Your New Body Blog.com | A Cosmetic Surgery Blog Presented by PlasticSurgery.com

More and more men are having cosmetic work done. Studies show that since 2000, the number of male patients visiting plastic surgeons has been on a significant uptick. But few casual observers have noticed this steadily rising trend—and perhaps that’s the point. Of the 1.1 million cosmetic procedures performed on males in 2009, about 900,000 consisted of “minimally-invasive” procedures, while the remaining 200,000 were surgical procedures, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. This is no coincidence. The same American Society of Plastic Surgeons report shows that the amount of cosmetic minimally-invasive procedures has increased by 99 percent between 2000 and 2009.

These numbers suggest that the rise in cosmetic procedures for men is not—as some onlookers have conjectured—a signal that attitudes towards masculinity are shifting. The term “metrosexual” (i.e. a heterosexual man with the strong concern for personal appearances stereotypical of homosexuals) has been bandied about since 1994, when it was first coined by British journalist Mark Simpson. Rather, it is cosmetic medicine itself that has evolved.

Men who receive cosmetic surgery and non-surgical cosmetic procedures are as “macho” as ever, in fact. They are high-powered executives and attorneys, small business owners and Baby Boomers who are competing with their younger-looking counterparts in the workplace. These are men who are diligent about their physical fitness and want to improve the parts of their bodies that don’t respond to diet and exercise. Namely, beer bellies, wrinkles and cheeks.

For example, at Ocean Plastic Surgery Center in Orange County, eyelid surgery helps men correct that “tired look” while liposuction helps eliminate persistent pockets of fat that can’t be toned through training. Ocean Plastic Surgery Center also offers minimally-invasive facial procedures, such as Botox, which relaxes muscles that cause lines and Restylene, a dermal filler which replaces volume in the cheeks. Minimal incisions facelifts are also important, since men do not wear makeup. As such, plastic surgeons must work to naturally minimize and hide facelift scars.

For men, looking younger without making it apparent that work has been done is key.The steady rise in cosmetic work for men is a testament to the ways that today’s subtler, less invasive procedures make it possible.