Modern men not shy to have Botox
MARTIN Clunes isn’t the only man after a cosmetic edge on the competition, says Maria Lally – and many will even admit it This time last year, 51-year-old engineer Clark Currie had a very particular phobia: meeting people his own age – because it brought home just how much more weathered he looked by comparison. “I looked older than my age; not at all how I felt. At the time I thought nothing of spending R6 000 on a new jacket, so I figured I could spend the same amount on my face and feel better for it.” Since then, Clark has given up smoking, had his eyelids lasered (they were unusually heavy, he says), had filler in his cheeks and around the jawline and Fractora, a skin-smoothing laser, all over his face, at a cost of R79 000 with Harley Street cosmetic doctor David Jack. “I haven’t gone out of my way to tell people, but if a client tells me I look well, I say I’ve been looking after myself. Which is true – I eat better, I’ve stopped smoking and I’ve had work done. And I’m not ashamed to admit it.”
Currie’s barefaced confidence is in marked contrast to comic actor Martin Clunes, who recently tried to offset the cost of mystery plastic surgery against tax on his acting income, claiming it was “intimately connected with his work”, for “the purpose of his acting trade”.
When his claim was turned down by HMRC, he asked a tax tribunal judge to grant anonymity to his appeal, arguing that if his identity was revealed, “he might become the target of mockery and jokes”.
Clunes clearly didn’t get the memo: these days, it’s the concealment, not the cosmetic surgery, that’s the real source of embarrassment.
Studies show the number of men going under the knife is not just increasing dramatically, but highprofile male celebrities are no longer shy about admitting exactly what they have had done, and where. Last October – while on stage picking up an award, no less – 43year-old singer Robbie Williams admitted to having had some fillers, and some Botox and, just for good measure, “something done to my chin which means I can not move my f... forehead”.
Meanwhile, 57-year-old Simon Cowell has compared getting Botox to brushing his teeth, and Cold Feet actor James Nesbitt, 52, cheerfully admitted his hair transplant was “ridiculous, but it’s horrible going bald. Anyone who says it isn’t is lying. Losing my hair was practically an obsession. But also, I’m an actor, so I’m in the public eye a lot and I really felt that my hair loss could affect my career prospects.”
Dr Daniel Sister, another provider of cosmetic treatments, says: “Without a doubt, men are getting more work done. We’re living longer, we’re having second and third marriages and it’s become so acceptable for men to take a greater interest in their looks.
“But perhaps the biggest motivator for 50-something men is the job market, which is youth driven.
“These men don’t want to get left behind. If they’re in a client-facing job, or competing with younger colleagues, there’s a commercial edge to looking a bit younger. Banking in particular is very competitive. In the past, a middle-aged man would proudly have a paunch, now he might get Botox. It’s normalised.” –
“It’s acceptable for men to take an interest in their looks