‘Brotox’ is just one sliver of the men’s cosmetic procedure boom

Sure, Barbie is the hit of the summer. Sure, Ryan Gosling looks dreamy in it.

But don’t be fooled by those blaming Ken’s chiseled looks for a sudden rise in male aesthetic procedures like “brotox” (botulinum toxin injections, but for men).

Dudes had already been making smooth moves in that direction, per American Society of Plastic Surgeons data.

• American men opting for “minimally-invasive” cosmetic procedures increased 29% between 2000 and 2020, long before Gosling added a new wrinkle.

Where’d this come from?

It’s a comparative drop in the bucket — over the same period, women notched a 114% uptick — but female dominion over the aesthetics business is nothing new.

Male cosmetic enhancements, on the other hand, make for a stigma-busting trend.

• A med-spa owner told the New York Post she has “observed a steady increase in male patients,” crediting it to a “changing attitude towards self-care and grooming.”
• The Guardian cheekily, but accurately, notes the beauty industry is resetting men’s standards because it’s “reached a point of total saturation when it comes to making women feel insecure about their appearance.”
• One plastic surgeon put it simply for The Post: “Men want to look good too!”

Back to “brotox”

While treatments like laser skin resurfacing and microdermabrasion have also taken off, “brotox” — a play on popular injection brand Botox — is the most common cosmetic procedure among men.

• American men had 265k+ total botulinum toxin injections in 2020 — a 182% increase compared to 2000 — adding to a $6.4B Botox market.

Dousing this trend in gasoline: TikTok and celebs, naturally. On TikTok, the hashtag #brotox has accumulated 18.1m views, while Joe Jonas is playing spokesmodel, saying injectables are “not a big deal.”

Oh, but they are, Joe: Patients can’t lay down for 2-4 hours after getting Botox shots. The Jonas Brothers must not be big fans of napping like we are.