Male vs Female Beauty Standards: Are They Really Changing In 2026?

By Dr Sanjay Trikha and Dr Zoya Diwan, founders of Trikwan Aesthetics

For generations the rules felt fixed. Women carried the pressure to stay youthful, while men were allowed to age like fine wine, growing more distinguished with every grey hair and line. In episode 8 of our podcast, The Skin Decision, we sat down to ask whether any of that is actually shifting. Are beauty standards getting better, worse, or simply more complicated for everyone? Here is where the conversation took us.

The pressure gap is narrowing, but it has not closed

The honest answer is that women still feel more pressure than men. In our clinic, the overwhelming majority of patients are women. That has not changed dramatically. What has changed is the tone of the conversation.

We rarely hear the phrase anti-ageing any more. Society has redefined what a woman looks like at forty, fifty and sixty, and ageing is no longer treated as something to fear or fight. Almost nobody walks in asking to look twenty years younger. In fact, a fifty-year-old asking to look thirty again would be a reason for us to pause and have a longer conversation. Instead, the focus has moved towards maintaining skin health and a natural glow for as long as possible. Social media, for all its faults, has helped here by giving women space to talk openly and feel a little freer.

There is a whole new world emerging for men

If the pressure on women is easing slightly, the pressure on men appears to be growing. A new vocabulary has appeared online around so-called looksmaxing, the idea of doing everything possible to achieve a sharper, more conventionally attractive face. At its most extreme this includes practices like bone smashing, where people deliberately strike their facial structure in the hope of changing the bone over time.

We want to be clear about this: the extreme end of that movement is something to avoid, not to aspire to. It is best understood as a spectrum. At one end are people who could do with making a little more effort. At the other are people taking genuine risks with their health to chase a particular look. Neither extreme is healthy. As with most things, the sensible place to be is somewhere in the middle, doing what feels right for you.

What is striking is how young this culture now reaches. Twenty years ago a teenage boy spending a few minutes on his hair might have been teased. Today it is not unusual to meet fourteen and fifteen-year-old boys with multi-step skincare routines and strong opinions about their appearance. There is a genuine positive in men taking better care of their skin, and we see it among our own friends. The concern is only when appearance becomes the single thing a young person measures themselves by.

Men and women genuinely age differently

Beyond culture, there is real biology at play, and the differences matter when we plan any treatment.

Men and women start from different places. Men generally have greater bone density and bone mass, so as that gradually reduces with age the structural change is less dramatic on their faces. Men also tend to have a slightly thicker dermis and more sebaceous glands, which keeps the skin firmer for longer.

Women, on the other hand, move through several significant hormonal stages, from puberty to pregnancy and the postpartum period, and then the steeper changes of perimenopause and menopause. As oestrogen falls, collagen and hyaluronic acid decline alongside it, and that drop shows clearly on the skin and face. The encouraging part is that women are now far better informed about this. Many choose to do thoughtful, preventative work and arrive at that stage of life educated about how to support their skin health rather than caught off guard by it.

Why people really seek treatment

It is easy to assume that people pursue aesthetic treatments to attract a partner. In our experience that is rarely the main reason. The women we see are overwhelmingly doing it for themselves, for their own confidence, and often for how they feel among their friends rather than to impress anyone else.

Men tend to be more private about it. Where women have become increasingly open, most male patients keep their treatments firmly on the down low. Men also often tie how they look to their work and performance. We see patients who, as they move into more senior or client-facing roles, want to subtly emphasise masculine features such as a stronger jawline or chin, usually as a once-a-year refinement rather than regular upkeep.

Broadly, male patients fall into two groups. The first, roughly between their mid-twenties and mid-forties, want to define or subtly enhance their masculine features. The second, often in their late thirties and beyond, simply want to look less tired. That last wish is close to universal. We recently saw a gentleman in his sixties starting a new business who wanted to bring a fresher, more energetic presence into rooms full of younger colleagues. He was doing it entirely for himself, and that is exactly the right reason.

There is a subtle difference in the results men and women ask for, too. When we carry out anti-wrinkle treatments on the upper face for male patients, many specifically ask us to preserve some of their expression and lines. The fully smoothed look is rarely the goal. A softening, rather than an erasing, tends to suit them better.

Treatment is becoming more normal for everyone

One of the clearest shifts is how acceptable all of this has become. Anti-wrinkle treatments in particular are now so widely discussed that men increasingly hear about them from friends, colleagues and even gym clients. That word-of-mouth normalisation is pulling more men into a conversation that used to be almost entirely female.

Part of this comes down to the treatments themselves. The quality and reliability of aesthetic medicine has never been higher, which means more predictable outcomes, lower risk and far less fear. When people stop fearing a treatment, it becomes routine, and when it becomes routine, more people talk about it openly. That cycle is quietly reshaping the whole landscape for both men and women.

So, where does this leave us?

Our conclusion is a measured one. Women still carry more pressure than men, but that gap is slowly narrowing, and the pressure on men is clearly rising even if many would not admit it. The drivers differ. For women, the motivation has moved away from chasing youth and towards long-term skin health. For men, it is about looking better on their own terms, whether that means clearer skin, a less tired appearance, or subtly stronger features.

The healthiest version of all this is balance. Looking after yourself and presenting yourself well is a perfectly good thing. It only becomes a problem when appearance turns into the single measure of a person’s worth. Whatever you decide, it should be an individual choice made for yourself, and a well-informed one.

If you would like to talk through your own options with doctors who will give you an honest, evidence-based view, schedule a consultation with us today.

Frequently asked questions

Do men really get aesthetic treatments?

Increasingly, yes. Women are still the large majority of patients, but more men are seeking treatment as it becomes normalised through friends, colleagues and everyday conversation.

Why do men and women age differently?

Men generally start with greater bone density, a thicker dermis and more sebaceous glands, so structural changes can be less dramatic. Women also move through hormonal stages, and during perimenopause and menopause the drop in oestrogen, collagen and hyaluronic acid shows clearly on the skin.

What treatments do men most commonly ask for?

Broadly two things: subtly defining masculine features such as the jawline or chin, often as a once-a-year refinement, or simply looking less tired. With anti-wrinkle treatments, many men prefer to soften rather than fully erase their expression lines.

Is it normal to have treatment for yourself rather than to attract others?

Absolutely, and in our experience it is the most common reason. Most patients are motivated by their own confidence and how they feel, not by trying to impress anyone else. The healthiest approach is an individual, well-informed choice made for yourself.

This article is for general education and does not replace a personal consultation. All treatments are carried out only after a face-to-face assessment, and individual results vary.