Why Don’t Men Get Plastic Surgery: But Could

I speak to a lot of guys who look in the mirror and aren’t happy with what they see. Even those who do the exercise, have a decent diet, once the basics are done what you’ve got is what you’ve got. Then, we go adding age to the equation and it can be soul destroying. Yes of course women can feel the same way, however if a woman says she’s getting her boobs done, tummy tightened or eyes lifted she will be broadly met with a “good on you, why not”. Men on the other hand overwhelmingly don’t take action and get aesthetic aspects of themselves they're not happy with addressed.

Why is that?

The statistics are tough to nail down as even within countries you can have different accreditation bodies. However, if we looked at the USA for a baseline and assumed leader, the numbers suggest that approximately 8% of men have had an aesthetic procedure. Gathering together number from across Australia give similar numbers. That’s not necessarily aesthetic surgery. Surgeries are only a few percent. The overwhelming number one surgery for men is male breast reduction, with ones such as eye lift and muscle implants making up most for the rest of the numbers. Yeah, I’m still getting my head around muscle implants.

The number one reason men don’t address their aesthetic concerns is… Ego. To be honest, every other excuse a man could make still comes back to ego. Most men think they're fantastic. Dealing with a lot of middle aged men as I do I can safely say that it gets worse with age and most start off with a deluded view of how good they, with everything. Oh, they're all studs and lady killers. I belong to a social group and I find it hysterical seeing a whole bunch of middle age men strutting around like the “cocks of the walk” when they're realistically more “feather dusters”. They could all get any woman in a room. Just ask them. Getting “work” done just isn’t needed for such studs.

I know plenty of men who make excuses for not even going to the gym or taking care of their general health and wellbeing, so doing anything more serious… You wouldn’t believe some of the excuses I’ve heard for not exercising. Inside most men is a little boy who thinks he’s superman, and this little boy gets louder and louder the older a man gets, then his ego makes excuses to try and justify the little boy. Men (I’m being general as from my experience we’re talking high 90%), in their head live on their past glories. When they look in the mirror they may see reality, but then will tell themselves anything to make themselves believe they’re as good as they were when they were young. No, you can’t suck your gut in that far and please don’t try and flex that non-existent bicep.

So let’s assume a man gets past his own stuff. He then can’t get away without telling anyone else. I mean some of these procedures you just can’t hide, so people are going to find out. Admitting to his friends that he doesn’t think he’s “all that”. Wow, that’s huge. Opening up to judgement from other people when he’s invested a lot of time pretending he’s superman.

For a man to admit to himself let alone anyone else that he wants to get aesthetic surgery is just about the ultimate ego check. It’s him saying “I’m not what I’ve pretended to be.

We’ve dealt with his ego. We’ve dealt with his friends. Let’s look at the aesthetic surgery industry. Look at the website for just about any aesthetic surgeon anywhere. In the category “for men” the number one procedure will be male breast reduction, then implants, then… probably nothing. Every other procedure seems focused on women. Ok, there are one or two that are just for women, but you now where I’m coming from. The industry itself doesn’t make it look like those procedures are for men, No face lift, no neck lift, no eye lift, no liposuction, no… anything. The industry by accident is teaching men that aesthetic surgery isn’t for them. Sure, the aesthetic surgeons market to the masses. I’m not saying take away from the marketing and information provide to women, just add to the information they supply for men.

I guess a big part of the problem is, who does a man talk to about what he’s thinking? A woman can always talk to other women, and they will all be supportive of the woman’s feelings. Cosmetic surgery is common place for women to a greater or lesser extent. How many women get even a simple procedure like botox. How many women get their boobs done. Men rarely have someone they feel they can talk to about having cosmetic procedures without risking his ego, so they're not likely to actually have a procedure done.

Sure, men generally don’t like doctors however that’s got nothing to do with the doctor themselves. It’s about the doctor being the ultimate reality check. The doctor is one of the few people in a man’s life who can prove he isn’t superman. It all comes back to ego.

Should we also add that men will do the best they have with what they’ve got, but a haircut and clean shirt is about as far as most men go for putting work into looking good. Oh, yeah, they're awesome already. I forgot.

At the end of the day we all only have two choices if we’re not happy. Do something about it or live with it. If it’s something you’re deep down not happy with it’s doubtful you’ll be happy living with it. I say to everyone, no matter if they’re male or female, if there is something you’re not happy with about yourself, don’t like living with, hate the look of, impacts how you feel about yourself, makes you doubt yourself, get it addressed. No one has to live with just about anything.

So, what’s a guy to do if he thinks he wants to have some kind of aesthetic surgery? First. Suck it up, go and talk with your doctor. Go on. Start getting real information. Look at the websites of aesthetic surgeons. In different countries the credential system works somewhat differently so speaking with your will help you understand that part too. The absolute best thing to do then is to make an appointment and go and actually talk with a surgeon. It will cost you for the consult but it’s money well spent. As long as the surgeon is properly credentialled they won’t try and sell you, just discuss your goals, talk about solutions, and yes, the price will come up. Not by the doctor however, you’ll speak with the office manager for that. There is no obligation to proceed and you will come away with more information than you could imagine. The consult is all about you. What you’re thinking. What’s possible. What to expect. At least get all the information you can. If at that point you decide not to go ahead, who cares. However you’ve made an informed decision based on real information, not just assumptions or stuff you’ve seen online. No matter what a surgeons says, you still get to say yes or no.

At the end of the day, who gives a damn what other people think. Anyone who gives you a hard time is just jealous and wish they had the courage to do what you’d done. So guys if there is a part of you that gym, diet and healthy living is just never going to address and looking at it just brings you down, be brave, at least get the best information you can. Then be brave and take action.

Full disclosure. I’m writing this as a guy who’s decided, booked, and actually undergone aesthetic procedures. I’ve lived what I’ve written. If any other guys want to judge me because they're egos are feeling anything it’s just jealousy. Not necessarily because I look any better than I did, it’s because I had the courage to do what they won’t. That’s the attitude I’ll have for those who want to judge me.

The only person you have to make happy is you. Not just the word, but feel it deep down.