Millennial men interested in cosmetic procedures, lack knowledge on treatments

Younger men between the ages of 18 and 34 are very interested in minimally invasive cosmetic procedures but lack the education on what treatments are available to them, according to a presenter at a recent ASDS event that highlighted dermatologic news and trends.

“Younger men have grown up taking ‘selfies’ and seeing photos of themselves in social media,” Terrence Keaney, MD, ASDS member and associate dermatologist at the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery in Washington, D.C., said in a press release from the ASDS. “They don’t see a taboo in treatments, and they understand the importance of maintaining their youthful look.”

More than 500 men came to Keaney’s W for Men center in Washington, D.C. in its opening year; the average patient was 39.3 years old, compared with women in their late 40s and early 50s who came in for cosmetic treatments.

Keaney warned fellow physicians that many men do not know the treatment they need or want. Whereas women can name Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA, Allergan) or Dysport (abobotulinumtoxinA, Galderma) by name, men have not been educated on available products, as most of the advertising for such treatments is geared to women.

“Look at something as gender-neutral as taking care of your skin with sunscreen. Seventy-seven percent of the ads were found in women’s magazines,” Keaney said.

According to results from the ASDS Survey on Dermatologic Procedures, the percentage of men interested in soft-tissue filler treatments rose to 10% in 2013, up from 8% in 2012.

Keaney said he would like to see millennial men educated better on the available treatments. “Physicians aren’t educating men, and men themselves aren’t receiving the information they need,” he said. “There’s a vast, uneducated captive male audience that physicians and media need to do a better job of reaching.”

Reference: www.asds.net.