FACIAL REJUVENATION FOR MEN..REVERSING SUNDAMAGE!
Are
men finally catching up with women when it comes to looking after their skin? Apparently
yes!
Data
from multiple sources show a clear upwards trend in the numbers of men seeking
medical advice for a variety of cosmetic skin problems, and given the extremely
high rates of severe sun damage amongst Australian men, it's little wonder.
In
my opinion this isn't because Australian men have fallen prey to the dreams of
Dorian Grey immortality. Rather, Australian men are increasingly
sophisticated enough to realise just how far behind the game they have fallen.
Sophisticated!
I hear you scoff! It isn't a word one usually hears uttered in the
same sentence as "Australian male". And perhaps by some markers
of sophistication there's still room for much progress! However I like to
consider basic sophistication as an awareness of others' cultural norms brought
about by repeated global travel..and that's something that Australians are very
very fond of. Thanks to a relatively high Australian dollar, falling air
travel costs over the last 40 years and a penchant for extended overseas work
postings, Australians are increasingly globally aware citizens.
My
oldest patient is almost ninety years old and happens to be a delightful farmer
from a warmer part of the state. He first came to see me 9 years ago
following the removal of several small skin cancers on his face, and looking to
do something about the remaining severe sun damage visible from the opposite
side of the street. His children (all in their 60s themselves) initially
thought it was hysterically funny that their salt of the earth father would
care so much about his weathered face to see a cosmetic medical skincare specialist. However,
they've now come to love the way he looks vibrant and spritely, with very few
other skin cancers requiring excision over the last decade. If they
realised how many operations and chunks of skin excisions/grafting their father would
have faced if he hadn't taken action 9 years ago, they'd probably be coming in
themselves! The reality is that for many Australian men, recurrent facial
skin cancer ultimately causes extreme disfigurement. Even the most stoic
and ocker of us would rather not have to watch ourselves slowly morph into an
image that is unrecognisable from our former selves.
Farmers
and other outdoor workers aside, there is another much more urban source of
male skincare customer. Visit any golf, tennis, cricket, surf life saving
or sailing club in Australia and you'll see them there by the dozens amongst
the senior members. They're the men whose lifelong sporting obsessions
have brought much enjoyment (&sometimes elite success) but along the way
the stubborn refusal of many men to wear sunscreen on a regular (read daily)
basis, has left their delicate pale complexion blotchy, reddened, scaly and
persistently "dry". Here are a few typical examples of the sort of sundamage that many of you may recognise amongst your own friends and relatives:
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| The top of the head is a classic area of sundamage for those who are bald! |
I
love looking after unhealthy skin. There are few things that appeal to my
medical/motherly need to fix someone's evidence of chronic self-neglect than a
mature man in need of some very practical and very inexpensive skincare
quickfix solutions!
These
men are often remarkably well educated in their field of expertise, have
travelled widely and have seen with their two eyes how much more youthful
looking their fellow fair-skinned Caucasians are in their native countries.
In
Paris recently I found myself sitting next to a well known New York
dermatologist who gasped in wonder when I confessed to being Australian. "But
you don't have enough sun damage to be an Australian!" he replied.
"Especially
for a 44year old" I thought to myself. "I've been looking
after my skin for a very long time" I replied.
Another
patient, an Australian born male who recently returned after working in London
for the last decade, reported how he'd noticed on moving there that his
colleagues all looked very youthful for their age, but on returning to
Melbourne he is horrified to see how much his school friends have aged.
Rejuvenating
men's skin isn't necessarily about using injectable treatments such as anti-wrinkle injections or dermal fillers.
Most men can be remarkably rejuvenated with
medicated prescription skincare alone.
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| Pre treatment-actual Skin Temple client |
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| Post treatment-actual Skin Temple client, medicated prescription skincare only! |
Some may require laser treatment
if significant pigmentation or broken capillaries exist.
Significant
facial redness due to extensive broken capillaries is a Medicare rebatable
laser treatment, when performed by a medical practitioner.
The
downtime post laser treatment is really quite minimal, though significant
healing is required with some of the medicated prescribed skincare.
So,
if you're reading this and identifying strongly with some of these
descriptions, perhaps its time you did yourself a favour and consulted a
cosmetic medical specialist today. There's no time like the present to
make up for yesterday's sun damage!
