Men Do Botox

Every man needs to own this one truth: Getting old sucks, never mind what your age is. It is not just women who spend hours looking at their reflection in the mirror. We all do that. Every single morning at least. And we judge ourselves by how we look.

The numbers also don't lie. According to Dr Armand F. Abraham, there has been a steady increase in the number of men who enquire about cosmetic procedures, on Face Lab Aesthetics site.

Similarly, Save Face – the national register for people who provide non-surgical cosmetic treatments – stated that more guys than girls presently visit the site.

The result is also an increment in complaints from men who are now bearing the complications, when things go wrong.

A BBC survey also found that 50% of men between 18-30 'might consider' having a procedure.

What makes the growth in "Botox" (which includes the currently government authorities approved dermal filler injectables) captivating, however, isn't the numbers. It's the psychology and embarrassment that's still associated with it. I'm going to give much of the blame to the Doritos ad cowboy and the advertising industry.

When it comes to ageing, women have been expected to hold a higher standard. Hence, it's a universal, culturally acceptable norm that women will gladly go under the needle or knife to try and turn the clock back. Men, on the other hand, have hard-worn their lines of time and sun damage as a badge of strength, experience, hard work and sacrifice. All the men in the iconic Coca Cola vintage ads don't have a smooth, flat forehead. Even the young once force it to expose the wrinkles. Celebrities and film-stars like Robert Redford, who have rolled their lines for decades on the red carpet have also continued the psychological baseline that men are better au natural.

There's still a stigma out there that men are shallow and not "real men" if they aspire to look fresher. Vanity goes against everything that they taught us about 'being a man'".

Dr Armand is a well respected (and wrinkle-free) highly qualified Advanced Aesthetic Medicine Practitioner. He's also polite about Botox shaming. You would think that, in the Kardashian Age, a 'brand ambassadorship' would be a simple sell. Not really when it comes to male facial injections. Botox has been negatively stigmatised for a long time— especially for men getting treatment for wrinkles and fine lines. This stigma has decreased slightly in the last few years, but it's still alive and well.

For several, the thought of Botox evokes the image of a woman with a frozen face. Although Botox botched jobs still exist, most people who are treated with Botox look incredibly natural.

Others assume that Botox makes people vain somehow. But it is not vain to take care of your appearance. This will increase your job prospects dramatically and make you feel better about yourself. It's a little more beyond spending money on skincare products, clothing and other personal items to enhance your appearance.

The stigma isn't really fair to men, women, or anyone else who values how they look. However, if you decide to undergo Botox treatment, it is something you must consider.

I decided to be my very own Botox brand ambassador guinea pig.

Dr Armand injected me recently with a Dermal Filler to revitalise my Jawline contouring.

Ever since I've been happily saying to anyone, I know. And from my un-scientific pool of evidence, the result pretty much sums up why most men who do get Botox always try and park (hiding their car behind the biggest bush) and pretend that they're only there to pick up their partner when they walk into the appointment.

I will not tell you what my mother said after: "What?"

Some close friends and my brother told me that "those kinds of things" made me a "sissy". (That's what they meant anyway).

A few people that I didn't tell who I haven't seen in months mentioned how fresh I looked for 37. Regular workouts and a healthy diet were the secrets I replied, but I am not sure bought it.

The truth is that Dr Armand's gentle injections gave me a younger look; in other words, I felt less old. That's another side of the therapy that no one wants to talk honestly about. Most men are just as narcissistic as the girls, but they hate to admit it. They go to the gym every morning to keep their stomach under control and use all sorts of things to stop premature baldness. But it is still seen more shameful obliterating unwanted facial wrinkles and lines than having a manicure. It is time to get over it. Quite simply.

Feeling young feels good and revives confidence. It also just might tip you an advantage at your next work interview and enhance your love life. The stats back it up. 30% of Dr.Armand's Botox and fillers patients are now male. He has patients as young as 28.

So what's driving the growth?

First and foremost, according to Dr Armand, the Millennials are ultimately admitting that caring about how you look as you grow older doesn't make you a "less of a man". "Allowing some vanity doesn't make you weak", the Doctor says. Owning up to our own choices doesn't damage anyone's respect, "It makes us more honest. Admit it."

Men feel the pressure to look the best at work. Younger men have better career breaks.

For more men staying longer in the workplace, older men need to keep off signs of ageing for as long as possible. Botox helps us to minimise wrinkles and address the unaesthetic under-eye bags that appear as we begin ageing.

Some wrinkles are fine. Of course. But too many can make a man look much older than he is. Whether it's from too much time in the sun without protection or only genetics, early wrinkles can make anyone feel unsure about his image. A couple of injections can quickly solve that. For those who are still gladly married, the advantage of Botox is that your spouse will never know, at least for six months, what you are thinking. Come on; It's fun.

One closing note to applicants

Choose your practitioner carefully. The only one difference between a bad Botox and a bad boob job: Botox is temporary.