When 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 get off the filler,” said one unkind commenter on X/Twitter, making it clear that his face is showing signs of some pretty serious cosmetic enhancement.
Did the 43-year-old Barbie star work out? As a reporter who specializes in writing about aesthetic medicine, as the field is known, even I can’t say for sure. But it wouldn’t be a shock.
Adjusting faces, both male and female, is a delicate matter. Get it right and no one will be the wiser. Get it wrong and you’ll be outraged – the human eye knows how to notice when something is wrong.
So, how can men use subtle treatments to look refreshed but not too “done”?
I spoke to three experts to find the best settings for men…
Ryan Gosling at the premiere of The Fall Guy at the March 2024 SXSW Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas
AVOID MESSY BOTOX – MEN LOOK BETTER WITH SEVERAL FINISHES
Botox works by reducing muscle activity and has become known for erasing wrinkles. And it can also stop the corners of the mouth from drooping and ease the appearance of a tight, drawn-looking neck, both of which can happen naturally with age.
In women, Botox injections can be used to lift and arch the eyebrows, but this is not a technique that can be tried on a man.
“There are some things that are part and parcel of treating women’s faces that we don’t do when it comes to men’s faces,” says Dr. Sach Mohan of the Revere Clinic in London. “With Botox, a brow lift feminizes the male face. We can also use injections to soften the square jaw – which is good for women but not for men.’
Dr Raj Teti, who runs the Yorkshire Skin Center in Leeds, agrees. “I prefer to use less Botox for men,” he says, “for men, it’s nice to have lines and wrinkles when they move their face – it makes them look a little rougher.”
Botox costs from £300 for an area of the face treated.
IF YOU’RE AN ACTIVE MALE, BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR FOLLOWERS
Dermal fillers are injectable gels used to add volume to the face.
With women, they are popular for plumping the lips – although too much will result in an overly puffy pout. Used carefully, they can soften the hollowness of an aging face – we naturally look thinner as we age.
While they can also enhance the contours of the cheekbones and jawline, too much filler will create a puffy, unattractive result, derisively referred to as a “pillow face.”
“Inexperienced injecters often don’t differentiate between what a male face and a female face need with filler,” says Dr David Jack, who has clinics in London and Edinburgh. “It can produce surprising results.”
“With men and fillers, we want to create more angles on the face that are associated with masculine features,” adds Dr. Teti.
“This can mean widening the cheekbones while keeping the cheeks flat at the front—too much volume looks too feminine.”
And if you’re new to action movies, give this a listen. “One of the biggest challenges with actors leading up to an action role is that I’m competing with their personal trainers who only focus on the client’s body,” says Dr. Mohan. “They may use performance-enhancing additives that don’t mix well with fillers.
“Foods like creatine [a muscle-boosting sports supplement] can cause fluid retention. When hyaluronic acid-based fillers are used, they can draw in water and make a man’s face look bigger.’
The cost of a filler treatment starts at £500.
REPAIR CHICKED 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 in the same way he does on women to even out their skin tone.
IPL uses beams of light that “break up” pigmented cells under the skin – brown pigment spots or red veins on the face. The resulting garbage is cleaned by the body’s immune system.
Ryan Gosling in 2016 promoting ‘La La Land’ in Hollywood, before he took on a fuller look recently
Radiofrequency microneedling – which resurfaces and tightens the skin – is popular with both men and women.
This is done with a pen-like device that whips up the hair well
needles into the skin. They then deliver radio frequency energy – a type of heat – under the skin. Essentially, it causes damage that then heals as new, firmer skin.
When the needles are inserted deeper into the skin, they can break up the fat.
“They are often the first treatments men have because they focus on improving mild scarring and skin tone without causing dramatic changes,” says Dr. Mohan.
IPL costs from £300 per session. Radio frequency treatment costs from £600 per session.
INJECTIONS THAT REJUVENATE THE SKIN
There are a number of procedures administered through multiple injections that help restore collagen – the protein that gives the skin its structure and elasticity – and elastin, which allows the skin to stretch. It is also unisex.
One of the most popular is the Profhilo injectable humidifier. The therapy involves injections of hyaluronic acid, the same substance used in many fillers, but in a much more diluted concentration.
Then there are polynucleotides, which are injectable sera containing fragments of DNA taken from salmon and trout sperm.
They both regenerate the skin without adding volume.
Polynucleotides and Profhilo cost around £500 per course of treatment.
Alice Hart-Davis is the founder of thetweakmentsguide.com.