ShareThisThe buzz about metrosexuals may have died down, but men's desire to look good certainly hasn't. These days, many are turning to Botox to smooth out frown lines and forehead creases.Dr. Michael Stanford, co-owner of Embrace Spa in St. Petersburg, Fla., said the percentage of his Botox clients who are men has grown from just a handful five years ago to about 10 percent. Reasons range from a greater acceptance of the procedure to a high divorce rate, which thrusts men back into the dating scene, he says. Younger guys do it for prevention.Most men prefer to keep their anti-aging methods on the Q.T. Not Jon La Budde, a commercial real estate agent and owner of Reno Beach Surf Shop in St. Pete. After getting Botox injections last month, he sent an e-mail about it to friends, colleagues and members of the Bloc, a group that promotes downtown businesses."I am going out on a limb here and announcing I recently had a Botox procedure,'' he wrote. "A lot of my close friends did notice that I was a little less ugly.'' The response was huge. Some said they had noticed something different, but thought he had lost weight or even grown taller. La Budde, 51, said he looks five to 10 years younger.A few weeks later, here's what he had to say about it.Q: Why Botox? A: I'm 51 and still a bachelor. I felt like I was actually starting to look old. I think I kind of coasted through my 40s, thinking I wasn't getting old. Then I hit 50 and my skin was kind of saggy.Q: What made you go public about it? A: I didn't have any qualms about dying my hair, and I don't have any qualms about doing Botox, mostly because it really, really works. I don't closely examine myself, like women. But when I looked into the mirror and saw a great-great-great-uncle with one-quarter-inch waves on my forehead, it was like, "Wow. Someone is going to look at that and say I'm an old fart."Q: Reaction from friends?A: Positive reviews with some harmless little snickering. But that was easily responded to by saying, "Maybe you better look in the mirror before you start laughing at me." (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)
Men increasingly look to Botox for youthful appearance
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