Surge in men seeking Botox at walk-in clinics on high street

Men have been snapping up Botox treatments offered by a high street pharmacy amid a surge in demand.

Superdrug launched a walk-in Botox and fillers service last August in its store on The Strand. Today it revealed one in five patients treating wrinkles over the past 12 months were male.

Experts said it confirmed a trend for more men seeking beauty treatments and have pointed to pressure from social media and programmes such as Love Island as a reason for wanting the treatments.

Superdrug claimed to be the first major high street name to hire nurses to provide in-house cosmetic procedures when it launched. Its standard forehead Botox treatment, with effects lasting for about four to six months, costs £99, while prices for similar treatments in Harley Street clinics start from about £300.

Superdrug said of Londoners opting for treatments in the past year, 18 per cent were men. The average age for men was 45 to 49, while for women it was 50 to 54.

It comes after the latest British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) annual report showed fewer men are opting for traditional plastic surgery, but more are choosing non-surgical procedures such as Botox.

Afshin Mosahebi, professor of plastic surgery, told the Standard: “I’m not surprised the figures are high because men are getting more concerned about their looks.”

Ashton Collins, a spokesman for Save Face, the national register for professionals who carry out Botox, said: “TV programmes like Love Island project a specific look that more and more men feel pressure to succumb to.”

Superdrug said: “The men at our clinic were reassured that the service is administered by qualified practitioners in a safe consultation.