Why more and more men are shouting about their Botox habit
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Cosmetic procedures have soared in popularity over the past decade – and they’re no longer the preserve of women. Helen Coffey investigates the reason for male grooming’s newfound mass appeal. I came out of the womb and I said to the doctor – ‘give me some Botox!’”.
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Fred*, 63, is not shy about his love of Botox – or “brotox”, as the practice of men getting the procedure has been colloquially dubbed. While the above sentiment is (one hopes) a gross exaggeration, he has been turning back the clock on facial wrinkles since the late Nineties, when he was in his mid-thirties.
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“I was really happy with the results,” says Fred of that first time, now more than 25 years ago. “It’s not about the wrinkles, as such, but I’ve got one of those foreheads that always looks a bit cross. I was less focused on anti-ageing, and more on getting rid of my ‘resting bitch face’ – I don’t look as friendly as I’d want.” A friend suggested he try Botox and, hey presto, right away Fred felt he appeared “fresher”. He’s never looked back, keeping up the injecting habit ever since. “Some people say that it’s vain, but it makes me feel good,” he tells me.
Fred was undoubtedly ahead of the curve; while the toxin Botox has been administered cosmetically to smooth wrinkles since 1990, for more than a decade after Fred started, it remained largely the preserve of women. Now, men are finally catching up. There’s been a huge surge in brotox, particularly over the past five years – and the numbers are only going up.
