfold.
In more recent times men have been having cosmetic procedures at greater rates than ever. This may have begun in Korea, where, for Korean men, plastic surgery is becoming really important. In fact, the Korean Association for Plastic Surgeons estimated that the number of Korean men who had cosmetic surgery in 2010 stood at around 15 per cent.
New technologies in the industry have produced a vast range of techniques, and men are loving the fact that many of them are simple, fast, and require very little recovery time—and, best of all, they really do make a difference.
Because of the popularity of male plastic surgery, the best plastic surgeons have taken a good hard look at how men’s needs differ from women’s, so that they can provide just what men what. Men have thicker skin; their pores are bigger; they sweat more. Their complexions are often uneven. Unlike women, who learned to moisturize and stay away from harsh soaps from childhood, men may not have given much thought to their skin. They may have spent their free time, since childhood, playing sports outdoors. Or they may have had occupations that required them to work out in the sun. If they didn’t use sunscreens and protective creams, they may find themselves with dull, rough skin as they get older. This is one of the many conditions that plastic surgery and skincare professionals can easily correct. Laser resurfacing , for example, has become increasingly popular with men over the last few years, because it addresses uneven skin tone, age spots, broken capillaries, texture problems, and even reduces wrinkles. Chemical peels are another procedure that men have discovered. In addition to softening wrinkles, peels can smooth irregularities on the face and neck and eliminate uneven pigmentation.
Another difference between men and women is that men have less subcutaneous fat. For this reason, they may develop actual grooves along their wrinkle lines. Such deep creases can give them a harsh appearance that belies how they really feel. Here again, plastic surgeons and skincare professionals are onboard with the knowledge and techniques necessary to reduce and soften the deeper wrinkles that some men experience. Botox injections can significantly soften deep crow’s feet, forehead lines and frown lines, by blocking nerve impulses and weakening the muscles beneath the lines. Injectable fillers work differently—by filling wrinkles rather than weakening muscles—but they also achieve great results.
Other popular procedures that men are enjoying include rhinoplasty, better known as the nose job, and eyelid surgery. Rhinoplasty can offer solutions for men who have long suffered with noses that are too big or too wide or even crooked as a result of injury. Rhinoplasty had come a long way and can produce dramatic, life-long results. Eyelid surgery has also made great advances in recent years. By employing the tiniest of incisions to reposition or remove fat cells above and/or below the eye, the male eye contour can be greatly enhanced.
The gynecomastia procedure, or male breast reduction surgery was developed specifically for men, to address excess fatty tissue of the male breast. As any man who has suffered from it knows, gynecomastia, can be a source of embarrassment and stress. Gynecomastia surgery combines fat removal—often via Liposcution (L8)—tissue reduction, and muscle and skin tightening, to achieve a sculptured appearance on the chest. This can be a life changer for the men who have it.
The procedures mentioned above are only a handful of those available. If you are considering male plastic surgery, you will want to find a plastic surgeon and/or skincare team that caters to men as well as to women and who has expertise in all of the available cosmetic surgery procedures and skincare rejuvenations. It’s a start to acknowledge that men and women have different skin types and different skin concerns. But it’s also essential to be recognized as an individual, whether you are male or female, with specific cosmetic goals.