What’s trending now in cosmetic procedures? One major trend is that men are getting more of them! Cosmetic procedures in men are up a whopping 121% since 1997.

IPL Photorejuvenation yields more uniform skin color and smoother surface texture. It specifically targets unsightly brown spots, and red and purple veins associated with age and years of neglect. This is a popular “Autumn Clean Up” tool and is consistently among the top four most popular non-invasive treatments nationally.

Ultherapy for non-invasive tightening uses the safety of sound waves to tighten and lift. Ultherapy is unique in it’s ability to non surgically reach facial muscles and deep tissues and stimulate them to create their own collagen. Ultherapy is an unprecedented option for 35-45 year olds as preventative maintenance, and for 45-55 year olds to alleviate jowls, and tighten the sub-jawline and eye regions, especially when part of a regimen that addresses other skin issues.

Fractional Laser Resurfacing, Non-Invasive (FLR) is an amazing long lasting remedy for facial wrinkles, acne scars, lax skin quality on the face or body and even for stretch marks. FLR painlessly stimulates the skin’s dermal layer collagen to remold and gradually creates new fresh collagen and firmer and tighter skin tone.

Both Ultherapy and FLR work by stimulating “collagenesis”, that is the formation of new collagen. This collagenesis yields a structural change that is long lasting in its resistance of the forces of age and gravity. Ultherapy does so in deep tissues while FLR does so in the skin.

The second reason for the trend is men are finding it necessary to appear more youthful to keep their professional edge in a tight job market. I have had patients request cosmetic procedures not only to help them find their next job but also because they want to appear vigorous in order to keep their current job.

Men feel pressure to project a vital appearance in their personal life as well. Husbands recoil at the thought of being mistaken for their wife’s father. Fathers cringe at being mistaken for their child’s grandfather. In the male singleton world, men find themselves competing with a seeming endless supply of younger men.

Special Needs of Men:

As men are relatively new to the cosmetic procedures arena, I have found they need precise guidance to help them look their best. What makes a man attractive is different than what makes a woman attractive. For men, too many procedures, especially surgical ones, can yield an un-natural or feminizing look, (definitely not what most men seek). For that reason, in my opinion, men do best under the care of a skilled and experienced physician with an astute aesthetic eye. Such a physician who is sensitive to the nuances of what makes a man look attractive is of prime importance.

Home Products:

For those men who are not yet ready to embark on an office procedure, take a page from the 30-year-old men’s playbook. Begin now with more frequent SPF 30 sunscreen use, sun avoidance and a physician designed home product regimen like my own “Wrinkle Buster Bundle”.  Young men are leading the way in this realm of regular use of anti-aging home products. “They really work”, one such young man said to me about my own “Be Powerful” line of men’s home products. “And I’m not embarrassed if they fall out of my gym bag!” he said.