When A-list actor Ryan Gosling was recently promoting his new movie, The Fall Guy, fans were quick to point out that he looked a little… different. Others were less diplomatic.
“Ryan Gosling please stay away from the filler,” said one unkind commenter on X/Twitter, clearly suggesting that his face was showing telltale signs of some pretty harsh cosmetic enhancement.
So has the Barbie star, 43, had any work done? As a journalist specializing in writing about aesthetic medicine, as this area is known, even I can’t say for sure. But it wouldn’t be a surprise.
Modifying faces, whether male or female, is a delicate matter. Do it right and no one will notice. If you do it wrong, they will criticize you: the human eye is good at detecting when something is wrong.
So how can men use subtle treatments to look refreshed but not too “done”?
I spoke to three experts to discover the best fits for men…
Ryan Gosling at the premiere of The Fall Guy at the SXSW Conference and Festival in March 2024, Austin, Texas
AVOID TOO MUCH BOTOX – MEN LOOK BETTER WITH A FEW LINES
Botox works by dampening muscle activity and has become famous for erasing wrinkles. And it can also prevent the corners of your mouth from drooping and alleviate the appearance of a tight, stringy-looking neck, which can occur naturally with age.
In women, Botox injections can be used to lift and arch the eyebrows, but this is not a trick to try on a man.
“There are some things that are part of treating female faces that we shouldn’t do when treating male faces,” says Dr. Sach Mohan of London’s Revere Clinics. ‘With Botox, raising the eyebrows feminizes the male face. We can also use punches to soften a square jaw, which is good for women but not for men.’
Dr Raj Thethi, who runs the Yorkshire Skin Center in Leeds, agrees. “I prefer to use less Botox on men,” he says. “It’s good for men to have some lines and wrinkles when they move their face; it makes them look a little rougher.”
Botox costs from £300 per area of the face treated.
IF YOU ARE A MAN OF ACTION BE CAREFUL WITH FILLINGS
Dermal fillers are injectable gels used to add volume to the face.
On women, they are popular for adding volume to the lips, although too much will result in an exaggerated pout. Used cautiously, they can soften depression in an aging face; Naturally, we look more haggard as we age.
While they can also enhance the contour of your cheekbones and jawline, too much filler will create a puffy, unattractive result that is derisively called “pillow face.”
“Inexperienced injectors often don’t differentiate between what male and female faces need in terms of filler,” says Dr David Jack, who has clinics in London and Edinburgh. “This can give strange results.”
“With men and fillers, we want to create more angles in the face that we associate with masculine features,” adds Dr. Thethi.
“That may mean widening your cheekbones and keeping your cheeks flat in the front; adding too much volume looks too feminine.”
And if you’re a budding action hero, listen to this. “One of the biggest problems with actors preparing for an action role is that I compete with their personal trainers, who only focus on their clients’ bodies,” says Dr. Mohan. ‘They may use performance-enhancing supplements, which don’t mix well with fillers.
‘Products such as creatine (a sports supplement that stimulates muscles) can cause fluid retention. If the fillers used are hyaluronic acid-based, they can absorb water and swell a man’s face.’
Filler treatments start at £500.
REPAIRS DAMAGED SKIN WITH INTENSE BEAMS OF LIGHT
“Treatments like Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) reduce excess pigmentation and have become more popular with men,” says Dr. Jack, who uses them the same way he would for women: to brighten the tone. of your skin is more uniform.
IPL uses light beams that “break up” the pigmented cells under the skin: brown age spots or the redness of facial veins. The body’s immune system eliminates the resulting waste.
Ryan Gosling in 2016, promoting La La Land in Hollywood, before taking on a fuller look of late.
Radiofrequency microneedling, which rejuvenates and firms the skin, is popular among both men and women.
This is done using a pen-like device that drives
needles in the skin. These then deliver radiofrequency energy (a type of heat) under the skin. Basically, this causes damage that subsequently heals as new, firmer skin.
If inserted deeper into the skin, the needles can destroy fat.
“They are often the first treatments men receive, as they focus on improving mild scars and skin tone, but do not cause dramatic changes,” says Dr. Mohan.
The IPL costs from £300 per session. Radiofrequency treatment costs from £600 per session.
JABS THAT REGENERATE YOUNGER-LOOKING SKIN
There are a variety of treatments administered through multiple injections that stimulate the regeneration of collagen (a protein that provides structure and firmness to the skin) and elastin (which allows the skin to stretch). These are also unisex.
One of the most popular is the Profhilo ‘injectable moisturizer’. The therapy involves injections of hyaluronic acid, the same substance used in many fillers but in a much more dilute concentration.
Then there are polynucleotides, which are injectable serums that contain DNA fragments extracted from salmon and trout sperm.
Both regenerate the skin without adding volume.
Polynucleotides and Profhilo cost around £500 per treatment.
Alice Hart-Davis is founder of thetweakmentsguide.com.