Lee Suckling: Do men need Botox too?

When should men start thinking about getting Botox? Photo / Getty Images

Part and parcel with having an overly-expressive face, I don't remember not having creases on my forehead, even when I was a teenager.

I also look at the fine lines under my eyes and wonder when they'll become wrinkles. Surely in an age where men take as much care of their looks and health as women, I'm not the only guy out there thinking about the effects age is having on my face.

While cosmetic touch-ups are commonly assumed as a female domain, more and more high-profile male sports stars and celebrities show tell- tale signs of "a little work" to keep fresh.

I'm still mostly happy with the rate at which I'm aging, but I'm sure that will soon change. Furrowed forehead aside, I feel like I've hung onto my youth a little too long. As if, any day now, I'll lose all skin elasticity and suddenly be a crumply old man overnight.

I've started to wonder at what point I'll consider Botox, though I have one major fear that's holding me back from even talking about it. Once you start, how do you ever stop?

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Here's the rationale behind my hesitation to get Botox or another non-invasive "freshening" procedures: it could condition me to fear aging completely.

Once I get used to not having any lines on my face, maybe I'll keep going back to the cosmetologist to rid every new one. I'll be fighting against time, and all of a sudden, I'll be 60 years old and look like a translucent-skinned old cat that can't move its face. Then what? Do you finally give up the chemical injections and let decades of aging hit you thick and fast?

Were I to keep up the Botox I also predict that, despite being a 60-year-old with no lines on my face, I wouldn't actually look younger. When I see those translucent feline faces around I can definitely tell which decade their owners were born in. You're not kidding anybody if you think you still look 39, and I've even met some people whose over-smooth faces somehow make them look even older than they really are.

I don't want to look younger. I want to look good for my age: like I've taken care of myself, stayed out of the sun, and used eye cream. Is there a point in which Botox will become a part of that? Will we, as society, see a 6-monthly trip to the skin clinic in the same way we see moisturiser with SPF now - as just another tool in your kit so you know you're "doing your best"?

There's the case for just letting nature run its course, and aging naturally. This is obviously the easier, cheaper, safer route to take. I would still take care of myself - you won't stop me from using that SPF - so I won't just throw caution to the wind completely. There's definitely a lot of merit in looking good naturally and letting those lines and wrinkles form as they should. Hell, sometimes a well-weathered guy can even look better than a young man - look how appealing 53-year-old Brad Pitt's crow's feet are.

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I'm sure the consideration process for Botox and other light cosmetic procedures is different for women than it is for men. Society places much higher standards of youth upon females. Men (like Mr Pitt) are allowed to age, but women less so. This is why Nicole Kidman has looked 34 since she did Moulin Rouge all those years ago.

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The best advice I've received on this matter is "wait as long as you can, then only do one thing". I think that's the best way forward with Botox.

If I can survive into my 40s or 50s without having touched it, then only get one area zapped, I'll consider that a success. It should prevent me from chasing perennially-smooth skin, while still allowing just enough leeway to appear a tiny bit fresher than others my age.