Men are quickly catching on to what women have know for some time: a younger looking eye means a younger looking face. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgery, there has been a 34% increase over the last five years in the number of eyelid procedures performed on men. Dr. Camille Cash of Houston, TX is definitely seeing this in her own practice. “A lot more men are coming in for eyelid surgery.” A big part of this is due to a changing economy and job market; in order to compete against their younger counterparts, men need to look their best.
by Katherine Stuart
and Camille Cash, MD
A Man’s Eye is Different Than a Woman’s
The job market today is more competitive than ever. Both men and women are feeling the need to look good in order to compete with their younger colleagues for lucrative jobs. While in the past plastic surgery among men was fairly rare, Dr. Cash is now seeing an increase in male patients, particularly for eyelid surgery. “They don’t want a whole facelift,” she explains. “They don’t want fillers… but they do want to look more youthful, more rejuvenated.”
Oftentimes, a man will have a wife, girlfriend, or significant other whose had something done and this acts a source of inspiration. However, eyelid surgery for men is slightly different than it is for women. Due to anatomy and aesthetics, there are certain characteristics that make men handsome and women beautiful. If you look specifically at the eyelids, a woman’s eyebrow sits slightly higher than her brow bone which gives her a nice arch. A man’s eyebrows tend to be flatter and sit either right on the brow bone or a little lower. So while a surgeon may perform a bit of a brow lift to correct a woman’s eyelids, this is not the right call for a man, “because if you lift a man’s brow, then you’re going to feminize him,” says Cash. Typically, this is what has happened when you can look at a man, and you don’t know what’s wrong, but you know that he doesn’t look like a man anymore. “It’s because he’s had a traditional female face lift or eyelid lift”.
Although Dr. Cash is still going to want to support the lower lid and remove any redundant skin, she is not going to put as high of an arch on the outside corner of the eye for her male patients as she would for her female patients. Volume restoration to the cheeks of a man is important for the overall aesthetic, something that’s often done in conjunction with eyelid surgery to smooth out the transition between the lower eye and the top of the cheek. “I really want to keep it flush and level,” explains Cash.
Transconjunctival Blepharoplasty: Great for Younger Patients
Younger men typically come in complaining of dark circles and/or looking tired. This is often due to volume loss which starts in the 30’s and which becomes more pronounced with each passing decade. A transconjunctival blepharoplasty is a great way to rejuvenate the eyes. During the procedure, Cash makes an incision on the inside of the lower lid, removing the excess fat pads that tend to make a man’s eyes look tired and puffy. She may also add a bit of filler to restore volume to the hollow of the eye, improving any dark circles. Once a man hits his late 40’s to early 50’s, however, he’s probably going to need traditional eyelid surgery that involves removing excess skin, tucking some fat, and elevating the corners of the eyes. Bottom line, eyelid surgery is on the rise because it’s an incredibly effective way for men to rejuvenate their entire face.