Men and Anti-wrinkle treatment - what you need to know
More people than ever are having anti-wrinkle consultations and embarking on treatments to help reduce the signs of ageing, and this certainly includes men. A good aesthetic consultation will involve a personalised plan, including a discussion about your starting point, your desired goals and how aesthetics can bring the two closer together. Part of that treatment plan might involve anti-wrinkle injections.
What are anti-wrinkle injections?
Anti-wrinkle injections, commonly known as botulinum toxin or Botox®, have been around since the 1990’s, and were approved for aesthetic use in the UK in 2002. The toxin works by blocking the nerve signals to the muscle. This weakens the muscles ability to contract and therefore stops wrinkles forming. It can also be used to treat excess sweating and headaches.
The toxin spreads about 1cm from where it is injected, so it works on the muscle fibres in that injection zone. Men generally have stronger facial muscles than women, so more toxin is required to achieve the same effects. Obviously every patient is unique, not only in terms of anatomy, i.e. how prominent and strong their muscles are, but also the desired outcome and look they want to achieve. A good practitioner should discuss all of this at the consultation and use an injection pattern to achieve the right results. Men often require a greater number of units of toxin that women.
Although every patient reacts differently to botulinum toxin, the treatment usually lasts between 3-6 months. You start to notice the effects in 3-5 days, maximum muscle weakening being achieved by 14 days.
The average age for a man to start using anti-wrinkle treatment is around 40, for women it’s closer to 30. However, we know anti-wrinkle injections can prevent lines forming as we age, so maybe we should start having treatment sooner. There has long been stigma attached to anti-wrinkle treatment and I think this has always been a greater barrier for men than women. However this is changing.
Why is Brotox becoming more popular?
The last 21 months have seen many of us working from home, staring at a small image of ourselves on the screen for several hours a day. Both men and women have to combat the inner challenge of accepting what we see on the screen as we engage in daily meetings. Social media also drives people to want to look their best and reduce those ageing looks. Men are also being encouraged by their partners to give a go, and usually once you’ve started seeing the positive effects you no longer need encouragement.
The other big driver is competition. Our faces are much more that an identification tool, we use our faces to communicate and collaborate. In the workplace we have to compete, often with younger colleagues. Toxin treatment helps men to keep that youthful appearance and fight ageism in the workplace.
Anti-wrinkle injections can be used in many areas of the face, men commonly treat the frown lines, forehead lines and smile lines at the outer aspects of the eyes.
What are the downsides to be aware of?
There are some complications you need to be aware of. Early side effects are redness, swelling at the injections site and bleeding. These are all very short lived and usually all settled before you leave the clinic, certainly within an hour. You can get some bruising, headaches and flu like symptoms in the first few days. The other risks to be aware of are those cause when the toxin treats muscle which was not intended. You can get asymmetry, eyelid and eyebrow droop, double vision and dry eyes. Although all of these are unpleasant, they are all temporary and usually there are things that can be done to improve them. A rare complication is reacting to the injection, anaphylaxis. All of this should be discussed with you at a consultation before your treatment.
The other aspect to think about is not looking too ‘done’ or ‘frozen’. You may worry that people will be able to tell that you’ve had treatment. This should not be the case if you’ve had a good consultation from a reputable practitioner. The goal of anti-wrinkle injections is to make you look fresher, younger, less tired, less angry. It should not be to stop all muscle movement and facial expression.
For useful tips on how to prepare for your treatment appointment see my previous blog
So, should you go for it?
The first thing to do is book a consultation to discuss what you like and don’t like, what you’d like to achieve and how anti-wrinkle treatment can facilitate this. I look forward to seeing you in the new year.