Category: Male Plastic Sugery

If there is one thing I can say with a clear conscience is that we all can benefit from skin care.  Living here in Tucson with our endless clear sunny days and very dry climate can be tough on our skin.  You can hydrate all you want, with drinking water; a dry sunny climate is still going to steal some of the vitality from your skin.  This is as important for men as it is for women.  Granted men need a tailored approach that will work for them, but we all need to look after our skin.  In fact we have recently introduced the Turo Skin ™ care line specifically for our male patients.  With specific cleansers, skin care rejuvenators, exfoliants and shave conditioners.  This group of products is tailored for men and doesn’t overwhelm them with too many steps or products.  One advantage of male skin is it’s hearty and usually not unduly sensitive so men respond well over time with consistent use.  I’ve been consistent with my own skin care and close up photos show my skin to be much improved over 10 years ago.  I’ve seen the same effects in many male patients who are committed to mixing healthy skin with their active life styles.

Women routinely have been more accepting of skin care.  Women are more accustomed to cleaning their skin and applying products since it’s not more involved than applying makeup.  It’s just part of the process of feeling good about yourself for my female patients.  Men occasionally need a bit more of a nudge but the benefits can be huge when we look after our most important organ our skin.

As we’ve mentioned before men occasionally feel left out in the wilderness when they look for information about their cosmetic concerns. We can approach some male cosmetic issues a bit differently than women. When it comes to men’s necks the cup is often half full rather than half empty for men often only want a more subtle improvement compared to many female patients. Therefore we have more options for many of our male patients. Women will focus on changes in their necks much earlier than men and also desire a greater degree of change if neck laxity is significant. Let’s walk through some of the main things we need to pay attention to in the neck.
First is skin quality and certainly men having beards, more ruddy complexions, and often moderate sun damage to their necks. We absolutely suggest that the patients consider skin care, photo facials with our “laser” devices; but clearly men aren’t going to necessarily be as concerned about color change or skin texture as women often are. Our male patients might choose to be less aggressive about their appearance of the skin, but they do care about a chubby neck, lots of loose skin, and soft chins.

Many of our male patients may have a family trend to fat deposits in the neck. These patients may do fabulously with simple liposuction of the neck under local anesthesia. A fatty neck makes us loose the masculine definition of our chin and jawline adjust getting rid of some of these fat deposits can take years off our appearance as well as make us look more fit and energetic. On occasion it may be beneficial to do a chin implant at the same time if the chin is truly under projecting. There is always the chance that the skin might be a bit more lax after liposuction, but men have more tolerance to a little laxity compared to many female patients. So for the same degree of neck fat the female patient may want a neck lift also where the male patient may be delighted with just a slimmer neck.
A nice adjunct we have in the office to tighten neck skin is the truSculpt™ radiofrequency device. To learn more about the truSculpt™ look at our noninvasive body contouring blog. In brief the radiofrequency energy deep heats the tissue which can remove more fat as well as get the skin to tighten more. Of course if guys have a really lax neck we need to tighten that skin surgically with a neck lift. One aspect of neck lifting we can often offer men that is rarely used in female patients is direct excision of the neck skin in the mid line. The direct excision approach to skin typically can be done with local anesthesia and a technique of zigzagging the scar with what is called a Z-plasty or a W-plasty. Since men do have thicker ruddier skin and beards we can hide the direct excision scars fairly well, while women wouldn’t look quietly as elegant with the direct approach to that central skin.
Each guy I see in the office has a different threshold for how youthful they wish to look. Some men want major changes, some men want a more subtle adjustment is the jaw and neck lift. The key is we will listen and suggest options that best fit the result you are looking for.

Sometimes guys feel a bit left out of the plastic surgery world; this couldn’t be the farthest from the truth.  In general terms men account for fifteen percent of cosmetic surgery.  In our experience this number is on the rise, especially since there are more options to help a guys self image.

When it comes to treatments above the neck guys are great candidates for neurotoxins like Botox Cosmetic, Dysport, or Xeomin.  Men have bulkier facial muscles that can make them look stern or irritated and quieting down muscles at the corners of the eyes(crow’s feet) or between the brows (glabellar area) can make a guy look friendlierand more relaxed.  Botox Cosmetic, Dysport and Xeomin as a group are called neuomodulators.  These injections into over active muscles decrease the squinting lines, the “11’s” between the brows and can soften forehead wrinkles.. Facial fillers are also great adjucts for men to consider to maintain a more virtal look.  As we age we lose volume in our faces and the folds around our mouth deepen, cheeks can deflate, and our jowls sag.  Addng volume to different zones of the face can give energetic contours back without downtime.  There are many different types of facial fillers each with it’s own advantage depending on where or how it is used to revolumize & contour the face.  Restoring your your youthful self.  The neuromodulators and the facial fillers are superb options for men looking for a more vital appearance without a surgical downtime or more signifigant facial changes.  Of course many menmay need to consider some surgical options so keep an eye out for upcoming blogs on specific surgeries for the male patient.