The desire to look youthful transcends differences of gender, age and economic status, finds Salonaz Sami A couple of weeks ago, the Academy Award winning actor Hugh Jackman was on the Oprah Show in the US to promote his latest movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine. According to Jackman, his youngest daughter, Eva, went straight up to the film's poster on seeing it at a bus stop and "started doing this to my forehead," Jackman said, pointing to his wrinkles, "saying 'daddy is too angry, daddy is too angry'. My nine-year-old son replied, 'no Eva, Daddy just needs Botox'." The camera then turned to the studio audience who were, to say the least, shocked. It definitely makes you wonder. If "the sexiest man alive", according to the latest edition of the US magazine People, needs Botox, then what should the ordinary man do? For today, explains Osman Awad, a consultant plastic surgeon and member of the Egyptian Society for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, looking beautiful is an essential part of a man's image. "It is not just women who want to look good. Men do as well," Awad told Al-Ahram Weekly. While the majority of plastic surgery interventions are carried out on women, Awad insists that the number of men going under the knife for the sake of their looks continues to grow. "In the past, the idea of a man having a facial, a pedicure, plastic surgery, or anything related to women for that matter, was unthinkable. He would have been immediately categorised as a freak or perhaps seen as homosexual," Awad says. But today things have changed. "What was frowned upon in the past has now become acceptable." Indeed, plastic surgery among men has been steadily increasing over the years and has today gained wider acceptance. Modern technology has made it quite simple for women who don't like the way they look to change their appearances to their liking. "Why should men be deprived of the same luxury?" Awad asks. Like women, he explains, men now want trimmer waists, fewer wrinkles and more hair. Famous American singers and actors who have had plastic surgery include Barry Manilow, Wayne Newton, Belly Bob Thornton and Bert Reynolds, among others. And, although it is not without risks, like other forms of surgery, the number of Egyptians who are willingly going under the knife to attain their desired look by beautifying parts of their bodies has doubled over the years. The word plastic comes from the Greek plastikos, which means to mould or give form to something. "It is the perfect way to describe what we do. We mould and give form to the human body in order to make it look more beautiful," Awad comments, adding that "as a matter of fact, the ancient Egyptians were the first to perform practices designed to transform the human body in around 3000 BC." Both men and women, rich and poor, were concerned with their appearance in ancient times, Awad argues. They used sour milk baths, or applied a mixture of oils and fruit juices to their bodies to diminish scars and prevent wrinkles. "They also watched their weight and consumed more fruit and vegetables and less meat than we do today," Awad adds, while at the same time commenting that the ancients may even have had an advantage over modern generations. "They were extremely comfortable with their bodies and their sexuality, to the extent that men used to wear skirts and had no problem with it," he says. However, as the popularity of nose jobs, face lifts and various other non-surgical, anti-ageing procedures has continued to grow, men's interest in them has also increased. More and more men are having plastic surgery in order to help them look younger and more attractive. "Like their female counterparts, they have discovered the benefits of plastic surgery, not only personally but professionally as well," Awad says. As one ages, the stresses of daily life, combined with the effect of gravity and exposure to ultraviolet light and other factors, result in fine lines, wrinkles and a no longer quite so youthful skin. "This can easily be fixed non-surgically with Botox injections," Awad says, "which are gaining wide acceptance among men today." Moreover, there are many more plastic surgeons in Egypt than there used to be, and prices are more affordable. Plastic surgery, in short, is no longer only for Hollywood types and the rich and famous. "Men are recognising that frown lines, wrinkles, baldness and droopy eyelids, among other things, can make them look tired and less competitive both professionally and personally. As a result, they are doing something about it." Meanwhile, according to Awad, the number one surgical procedure among Egyptian men is designed to treat gynecomastia, what is commonly known as male breast enlargement. According to Awad, the condition is "embarrassing and distressing and could be due to a number of reasons, like obesity, hormonal disturbances, or liver problems." One patient commented to Awad that while he felt in the best shape ever he still felt embarrassed about his body due to gynecomastia, a common complaint among patients coming to his clinic. Yet, while kept a taboo subject for a long time, the condition is both extremely common and extremely easy to treat. Although it varies from patient to patient, "the procedure normally includes liposuction, tissue removal and a small skin excision," Awad says, with patients usually being sent home on the same day. The important thing, Awad says, is that patients should not look as if they have been operated on. "These men often spend years feeling ashamed of their bodies and not knowing what to do about it. The last thing they want after surgery is to still look different from their peers. As a result, I make sure that after surgery it looks as if the patient has been born with a flat chest and one that he is proud of," he adds. Other popular procedures among Egyptian men include pectoral implants (for six-pack abs), blepharoplasty (eyelid lift), hair implants, liposuction, face or neck lifts and rhinoplasty (nose jobs). "The latter procedure can be done to make the nose smaller, bigger, change its angle, or correct indentations, or any other defects," Awad explains. "It can also be performed to fix nasal injuries, either from sports or trauma." The late actress and belly dancer Naaima Akef was the first Egyptian star to have plastic surgery in the form of rhinoplasty. The phenomenon of more and more men turning to plastic surgery is not confined to Egypt. In January this year, the Harley Medical Group, the UK's largest cosmetic surgery provider, reported that men counted for 17.5 per cent of all its patients, for example. And last month alone the group reported a 26 per cent rise in men having both non-surgical and surgical procedures, despite the economic recession. The Harley Street Group added that it had carried out 55,000 procedures on British men, with figures showing that 20 per cent of all Botox patients at the clinic are now on men between the age of 34 and 45, a 50 per cent increase on the previous year. Demand for male breast-reduction surgery in the UK has also increased by 47 per cent, and 43 per cent more men have undergone microdermabrasion, the sloughing off of the outer surface of the skin for a more rejuvenated look. In Egypt, by contrast, there are no accurate statistics to reveal how many plastic surgeries are performed, either for men or women. However, if you are opting for plastic surgery and want to undergo the metamorphosis from ugly duckling to prince charming, then, Awad insists, it is important to be careful, to do your homework, and to remember that beauty is a very personal concept. Webster's Dictionary, he points out, defines beauty as "the qualities that give pleasure to the senses or exalt the mind." "But what I might see as beautiful and exalting, others may consider average or even ugly," he says. "Yet, if surgery is the only solution then patients need to be certain that they have a properly qualified surgeon who will carry out the operation in a properly equipped hospital or clinic." Like any other surgical procedure, cosmetic surgery carries risks as well as benefits. "So make sure you understand the risks involved and be realistic about the outcomes of the surgery," Awad says.
