January Crains
Appearances are deceiving
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Solomon Golub always felt young for his 64 years,
but he started to notice a droop underneath his
eyes and a sag to the rest of his face - telltale
signs of his age.
Impressed by the success of procedures that his
friends had, Mr. Golub took the plunge last June
with a full face-lift and eyelid operation.
"It took off 20 years," says Mr. Golub,
an importer based on Long Island.
From Wall Street bankers to waiters, an increasing
number of New York men are going under plastic surgeon's
knife and seeking cosmetic treatments like Botox
injections. The trend is being fueled by the growing
pressures of a cutthroat work environment that favors
the young, by the greater acceptance of people who
have the procedures, and by nudges from wives.
But unlike many women, most men are reluctant to
have major procedures to alter their looks and are
more interested in returning to a better-rested
version of their old selves.
Nationally, the number of men seeking plastic surgery
rose 10% between 2002 and 2003, according to figures
released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons
last month. About 334,000 men have had Botox injections.
In New York, top plastic surgeons say they are seeing
even greater numbers of men, who now make up about
20% of their patient population, compared with only
10% a few years ago.
Eyes and Noses
The most popular procedures are for minor corrections,
such as nose jobs and eyelid surgeries. There's
greater demand for liposuction on love handles because
of the slimmer cut of men's suits. Surgeons are
also seeing more men for chin implants, a small
operation with little visible scarring that can
dramatically enhance a patient's overall appearance.
"When you look at most CEO's, they tend to
be taller than average with strong chins,"
says Dr. Darrick Antell, a Manhattan-based
surgeon who admits to having had a little work done
on himself. "A chin is a very important landmark."
Dr. Antell, who, through mutual friends,
has been trying to persuade former President Bill
Clinton to have his eye bags fixed, has treated
a number of high-powered Wall Street executives.
They are choosing to spend their annual bonus checks
on cosmetic procedures instead of on fishing trips
to Montana. Why? Because of the tremendous pressure
they feel to look physically fit, vigorous and up
to the job.
A CEO of a company that was soon to be taken public
saw Dr. Antell last year to have a lower blepharoplasty
- the removal of fatty tissue and excess skin from
underneath the eye because he was afraid that his
tired appearance would drag down the price of his
company's shares. "Men today tend to wear their
resumes on their faces," says Dr. Antell.
Career concerns may also be driving down the ages
of male patients, who now range between 35 and 55,
according to many plastic surgeons in New York.
Almost 90% of the 404 executives surveyed earlier
this month are worried that they may soon be discriminated
against because of their age, according to ExecuNet,
an executive recruitment firm.
Media Pressure
Because New York is the hub of North America's
media and fashion industries, there's even more
pressure to keep young and beautiful.
"I don't care what you do, looking good is
important," says Clif de Raita, 52, director
of beauty for Georgette Klinger Inc., who recently
started having injections of Restylane - a long-lasting
filler that erases his frown lines and smoothes
his nasolabial folds. He adds, "I like waking
up and not looking like a shar-pei."
But Mr. de Raita, whose company will soon offer
New Yorkers procedures like Botox injections through
the Advanced Aesthetics Institute, shies away from
surgery. He's seen too many clients who look like
they're wearing plastics masks.
Fillers that can be injected with a needle are
especially popular among men because they require
less downtime. Typically, patients will book surgical
procedures before the weekend in order to be back
at work early the following week.
Most men opt for less extreme makeovers because
male skin quality and bone structure are less forgiving
if a procedure isn't done well. Besides scarring,
a less-than-perfect eye job is more likely to lead
to a perpetually surprised look on men than on women.
Male patients are much less willing to admit to
having work done than are women, even though 65%
of men say that they find plastic surgery acceptable
for both sexes, according to a recent GQ magazine
survey. "They still have a hard time saying
'face-lift,'" says Dr. Paul Laurenc, who has
a private practice on Park Avenue. "They say,
'Just clean up my neck please.'
by Samantha Marshall
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