What Wrinkles?

When he was young, Steven Goldgram thought plastic surgery was a uniquely female pursuit. "I remember going to high school and girls were getting nose jobs all the time," says the 57-year-old interior designer. "But guys didn't get their noses done back then."

In fact, most men didn't get any type of cosmetic procedure done "back then"--or, if they did, they sure didn't talk about it. But that's changing now, thanks in part to baby boomers like Goldgram who are increasingly turning to surgeons to lift faces, tuck tummies, and, yes, even nip noses, as they settle into middle age. In 2006, nose reshaping, liposuction and eyelid and face-lifts were all among the top 10 cosmetic surgery procedures for men.

"A lot of baby boomer men are at the age now when changes are more significant, and there's a greater acceptance of plastic surgery," says Dr. Michael McGuire, a vice president at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), who has seen the percentage of male patients in his practice in Santa Monica, Calif., double to nearly 20 percent in the last few years. "People start telling them they look tired, and what they are really saying, of course, is, 'You're looking old'."

That's what prompted Goldgram to rethink his stance on surgery. Earlier this year, he noticed in photos that the lower half of his face was starting to droop. "I'm pretty energetic, and pretty young inside," he says, "but I didn't feel that looking at myself." Goldgram, who lives in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., ended up getting a lower face-lift and, yes, a nose job, too. "I can't deny that I'm a little vain," he says "I just wanted to look better."

He has plenty of company. In 2006, men underwent more than 1.1 million surgical and nonsurgical procedures (women accounted for nearly 9.9 million--or 90 percent). Though that is slightly less than in 2005, it's an 8 percent increase from 2000. And there are early indications that men made up an even larger percentage of procedures last year. Surgeons interviewed for this article say they've experienced a notable jump in the number of male patients over the past year, especially among baby boomers (the oldest of whom are now in their 60s). A recent survey of ASPS members in southern California found that men made up 20 percent of the market for that area in 2007. (National figures for the year won't be released until late next month.)

Dr. Foad Nahai, president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), says he's seen a similar increase at his practice in Atlanta: men made up between 15 and 20 percent of the patients he saw in 2007. "It's just in the last year that we've really seen that change," says Nahai, who attributes much of the growth to aging boomers and the acceptance and array of nonsurgical wrinkle remedies. "Even four years ago, I could recite the names of every man who came in for Botox. Not anymore."