It’s a common misconception that only women seek aesthetic procedures to look and feel their best. While that may have been the case in the past, there are a variety of reasons why this dynamic has changed over the last few years. Although men still remain the minority when compared to female beauty treatment consumers, the market for men is steadily growing and keeping pace with women.

So, what is behind this paradigm shift? More importantly, how do you capture this growing consumer segment to have non-invasive services in your beauty location?

Men Value Their Appearance Too

Aesthetic treatments for men are moving into the mainstream for a variety of reasons including awareness, acceptability, and availability. Other influences that are contributing to this shift are Zoom, social media, competitive job markets, and the growing number of male celebrities who are having multiple different aesthetic enhancements done. The attention on appearance is projected to fuel growth in the global market at a compound annual rate of 7.3% through 2024.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, men accounted for 8% of all cosmetic procedures including both surgical and non-invasive in the United States in 2018, which represents a 29% increase since 2000. But the growth rate for minimally invasive procedures was 72%. So, if you aren’t marketing your products and services to men, your beauty business could be missing out on an untapped revenue stream.

What Non-Invasive Treatments Appeal To Men?

Now that we have established that men are a growing market in the non-invasive treatment space—let’s break down some of the treatments that they seek out the most.

Injectables & Fillers: Similar to women, men are actively having both neurotoxin injections and fillers. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the number of botulinum toxin fillers for men rose 381 percent from 2000-2018 alone, while soft tissue filler injections rose 101 percent during that same time frame. In fact, neurotoxins like Botox, have become so popular with men that the term “Brotox” was coined to refer to the trend.

Hair Transplants: Hair loss is one of the biggest aesthetic issues for men. According to a consumer review by RealSelf, hair transplants were the second most searched treatment type for men with male consumers motivated most by non-invasive treatment types for hair restoration.

Hair Removal: Men are now seeking to have hair removed with laser treatments, which represents another fast-growing non-invasive treatment type for this demographic. While some men want to be completely smooth, other men want to minimize the density of their hair, especially in areas like the back, chest, back of the neck, and legs.

Body Contouring & Fat Removal: After injectables, non-surgical fat reduction is the second most popular non-invasive treatment men are seeking. Currently, there are four primary treatment types to reduce subcutaneous fat including: cryolipolysis, radio frequency, high-intensity focused ultrasound, and laser therapy.

Things To Consider When Trying To Attract Male Clients At Your Aesthetic Business

Since men and women are different, when you are trying to attract male clients to your beauty location, your approach should be different—and not just an afterthought to your female clients. Below are some considerations to take into account if you want to grow your business to include men.

Understand The Male Psychology: As stated above, men are different in their approach to aesthetic treatments when compared to women. Males, especially professional men, often prefer subtle enhancements to improve their looks that result in them looking rested and refreshed and are less interested in radical transformations, like women. Professional men want to maintain the distinguished look that comes with age and simply look the best possible for themselves.

Make Sure Your Consult Speaks To Their Concerns: Men not only think differently than women, they age differently including wrinkle patterns and volume loss. So make sure your consultation takes these things into consideration when seeing male clients and discussing treatment options.

Adapt Your Marketing Strategy To Be Male-Specific: Most male clients are introduced to non-invasive treatments through their spouse or partner. While this is a good approach, don’t forget to include photos of men in your marketing photos including your website, blog posts, social media posts, and email marketing campaigns. A study of plastic surgery websites found that men have been neglected in U.S. online marketing with 94% of the website imagery being women and only 22% of the aesthetic services focusing on services for men. All of which is to say, there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to including men in your overall aesthetic marketing strategy.

Make Men Feel Welcome In Your Beauty Location: Despite growing trends, there can still be somewhat of a stigma around men getting aesthetic procedures done. So, putting some concerted effort into welcoming men into your aesthetic location is key to growing this part of your business. This stigma has prompted some beauty business owners to open male-specific locations so that men don’t have to feel self conscious about seeking aesthetic treatments. While this may not be doable for your business, definitely emphasize the message that everyone deserves to look and feel his or her best with no judgment or stigma—regardless of gender.