Men Ageing Sadly

Posted: Thursday 1 July 2010 03:24pm

Gorgeous George Clooney is, to my mind, the poster boy for the middle-aged male keeping up appearances.  Although every bit the knockabout bloke, he freely admits to having had cosmetic surgery.

When interviewed by his Oceans co-star Julia Roberts in 2007 for an Oprah Winfrey special, he told her: “I had my eyes done. Can you tell? I think it’s important to look awake.”

There is speculation that he may have had more than that “done” but he still looks like George Clooney. He still looks his age – 49 – and great for it, in his trademark ruggedly rogueish kind of way. Just not as rugged, in the term’s less flattering context, as he might otherwise have been.

Unfortunately, the pursuit of youthfulness among other male celebs has not been so pretty. Stars such as Michael Douglas, Kenny Rogers, Burt Reynolds, Al Pacino and Paul Hogan have at various times undergone procedures rendering them in the image of a strangely startled distant relation; too “awake”, too stretched, and not particularly younger-looking, either.

Luckily for them, the effects of surgery start to “relax” after a few years and most of them have begun to resemble their former selves.

Although overdoing the nip/tuck is equally unattractive on women, for some reason it creates more shock value in a man (unless of course the woman is Jocelyn Wildenstein).

According to cosmetic surgeons and physicians, surgical and clinical anti-ageing procedures among men in Australia are on the increase; less invasive cosmedical treatments such as Botox, dermal fillers, skin rejuvenation and body-contouring therapies to a greater degree.

Although these procedures have gained increasing acceptance among men over the last two years, particularly, there is still something of a stigma attached to talking about it – let alone admitting to it.

To that end, although the doctors I spoke to agreed that the key to successful results with men is subtlety, it was also an important consideration that their patients didn’t emerge from an operation or clinical procedure with obvious signs they’d had something done.

“[Men] generally only want subtle improvements so that the results are not obvious to their colleagues or friends,” says cosmetic physician Dr Buddy Beaini, of Sydney’s MD Cosmedical Solutions.  “However, once they have had one or two treatments, they become as addicted as women are.”

In his practice, Dr Beaini says the most sought-after procedures by men are Thermage non-surgical skin tightening and lift (especially on the face and stomach), fractional laser skin rejuvenation of the face, neck and hands, ultrasonic contour body sculpting, mesotherapy injections for “man boob” and double chin reduction, hyperhidrosis injections for excessive underarm sweating, anti-wrinkle muscle relaxant injections, dermal fillers and laser face vein treatments.

To achieve their desired results, the approach to treatment differs significantly between men and women.

“By using the same techniques for men as we use for women, we can risk feminising our men,” says Dr Joseph Hkiek, of Sydney’s All Saints Cosmedical Clinics.

“The results we aim to achieve for men are more subtle. The placement and design of the dermal filler, for example, is completely different.

“A man’s face is more chiseled and angular, cheek prominence is more lateral (away from the eyes) and below the corners rather than just below the corners of the eyes (as it is for women).

“When creating cheek augmentation you are looking for subtle curvatures and not large mounds (as is the case in women).

“The chin is more defined and is a stronger feature of a man’s face. The eye bow is almost straight (important when treating men with Botox for crow’s feet).

“Men have stronger muscle and this needs to be taken into consideration when using Botox. Also, men are more prone to getting `recruitment’ when using Botox: when treating one area it results in neighbouring muscle getting stronger and creating secondary effects.

“For instance, they may develop new wrinkles under the eyes when you treat crow’s feet, or the Jack Nicholson quizzical look following treatment for forehead lines.”

Dr Peter Bakaric, of Sydney’s Collagen Face Centre, said he began to see more male patients when the GFC started to bite nearly two years ago.

“More men in their 50s and 60s were presenting, usually for Botox but also fillers. What I was hearing was mainly about competition in the workplace – they were either afraid of losing their jobs to younger guys or they were competing for jobs with them.

“What I’m seeing now is as much men having treatments because they have younger wives or girlfriends, or because wives and girlfriends are bringing them along!”

Dr Gavin Chan, from the Victorian Cosmetic Institute in Melbourne, adds that while men are not keen to “advertise” having anti-ageing procedures, they don’t want to be excluded either.

“There’s a sense of `I’m entitled too’,” says Dr Chan. “They mightn’t want to talk to their mates at the pub about having Botox, but they’re now starting to feel the same pressures as women to `look the part’.”

“Generally men were not `expected’ to stay looking as young as the female,” adds Dr Beaini. “This is an `old’ expectation that is rapidly changing. In my clinics, I have more and more men presenting for non-surgical treatments because their partners have asked them to come in for anti-ageing or preventative procedures.

“Women are generally much more cautious and aware of their appearance and their ageing, but men are definitely on the incline.”

by Jenni Gilbert

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