“The young man later cried”: how does the world of male cosmetology work and why do doctors love patients more than patients?

“In a master class in cosmetology, they took a young man as a model and put fillers on his chin, chin and cheekbones. Founder of the Chemyanov Medical Lounge aesthetic medicine clinic, plastic surgeon Ph.D. The whole audience applauded how beautiful everything was, and then the guy cried because he did not expect to turn into a cruel uncle, ”says Georgy Chemyanov. . Men go to the beautician in many ways, so as not to look more brutal. And not even because their wives hold them by the hand. In the last decade, men’s motivation has changed and they are now exploring the world of cosmetology more and more actively.

According to statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ISAPS), ten years ago, men consulted cosmetologists 29% less often than women for minimally invasive procedures. Annual demand growth for men’s cosmetology approached 50% in 2021. The same trend is seen at Russian beauty salon MilFay after analyzing visitor statistics. Of course, if we compare the proportion of female customers, the numbers do not look so impressive – on average, men only make up 10-20%, but in some salons the figures reach 34% (Smile Studio) and even 40% ( MilFay).

While glossy magazines have been convincing readers that it’s okay to use the services of beauticians for the past few years, we’ve now really lived up to the point where it stops causing confusion and questions. Neither the people around nor, most importantly, the men themselves. And after reading this text, you will be completely convinced that male and female cosmetology are completely polar things.

Why do young people go to the beauty salon? Until recently, there was a definite answer to this question – either a man appears in public and often in front of the cameras, or he has a young girlfriend and he necessarily wants to mate with her. Now the situation has changed a lot.

First, men generally began to take better care of themselves. According to Rosstat, they even surpassed women in this regard. In 2014, both spent 47% of their daily funds on personal care. But the 2019 data showed unexpected results. Women now spend only 36% of their time on personal care, while men spend 48%.. Experts attribute this trend to the fact that the former took care of the children and housework rather than taking care of themselves.

Secondly, appearance has become one of the main markers of success. A study of Doctor Nearby and hh.ru services showed that: 59% of HR managers periodically turn down job applicants just because of their looks. According to Veronica Pak, founder of medical marketing agency VP AGENCY, men see beauty treatments as an investment. They aim for success and longevity, and a life expectancy of 120-150 years is a serious goal for many businessmen. Therefore, the main desire of men is not only to remove signs of age (and it is advisable not to overdo it with rejuvenation), but also to relieve fatigue and refresh the face.

Eye strain is the first to show itself. Wrinkles appear most quickly in this area and “bags” and droopy eyelids make the appearance tired and sore. For this reason eye area is the top priority for men. This is also confirmed by the ISAPS 2021 data – procedures for the correction of the upper and lower eyelids (both using surgical blepharoplasty and non-surgical hardware and injection technologies) occupy the first place in the ranking. It is easy to understand why injections are especially popular among young people. They are fast and effective. And most importantly, they’re invisible, so there’s no need to make excuses like “these bruises after boxing” to your colleagues and business partners.

Men go to the beautician to prepare for serious negotiations, conferences or sports competitions. Therefore, procedures for correcting body fat are in second place, according to the same association. In this case, men usually choose those that give quick results. They are ready to endure the inconvenience, but not for long. Veronica Pak says they mostly opt for coolscalping (“cold sculpture”). This is a procedure for the destruction of fats using ultra-low temperatures with three devices affecting three zones simultaneously. Also, the Emsculpt procedure is used for cryosaunas and deep pumping of muscles.

Of the relatively new ones, the founder of VP AGENCY points out the explosion in styling for men – Square chin with fillers, creation of a masculine chin and nose correction become more popular than ever. “Many resort to this procedure to feel more secure during job interviews (including video calls, because for the first time in human history we see our faces large during communication – the so-called Zoom-face effect),” he says. .

Cosmetologists agree that the main male desires are the effectiveness of the procedures, the speed of their implementation and subtle results (that is, the minimum rehabilitation period). This is the reason for the popularity of botulinum toxin injections and fillers – they practically leave no traces and can be done even at lunch.

And our survey among cosmetologists showed that men are much more disciplined patients than women – they trust the doctor without question and follow all his instructions, go to the same beautician all their lives and even choose a clinic differently. Here are the main differences between the male approach and the female approach.

Searching for a beautician on social networks and forums is a female-only approach. Men only trust the personal reviews of their close friends and relatives.. Cosmetologists come with one voice, only word of mouth, or after a partner who is impressed by the outcome of their surgery or procedure.

Another work scheme is when a man walks into the beautician’s office from another part of the clinic, not even facial skin care, says Yana Khodnevich, PhD, a dermatovenereologist at the European Medical Center Aesthetic Clinic. And since she trusts the doctors of the whole clinic, she will most likely come to the cosmetologist’s office.

Another option for a man to learn about the studio is paired procedures. “At first, a woman can bring a young man to a couples massage, and after that she can stay in the studio, if there are hardware or cosmetic procedures in the studio,” says Lyubovina Victoria, founder of the Ice Face studio.

It is much easier for men than for women. If they trust their beautician, they tacitly follow all his advice. Men will not follow instructions on social networks and consult in chat rooms about prescriptions and dosages. If a set of procedures is assigned, they follow the schedule and almost never cancel their visit, which in the end gives them the promised result. In this respect, they are multipurpose.

Male patients are excellent caregiversSays Veronika Fedorova, head beautician of MilFay beauty salons. “If I write him a certain cream and procedure, he will remind me of himself from before. This is a relationship we have maintained as a duet for years. Oddly enough, if a woman for some reason does not have time to visit a beautician or has to cancel it altogether at the last moment, she will politely apologize and warn about this. The guy will apologize a few more times, asking if it was scary if he missed the procedure, which shows how responsible they are in taking care of themselves,” she shares.

“Men choose a beautician as a wife – for a long time”, – continues Veronika Fedorova. And it really is. If a man is satisfied with plastic surgery, feels comfortable in the clinic, understands that the doctor can be trusted, he will definitely not look for a beautician anywhere else.

“After overcoming the psychological barrier, a man, as a rule, begins to regularly and with pleasure come to cosmetic procedures that eliminate signs of fatigue and age,” confirms Georgy Chemyanov.

Women who come to a beauty salon can get lost in time and leave only after they have talked enough with a beautician. Men go to the clinic for the result, not the procedure.. They need clarity, discipline and speed.

“Every guy watches his schedule and doesn’t want to spend another minute in the living room, which can’t be said for girls. The more time they spend in the master’s chair, the better,” says Luiza Avtandilyan, founder of Smile Studio. Men have a desire to get results as quickly as possible, so they tend to prefer procedures that give radical results in a single session.

Beauticians agree that working with a man and a woman has a completely different approach, even in terms of technology. And not just because of physiology.

“Men have thicker skin and beards. Therefore, the same rope lift works worse for them than for thin girls with thin skin. At the same time, a thin girl is unlikely to appreciate the effect of ultrasonic lifting, and a man will do well on his face. Botulinum toxin injections have different purposes. As a rule, it is important for women to open their eyes and remove the crow’s feet. For men, we do not raise our eyebrows, we protect the bold look and facial expressions, but we remove deep wrinkles.

Working with male faces is a separate art. On the one hand, it is important not to feminize them, not to feminize them. On the other hand, not all men want to be a young Brad Pitt. Just like not all girls look like Emily Ratajkowski or Kendall Jenner,” sums up Georgy Chemyanov.