A recent study said that men are doing more skin treatments than ever. Hello magazine asked me to write about it.
My first thought was “are they really?” My husband has never done one in his life and my girlfriends on dating apps are finding men extremely “ungroomed”. I decided to investigate.
It’s long been said that men age better than women.
However, ask any of my girlfriends in their fifties and sixties who are on dating apps, and they would laugh out loud at the suggestion.
Most women I know who are single take good care of themselves and are a real catch. What is coming up for them on the apps is a very different story.
One friend was telling us during dinner just how awful it is, and we were saying how someone wonderful is sure to come along. She then took out her phone and showed us what she meant.
We looked through scores of photos of men you would not want to meet in a dark alley. They were such a motley lot we were seriously shocked, but the overriding factor was how old they looked. Supposedly ranging from mid-fifties to mid-sixties, they looked a decade or two older.
These were most definitely not men who took care of themselves. Maybe because of the very fact that they were single and didn’t have a wife to organise their self-care?
It’s therefore a little surprising that a new study has found that men are more likely to do beauty treatments than ever before. A recent study by Cynosure Lutronic, specialists in energy-based devices, found that men are increasingly investing in skincare treatments.
How curious? Maybe this applies more to the younger generation of men? I decided to ask some professionals and see what they had to say.
Are men taking care of themselves more?
Dr. Mike Tee, from the Harley Street Skin Clinic, says men have always been interested in treatments but for different reasons to women.
He says that men around the age of around forty, come to him for Botox for when they have an event or a presentation for work. They’re concerned about looking older than their younger competitors. He said Botox was the number one treatment men come to him for. If they do use filler, it’s more to strengthen their jawline to give a more chiselled appearance than to fill in wrinkles. In other words, men use these treatments to ward off competition at work and to make their faces more masculine.
But he said it’s not a new phenomenon. Men have been coming to him for these treatments since he started practising thirty years ago. He finds that men are not particularly interested in facelifts or thread lifts, but they will go for volumising treatments such as Sculptra.
However, he does feel that men have become more health-conscious recently and now do health checks more frequently. They’ll also come in to have moles and skin growths removed.
What hasn’t changed, however, is societal pressure on women to maintain a youthful appearance.
Women continue to be harshly judged on how they age
For women, the main concerns are sagging and wrinkles. Women favour treatments designed to deal with these issues.
Men don’t have this kind of pressure and they’re more interested in treating issues like acne or eczema. The study did say, however, that it’s younger men that are more open to trying out different treatments. They’re more likely than women to have a treatment for a special occasion and will wear makeup to booster self-esteem.
Hairdresser Paul Edmonds, says that the number of male clients to his salon, has increased in recent years. Whereas before, men would just come along for a cut with little discussion, now they are seeking advice. They are open to trying out new styles. Paul is also convinced that many of his male clients are now doing beauty treatments. They’re working out more too.
So yes, women have a lot more pressure on them to maintain their youthful looks. However, let’s not forget that doing numerous facial treatments is hugely expensive and time consuming. It also doesn’t come without risk.
My take on it is, and this is the core ethos of Ageless, concentrate on your health and lifestyle and you will reap the benefits as you age.
Supplement this with good skincare and less-invasive treatments such as radio frequency or microneedling. This will help maintain your skin’s firmness and suppleness, and you’ll look as good as you feel.
If you do decide to go for fillers or surgery, my advice would be to not overdo it and to make sure you do your research when it comes to practitioners. At the end of the day, the most effective result is to stay close to your natural self but with a little refresh. Less is always more.
