In a camera-ready society, caring about your appearance is no longer vanity. It's simply human. Pair that with a culture increasingly focused on health and wellness and a fading stigma around male grooming, and it's no wonder the male aesthetics market is having a moment—one expected to grow at an annual rate of 7.2% from 2025 to 2034, according to market research firm Market.us.
At Envision Oculofacial Plastic Surgery and Medical Spa, ophthalmologist and owner Dr. Katherine Whipple is seeing a rise in male clientele. “I think in the past, men thought medical spas were for women only, or it was kind of a fluffy fu-fu women's place to just go get pampered. That’s not what our medical spa is about. We’re geared toward treatments that will improve skin or appearance overall,” she says.
For a while now, the most popular treatment has been laser hair removal, whether it's the neck, back, shoulders, legs, or even knuckles. "It's a great treatment, and we have lasers that work on the thicker hair that men typically have," Dr. Whipple says. Hair transplants and topical treatments to help regenerate growth on the head round out the hair-focused side of the menu.
"We're seeing a lot more men coming in, and it really is the more modern man," she says. "Men under 40 or 45 are particular about the hair on their body. They think nothing of coming in to get it removed." That includes younger men and teenagers, some coming in for something as specific as a unibrow.
Beyond hair, men are increasingly showing up for skin treatments as well. Hydrofacials, which use suction to clear oils from pores, have become popular, particularly given that men tend to have thicker, oilier skin than women. And for teenage boys reluctant to go the oral medication route for acne, spot and laser treatments have become a popular alternative.
Treating men looks a little different than treating women, Dr. Whipple notes. The approach to something like Botox, for instance, isn't about perfection, it's about subtlety. "Women want a smooth forehead that light bounces off of perfectly. No man says that to me," she says. "They just want to soften things." For men, the goal is a gentler touch, softening deep lines without erasing the character that comes with it.
For men curious about skin treatments, Dr. Whipple recommends broadband light therapy as a good entry point because it’s subtle. "Our goal is to have people know you look better but not really know why," she says. “One patient even said, ‘My friends asked me, are you not drinking anymore, you’re more bright eyed?’ They know you look better but they don’t know why. To me that’s the best result.”
Many people assume it's wrinkles that age them, but Dr. Whipple says the real culprit is usually sun spots. Broadband light treatment uses different wavelengths to target specific skin concerns, from sun spots and freckles to redness and the tiny blood vessels that tend to appear around the nose, which is one of the more popular treatments men come in for.
Walking into Envision Oculofacial Plastic Surgery and Medical Spa, the atmosphere feels more like a polished medical office than a traditional day spa. This is intentional. There are no robes, no slippers, no clouds of perfume at the door. "We offer medical-grade treatments to induce permanent change in the skin, so it's a different mentality," Dr. Whipple says. It's an environment designed to put all patients at ease.
The message Dr. Whipple wants men to hear is a simple one: You're not alone. "I wish more men knew how many of their peers are already doing it, they just don't talk about it,” she says. “[Men] want to look young and vibrant too, not just women.”