An increasing number of people – worldwide – are looking for short and long-term treatments in their quest for beauty, including in South Africa, where more and more men are seeking Botox injections and fillers to improve their looks and iron out the ravages of age.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there was a massive 182% increase in botulinum toxin injections for men between 2000 to 2020, with cosmetic surgery and non-surgical aesthetic procedures having risen by 29% between 2000 and 2018.
An aesthetic medicine specialist in the Western Cape, Dr Alek Nikolic, said he was unsurprised by the escalating trend among younger men, reports News24.
“Gen Z and millennials are more likely to focus on self-care and self-improvement than previous generations,” he said, “with social media, remote video call meetings, and how the media portrays people having increased the pressure that people feel to look their best.”
The common cosmetic issues for men are the removal of forehead wrinkles and crows’ feet, the latter, he said, often appearing earlier and forming deeper in men due to behavioural factors and genetics.
A combination of products and in-practice “tweakments”, including Botox, are used to help relax the muscles that cause the wrinkles to appear. Botox was approved 20 years ago by the US FDA, and remains a staple in cosmetic procedures.
Lip filler has also becoming increasingly prevalent for men looking to achieve a more youthful appearance, while liquid rhinoplasty can, with the correct technique, yield similar results to a surgical rhinoplasty.
This procedure is popular with patients not wanting to undergo plastic surgery, but who want a temporary change or correction.
Dermal fillers, he added, will temporarily change the shape of your nose, and you will typically need to visit your doctor every 18 months or so to repeat the treatment.
While soft tissue fillers can’t reduce the size of the nose or straighten a deviated septum, they can, he added, improve bumps, indents, asymmetries and even lift the nasal tip.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Botched botox and the UK’s legislative crackdown on ‘cosmetic cowboysʼ
Demand for cosmetic surgery continues to grow
Botched cosmetic procedures lead to calls for better legislation