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Blame it on selfie culture, a glut of superhero movies, or sheer vanity: A growing number of men are getting cosmetic surgery to enhance their faces and bodies. Last year alone, men accounted for more than 1.3 million cosmetic procedures, an increase of 29 percent since 2000.
While some of the men turning to surgery or minimally invasive treatments to alter their appearance no doubt work in entertainment and fashion, data released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in June signals that men from all walks of life are going under the knife. The trend reveals that men aren’t immune to pressures to look good and that having work done is becoming less of a taboo in society generally.
“There’s been a normalization and an acceptance that it’s okay for a man to want to look good,” says Dr. Douglas S. Steinbrech, a plastic surgeon with offices in Los Angeles and New York City.
And he would know. He operates on roughly 260 men a year. Steinbrech’s team predicted the male plastic surgery boom four years ago after noticing an uptick in male clients and launching a website to cater to men specifically. Afterward, men began to outnumber women in his practice, and Steinbrech started to specialize in procedures that appeal to men, such as implants in the chest, shoulders, arms, and legs, that make them look noticeably muscular.
He’s become the go-to source on male plastic surgery in the press, speaking about the trend to publications such as GQ, Business Insider, and USA Today. And he remembers exactly when he started noticing a surge in male clients. He discussed that moment with us and the broader trends he’s observed in male cosmetic surgery.
Our conversation follows, edited for length and clarity.
Nadra Nittle
You treat both women and men. When did you notice an uptick in men clients?
Douglas S. Steinbrech
It was in 2014. That’s when my office manager saw that we had more men than women. Our patients used to be 80 percent women and 20 percent men. We have just as many women as before, but the number of men went through the roof after we made a male plastic surgery website. It went viral. Now it’s 80 percent men and 20 percent women.
Nadra Nittle
Where are your clients coming from? Is it mostly from Los Angeles and New York, or all over?
Douglas S. Steinbrech
Singapore, Hong Kong, Moscow, Paris — they’ll fly in from anywhere. I’m even expanding my practice to Chicago and Miami.
Nadra Nittle
What’s driving all these men to get plastic surgery?
Douglas S. Steinbrech
Social media, work, and our culture. But the first thing is social media, where people are really showing a lot of their lives. Well, showing the best parts of their lives. It used to be we said goodbye to people at high school graduation, and maybe you didn’t see them again until the 25th anniversary. Now, we’re following each other, watching each other.
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Nadra Nittle
How is the culture generally shaping this trend?
Douglas S. Steinbrech
Our culture is shifting for men to this kind of hypersexualized version of what men are supposed to look like — the superhero, the Marvel comics star. More and more of these movies are coming out, and the summer is inundated with these movies, and that’s become what the ideal man looks like — chiseled jaw, high cheekbones, a confident chin. Or he looks like sports heroes like Tom Brady. You see it with these celebrities, and that is what men want to look like.
Nadra Nittle
Which types of men are most likely to get plastic surgery and why?
Douglas S. Steinbrech
People think, “Oh, it’s the television weatherman, or maybe a celebrity who’s a movie star.” But everyone is getting done. There are now just better techniques that look more natural.
There are five different types of men I see. First is the male model, which I see in New York, or the male actor in LA. He’s a young guy, pretty guy, and if he just had one more thing to make him stand out, like a stronger, more chiseled jawline, instead of getting boyfriend parts or buddy parts, he’d move into center stage. Maybe he’s pretty but his abs aren’t developed. He can now have sculpted abs and get that magazine cover. Even people who are beautiful need a little bit of help.
There’s also the bodybuilder gym rats. They work out nonstop and look great, but there’s always one part that’s lacking. They might have a big chest, but their shoulders are deficient. They might have strong arms, but their chest isn’t sufficient. They can get pectoral implants, shoulder implants. Some gym rats want gluteal implants because they’re ripped, shredded, and do not have an ounce of fat back there and want to fill it out.
The next iconotype — I call them my five iconotypes — is the athletic father. He hit the gym in his 20s, but in his 30s, he focused on work, got married, and had a family. He let his body go, put on 15 pounds. Now he has love handles, and that fat’s not going away, so we give him a “daddy do-over.” We take out the fat, suck it out of the lower chest, suck it out of the flanks, suck it out of the gut and put it into the shoulders, into the obliques. We bank the fat out and suck it out of the bad places to give the guy broader shoulders, a bigger chest, bigger calves, and a bigger butt.
We also do what we call the “biggest winner.” It’s a take on the TV show The Biggest Loser. These are the guys who’ve lost a massive amount of weight — from 60 to 150 pounds. I give them a 270-degree torso tuck and aggressive liposuction. For men who’ve lost a lot of weight, the loose skin drips over the top of the pants, so from underneath the bellybutton, we pinch that skin and all the incisions go underneath, basically speedo incisions or any area covered by a bathing suit. They end up with a beautiful silhouette.
Nadra Nittle
You’ve discussed the benefits of plastic surgery. What are the potential risks?
Douglas S. Steinbrech
Most general risks are delayed swelling, redness, bruising, scarring, hematoma (blood collection), seroma (tissue fluid collections). These things don’t happen commonly and can be taken care of. The best way to avoid these things is to go to a board-certified surgeon who is experienced in the enhancement that you desire. Also proper perioperative nutrition and following doctor’s orders ... minimize any of these possibilities.
Nadra Nittle
What about the fifth iconotype, the corporate executive who decides to have a cosmetic procedure?
Douglas S. Steinbrech
Basically, he’s not getting the deals done, nothing’s happening. He feels washed up, so he wants to look younger. He gets a neck lift, eye lift, gets his body into better shape, so he can work or run a company for another 20 years.
Nadra Nittle
Are these businessmen willingly having these procedures, or do they feel coerced by their companies to make themselves look younger?
Douglas S. Steinbrech
Some come on their own because they see it [the ageism] happening. Some are let go because their clients tell management, “We can’t work with this guy anymore because we want to see fresh ideas,” and they think the more mature man has old ideas. This isn’t because it’s true; it’s because they’re ageist. It’s a ruthless world.
Nadra Nittle
Are the men who see you open about getting work done, or is there still a stigma?
Douglas S. Steinbrech
There used to be stigma. It used to be a big deal, but there are people [on] Instagram who are showing their dressings from the operating room. I think there may still be a little bit of stigma, but everyone’s so self-obsessed now that people aren’t worried about it. They’re too busy thinking about themselves.
Nadra Nittle
What do you think the rising number of men getting plastic surgery says about gender and beauty today? Are gender roles becoming more fluid?
Douglas S. Steinbrech
There’s been a normalization and an acceptance that it’s okay for a man to want to look good. It’s not taking anything away from his masculinity to say he wants to look good. The guys who have the biggest Instagram followings, they want to look good, and they do.
