INJECTING CONFIDENCE

With more and more men turning to cosmetic enhancements to tweak their image, Esquire looks at the rise of dermal fillers

There’s an art to administering filler, according to surgeon and international aesthetics lecturer Jonquille Chantrey. “There’s the training and qualification, which is important for safety, but then there’s the technical ability. To be able to predict the balance of a face, the harmony of it, how to make somebody look true to themselves. That’s probably the most difficult thing.”

Cosmetic enhancements are a serious business, and a growing one, too. A year that’s seen many of us staring at our low-res reflections on Zoom call after Zoom call has prompted a boom in enquiries about plastic surgery, with the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) reporting a 70 per cent increase in video consultations in 2020. With a third of plastic surgeons surveyed also saying they’d seen an increase in men seeking virtual consultations*, it seems that more and more of us are considering a subtle refreshing of the face to boost our self-confidence, just as a good haircut or a well-fitting suit might.

Among the most popular options for many are non-surgical cosmetic procedures, which tend to have minimal side effects and recovery time compared with going under the knife. Chantrey, who runs a clinic at Selfridges in London, says that men are increasingly enquiring about dermal fillers, although perhaps surprisingly, they’ve always comprised a significant chunk of her clients — between 25 and 40 per cent. Some visit her for a subtle tweak, others for more comprehensive change. Both can be achieved using precisely administered amounts of Juvéderm, a dermal filler made from a synthetic version of hyaluronic acid.

To the less grooming-savvy, anything containing the word acid can sound ominous. But hyaluronic acid is a sugar molecule that’s found naturally in the skin. “Our bodies are always producing it and breaking it down,” explains Chantrey. Due to the ageing process, our levels of hyaluronic acid gradually become depleted — one of the factors that can lead to a loss of volume, in areas such as underneath the eyes, which filler can help to restore.

Some of Chantrey’s male clients will come in for a “minuscule treatment”: fractions of a millilitre of Juvéderm under the eye to help them look brighter and less tired. Others come to her post-weight loss, finding that it has emphasised the “laugh lines” that run from nose to mouth, which can then be softened with filler.

It’s also “really common” to see clients seeking a sharper, more squared-off jawline, according to Chantrey. “A lot of men grow a beard to look on-trend, but underneath that many may have felt, consciously or unconsciously, unhappy with their chin and jawline,” she says.

For the jaw, Chantrey’s preferred choice is one of the latest additions to the Juvéderm portfolio, Volux, which she was involved in developing and launching. Volux uses a more cohesive formula than other fillers in the range to mimic the structure of the jawline. “It has a higher concentration of hyaluronic acid, so it’s a bit more robust,” explains Chantrey. “It lasts longer, too, which is important in the jaw because as we express ourselves, filler gets broken down quicker. I’ll inject very small amounts along the jawline and across the chin. It can be very subtle.”

Patients are generally keen to avoid that frozen, puffy look, so Chantrey will study the face carefully, working out which areas are to be built up or smoothed out, and taking a light-handed approach to gently build a more structured profile. “Expression preservation is extremely important,” she emphasises.

Although a single Juvéderm treatment can yield results, some patients choose to make incremental changes over multiple sessions. “We create a gradual transformation and a maintenance plan once the desired result is achieved,” Chantrey explains. Juvéderm can last up to a maximum of 24 months, but a top-up every six months will help keep the results consistent.

Juvéderm contains lidocaine to ease discomfort and depending on the complexity of the chosen treatment, it can be administered within half an hour. A few days of swelling following the procedure is normal — so work-from-home days should be planned accordingly — after which patients are left with a natural-looking result. “When it’s done well, it gives a man confidence,” says Chantrey. And what could be wrong with that?

To find out more about the Juvéderm range of fillers and injections, or to find your nearest clinic provider, visit juvederm.co.uk