Men embrace plastic surgery? No way!

By COLIN STEWART

 

Photo courtesy of ASPS

Plastic surgeons noticed an uptick in the number of men getting plastic surgery last year, and they’re crowing about it.

The underlying message to men is that they ought to head to a plastic surgeon’s office, since so many other men are already going there.

For example, in its report on its latest survey of cosmetic procedures, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons quotes plastic surgeon Dr. Stephen Baker of Washington, D.C., as saying that “the typical male cosmetic surgery patient that I see is an average guy who wants to look as good as he feels. Most of my patients are ‘men’s men,’ the kind of guy you might not think would have plastic surgery.”

The ASPS report is true as far as it goes. Men underwent 2 percent more cosmetic plastic surgery procedures in 2010 than the previous year.

Problem is, the long-term trend is far different. Compared to 10 years earlier, men went under the plastic surgeon’s knife 48 percent less often last year.

Men have always been less likely than women to visit a plastic surgeon or a dermatologist.

That was true in 2000, when men accounted for 21 percent of plastic surgeries and 12 percent of minimally invasive procedures such as skin care and injections.

It’s even more so now. In 2010, men had 13 percent of plastic surgeries and 8 percent of minimally invasive procedures, according to the ASPS survery.

Women rely much more heavily on Botox, fillers and high-tech skin care than they used to. As a result, minimally invasive treatments rose 109 percent for women from 2000 to 2010, while women’s surgeries dropped 10 percent.

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