From Finasteride to Invisalign: The (Outrageous) Aesthetic Cocktail That Makes Men Sexy Today | ICON

Many men’s toiletry bags increasingly resemble the pillbox of a chronically ill person. The male aesthetic norm – healthy, strong and abundant hair, toned and voluminous muscles, a clearly defined jaw, even and very white teeth, smooth and shiny skin – requires more or less radical pharmacological and medical interventions that stimulate metabolism and cellular function. They took drugs and had surgeries to avoid vegetating on the couch, and this is exactly what the body actually requires after you have become, in addition to the aesthetically normative, optimized and productive, energetic, healthy and happy subjects.

The propaganda of inner beauty has literally become a cult of cells, hormones, tissue oxygenation, insulin and glucose. A rigid biological terminology, more prestigious than the lyrical terminology of cosmetics, but pursuing the same thing: a homogeneous aesthetic canon with very specific codes that, for natural and genetic reasons, cannot be reproduced without the use of a diverse therapeutic arsenal of molecules that require medical prescription, discipline in dosage and schedule, and also have side effects that cause a certain neurosis and excessive vigilance regarding our vital signs.

The benefits should go inward, like a procession. Changes at the cellular and metabolic level, which will presumably be noticeable in hair follicle activity, skin shine, and even snoring decibels.

“All the men around me are taking finasteride (a pack of 99 tablets costs around 60 euros) and I’m about to start,” confesses Angel L., who has just exposed his scalp through a gap in his wig. The revelation has put him on high alert and hastened the flow of traffic. WhatsApp among the closest friends. The fight against alopecia is a matter of national dignity. According to the 2024 baldness map, prepared by World Population OverviewSpain is the second country in the world with the baldest population, the first is the Czech Republic.

Finasteride, a small orange pill, was approved in 1992 to treat prostate hyperplasia (thickening), but researchers noticed an unexpected side effect in patients: They regained much of their lost hair. Five years later, in 1997, it was approved for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia.

In 2020, finasteride was the 90th best-selling drug in the United States, with more than eight million prescriptions; in the United Kingdom, prescriptions for the drug increased by 87% between 2021 and 2022, and Google data shows that searches for the drug have been steadily increasing since 2004, and for some reason peaked in March 2023. You probably know a lot of people who take it, but if they tell you about it, that’s another matter. Because just like hair transplants, the finasteride craze is happening silently. Let’s say it’s a last resort before you give in and buy a ticket to Turkey or book an appointment at Cristiano Ronaldo’s clinic.

Serums with proteins, amino acids and biotin, which are prescribed in the clinic for 200 euros and more depending on the mixture and require an hour’s presence with an IV, also promise to improve hair thickness and density. In the office of Dr. David Sampaio, a hair health expert, many men work remotely using serums with vitamin C, magnesium, zinc and biotin.

Another area that worries them is the jaw and neck. The goal to be conquered is the double chin and sagging. Masculinization is the name of the procedure to restore the angles and straight lines of the face, which costs 300 euros. “It consists of injecting fillers into the middle and lower third of the face (cheekbones, chin and jaw) to achieve a square and angular face,” explains dermatologist Juanma Revelles. “Pronounced cheekbones and jaw are features that are perceived as masculine. Over time, the retaining ligament loses strength and allows the layers of fat to fall, one layer pressing on the other. We move them to different strategic points so that the face continues to maintain its volumes,” says Dr. Sampaio.

Forums like looksmaxxxing They mark the canon with encrypted codes, where English abbreviations dominate and which serve to define a new golden section of the ideal male face: IPD is the interpupillary distance (the distance between the pupils); Canthal tilt is the angle between the eyes and meow (meowing) is a tongue exercise that tones the muscles surrounding the jaw. The end goal is to increase SMV (sexual market value).

Invisalign clear cases or any version of them are also taking up space in a man’s toiletry bag. It’s no longer about fixing imperfections, loose teeth or malocclusion. There are people who have seemingly straight teeth, but they want them to be perfect, so they put them in clear cases for 22 hours a day to achieve a smile previously created in 3D. It ranges from 4,000 to 6,000 euros. And you may have noticed that invisible orthodontics is transversal, you can see a representative of the alpha generation and boomer with transparent covers developed by a Californian company. Once the smile is aligned, there remains the question of Pantone, which we have already discussed in ICON. The aesthetic canon suggests a watery white tone, which is not in the natural range of teeth color. The smile also intervenes. The price is about 350 euros for one whitening.

If you’re well-informed, you’re familiar with metformin, a classic glucose-control drug that has emerged as a promising anti-aging therapy since a 2014 clinical trial found that patients with type 2 diabetes taking the drug had a life expectancy 38% higher than those taking other diabetes drugs and 15% higher than the general population. Since then, research has skyrocketed to determine whether metformin is a silver bullet for longevity.

“All doctors who are experts in medicine anti-aging “They take metformin,” a specialist doctor at Medina Interna, who prefers to remain anonymous but works at a major resort dedicated to regenerative medicine and longevity, told me. Some studies show that metformin activates the production of sirtuins, proteins that reduce oxidative stress in cells and promote DNA repair.

Weekly injections of Ozempic (125 to 175 euros for a monthly treatment, unless prescribed by the Social Security), Wegovy (128 for a monthly treatment) and Mounjaro (more than 270) are for those who can afford them. a great investment to shed pounds. In human clinical trials, they have been shown to reduce body weight by up to 15% in overweight people. And creatine (with a real risk of kidney failure in some cases), an open secret for those who want to build muscle and optimize their results in the gym. burpeeHe crossfit and Stoic philosophy.

There is resistance everywhere to letting nature take its course or to accepting aging according to the dictates of each family’s genetics. If my father went bald at 45, perhaps I will have better luck. “People used to want to age gracefully, now they don’t want to age at all,” says Dr. Sampaio. About hack to genes and destiny with the help of chemistry and technology.

One of the most extreme interventional projects to reverse biological age and achieve a very specific aesthetic canon is that of Robert Nielsen (60), the main investor in Altos Labs, a biotech company that is researching in the flesh how to reboot cells through epigenetic reprogramming, an experiment that has only been tested on mice in the famous 2006 experiment by Nobel laureate in medicine Shinya Yamanaka. To achieve this, Nielsen takes a dozen pills every day, including rapamycin (a known anti-cancer drug), metformin and taurine (a natural nutrient whose production declines with age). He undergoes full-body MRIs twice a year. He sees a dermatologist every three months and trains daily in an electrical stimulation suit to build muscle mass.

Brian Johnson, a biohacker and billionaire, stars in another extreme experiment. In this case, he went from being 46 to being 18. He has invested more than $2 million in the effort, which he calls Project Blueprint. This is his life: He wakes up at 5 a.m. and has his last meal at 11 a.m. During this time, he must consume 2,250 calories without adding salt or sugar. He goes to bed at 8:30 p.m. In between, he takes 111 tablets, including zinc, turmeric, and lithium. He exercises for 45 to 60 minutes seven days a week and plays tennis and basketball. He eats 70 pounds of vegetables a month, especially broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, and ginger. His daily diet includes a Green Giant shake, with which he swallows 54 supplements, including spermidine, creatine, and collagen peptides. After 4 p.m., she does not drink or drink anything to avoid disturbing her sleep, and uses a device to strengthen her pelvic floor and prevent urinary incontinence. She also drinks a vitamin cocktail and uses an infrared light helmet daily to stimulate her scalp. As he told the magazine Bloomberg uses seven face creams every day, does peeling acid weekly, injects fat into his cheekbones and never tans. Two years later, he claims his analytical and physical tests are equivalent to those of an 18-year-old man and his aging process has slowed by 28%.

With this level of aesthetic and biological intervention, in ten years it will be difficult to guess a person’s age or ethnic origin. There will only be young people of indeterminate age, a smile and 3D hair, lots of hair.

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