With women increasingly opting for botox, men are no way behind getting rid of wrinkles and sagging chin. Riya Sharma talks to dermatologists and finds out that men are happily satisfied with the ‘natural’ looking results and plan their other sittings depending on their requirements
The phrase ‘tall dark and handsome’ holds no importance for the men of the 21st century who are not shy to experiment with their looks. We have completely forgotten the type of men who would spot moustaches or take pride in showing off their body or facial hair. Though we all have drooled over Ranveer Singh’s rustic look in Ram-leela, the guy may have left his charm on women but men of this era think otherwise.
Gone are those days when only women would go to dermatologist and men very conveniently would ‘ignore’ a pimple or wrinkles. This is no longer considered (un)-macho to groom oneself and have the perfect looks. We all have seen advertisements promoting fairness creams, the discussion to look fairer or not is a different issue altogether. We are not discussing that here but the focus is that we have seen a steady increase in products and procedures that are giving men a golden opportunity to look younger, aged and middle-aged depending on their desire and they are not letting go off this chance.
Navin Taneja, National Skin Centre, South Extension, explained to us that botox is a way to remove wrinkles or lift facial muscles by injecting botulinum toxin type A produced by allegran (company making available the drug) on the right muscle of the face. As men make use of their facial expression muscle, they tend to have more lines on their forehead. “The botox for men and women is the same but as I told you that because of the increased use of muscles in men, the dose of their injection is comparatively higher for them, shared Taneja.
Divya Ohri from Soham Wellness told us that men need botox as much as women need it. “They also need to get rid off from the unwanted wrinkles, forehead lines, crow feet and sagging chin. At times, they ask for eyebrow upliftment as well. Sharing a similar stance, Simal Soin, Aayna Aesthetics, Mehrauli told us that the common areas where men need botox is between their upper face and eyebrows, area near their jaw line and as they have stronger muscles, they understand the need of it.”
Taneja added that the dose actually depends on the requirements. “If a person wishes to get rid of all wrinkles, then the dose is higher. It all has to do with desires and requirements.” He shared an interesting point that a lot of it has got to do with the profession a person is into. “We have clients who are lawyers and they sometimes ask us to remove majorly all their wrinkles but keep one or two frowning lines on their forehead because that is the demand of the profession, so we function accordingly.”
Ohri agreed and said, “It depends on the area and the dose where it is being injected. We inform our clients how is it going to look like after the procedure and that is when we take it forward.”
She added that as ageing is a continuous process, botox paralysis the muscles temporarily by injecting in the specific muscles. For some people, wrinkles may start re-appearing after six months and at times after eight months.
With the increasing trend of botox which became quite popular from last five to six years, men are not only going for wrinkle treatment but they are also going for hyper hydrolysis botox. He told us, “This means removing hair from armpits because men face a lot of difficulty because they sweat a lot as compared to their counterparts. As a result if this, they are unable to wear their favourite linen shirts or because that leaves a huge sweating spot, men are actually taking up this treatment.”
Talking about the procedure, he explained that it is as ‘simple’ as taking an injection. For a lot of people, getting an injection on their facial muscle is a hard deal but men are ready to take that pain as well to remove those unwanted wrinkles and frowning. “Though it is a simple process which requires only five to seven minutes and the person can see results after a week but a lot depends on who is injecting it. If an amateur is doing it who is unable to find the right muscle, then bruising can happen.” On the other hand, Ohri shared that the person doing it cannot leave an arrow in the open air, in fact, “the person injecting the muscle has to be well versed with the treatment.” Simal Soin shared that the process is simple if the person doing it has knowledge about it. “It may take around 10-12 minutes and the results are predictable as well do the fills ups with syringes.” She added that botox not only takes away your unwanted wrinkles but also removes the early appearance of static lines, that’s why she has a lot of youngsters coming to her clinic.
When we asked about the price of a session he shared that it is single process session. “If you take one sitting, it would cost you around Rs3,000 if they use 10 units. With this, then you are free from wrinkles for at least six months. This is the reason why you see some actors looking evergreen young because they have been taking botox from time to time,” said Taneja. While Ohri shared that it is affordable, the price depends on per unit of the drug, which they get from Allegran.
All three of them chorused a similar response when we asked about the age group which is between men in the age group of 30-75. She does not deny the fact that her clients are at times apprehensive about the treatment but when they see the results, they are quite satisfied with it. “Many people thought that others would be able to figure out that they have undergone treatment but with the results that look natural and rejuvenating their skin in affordable price, men are actually getting it re-done after their first session,” she concluded.