Article Zhang Mengyi
Editor Yang Jie
Lin Chu, a white-collar worker from Wuhan who is "90 years old", has been doing medical beauty for four years. In the past few years, he has tried many programs, including anti-aging, oil control and scar removal, and has spent more than 500,000 yuan on medical beauty. In order to treat the acne marks on his face, which have been bothering him for years, he has traveled to Nanjing, Changsha and Wuhan. In seven or eight 500 people in the medical beauty skin care group, Lin Chu is recognized in the group "medical beauty god", small sisters in the project before, often to consult the "teacher Lin".
"Now come to us here in the clinic of the boys, more than a year. Some are influenced by the circle of friends, some are accompanied by their girlfriends to come, the result is that the two together to do the hydration program." Li Ke, a salesperson at a medical beauty organization in Beijing, told AI Finance that among men willing to do medical beauty, not only include net stars and celebrities, but also more ordinary people, and that gold micro-needling, cleansing and replenishment, as well as Thermage, which has been a big hit in recent years, have all become their favored projects.
Men also love "face"
The day has warmed up. Before going out, Lin Chu carefully smeared a layer of sunscreen on the exposed skin, even earlobes are not spared. He said it was to prevent skin aging and damage from the sun. His skincare products, too, are not ordinary cosmetics, but all medicinal cosmetics.
Lin Chu is an ordinary boy, but since high school, his face has been repeatedly acne, and every time the red pimples subside, they become depressed acne marks. In the long run, the face will inevitably look pitted, "like the surface of the moon." Four years ago, one day, the endurance to the limit of Lin Chu, decided to go to the hospital to "cure" this problem.
He heard of a rare acne treatment "nuclear weapons" - Ella photodynamic IPL combined bipolar radio frequency. Do once more than 8,000 yuan, 1ml of potion priced at about 863 yuan, Lin Chuyi *** do three times. In accordance with the doctor's requirements, he each time after the operation, the affected area should not see the sunlight and light for 7 days.
After the surgery, he has been in Xiangya Hospital, Hunan Provincial People's, Shanghai Huashan, Wuhan First Hospital, Tongji, Union Hospital and other well-known hospitals after the face-to-face diagnosis, Lin Chu finally chose the Nanjing Institute of Skin Research, which is known for its surgical, grinding combined fractional laser treatment. "This program is quite painful, equivalent to burning a piece of flesh off your face and hitting that piece of flesh with a laser. When you do it, even after applying anesthetic you will still have tears in your eyes." But for the sake of "face", Lin Chu gritted his teeth and carried on.
In this way, Lin Zhu completely stepped into the door of medical beauty.
Lin said, after two or three years of medical beauty treatment, he tasted the effect, the face of the acne problem is basically solved, and even the original skin oil, redness is also reduced. Lin Chu happily demonstrated that years of photorejuvenation habits, so that his skin's degree of elasticity, fineness, luster overall have improved. As a 90-year-old, he has also reached the age of close to 30, but indeed, it looks like Lin Chu's face and the corners of his eyes do not yet have a single wrinkle.
The medical beauty programs that Lin Chu has done for himself have long since increased a lot. He told AI Financial News, including playing water light injection, botulinum toxin, as well as fruit acid peeling and photorejuvenation, he has tried each, and on schedule still adhere to. Thermage was only done the previous year, and the Eurostar fotona4D (laser radiofrequency-based aesthetic program) is already on his schedule.
There is a beauty blogger once said, medical beauty field photorejuvenation, water light needle this kind of entry-level projects, a price of about 1000 yuan, a year may need to do at least 3-5 times. Thermage such as the hot program now, a time to 30,000 to 40,000 yuan to start.
"I've spent about $500,000-600,000 on my face over the years, I think." Lin Chu said, "Frankly speaking, every month, I spend more than $4,000 on medical beauty."
Lin Chu's life has changed as a result. In addition to his appearance, he said, one noticeable change is that his relationships with the women in his neighborhood have also changed, "more intimate." Those around him often seek his advice on which treatment options are the most cost-effective and therapeutic, how to intersperse treatments, post-operative recuperation and care issues, and so on.
In Wuhan's medical beauty circle, female netizens affectionately call Lin Chu "Mr. Lin", and everyone will consult him online or offline before going to do the medical beauty program. The first time I saw this, I was able to see the woman's face, and I was able to see her face, and I was able to see her face, and I was able to see her face.
With the domestic consumption level increasing day by day, the group of young men who pay attention to their external image, like Lin Chu, is also getting bigger and bigger. According to the data of the New Oxygen Data Research Institute, since 2020, the proportion of male medical beauty consumers in the medical beauty consumer population is 10.97%, compared with the proportion of 9.98% in 2019, showing an upward trend. And in 2019 alone, the number of male consumers on the New Oxygen platform increased by 52.3%. Data from Tmall Consumer Insights also shows that in 2020, twice as many men will buy medical beauty-related products as in 2019.
Most of the men who go for medical beauty are very young. Ai Rui Consulting's "China's new white-collar consumer behavior research report" shows that the proportion of male medical beauty crowd aged 19-22 is 22.4%, and the proportion of women in the same age group is only 12.9%. The "post 00" males are becoming the main force of medical beauty. The men who have shared their experiences with AI Financial News are all under 30 years old.
Chen Guo is also a post-90s programmer. But compared to the programmers of the 70s and 80s who only wear plaid shirts and worry about "baldness", Chen Guo is clearly a "man of honor". After he cleans his face every day, he will do hydrating skin care; will also occasionally apply a mask. In order to look so that the whole person more "spirit", Chen Guo tattooed eyebrows, life is often praised him "good-looking".
But Chen Guo's heart has always been a difficult to pass - he is a single eyelid. His sister has a pair of beautiful big eyes, double eyelids, compared with his sister, he felt that single eyelids is his own features in the flaws. At the same time, he also feels that his "bite is too pronounced".
In 2020, Chen Guo decided to take his medical experience a step further. He went to a well-known cosmetic surgery hospital in Beijing to have Korean-style three-point double eyelid surgery. "I thought before I did it that I wanted it to be as natural as possible. The doctor who did it for me also said that when girls do it, most of them want others not to be able to see that they're doing it; the boys have a somewhat different psychology and are 'afraid' that others will see it."
At the same time, Chen Guo also played a thin face injection. "The doctor touched my jaw and said I was suitable for a face-slimming injection, this procedure is particularly simple, just like going for a vaccination, so I did it."
The price of doing Korean-style double eyelids is 9,000 yuan, and the face-thinning injection costs 6,000 yuan. This is not a big financial burden for Chen Guo's income. "Before I went, I was especially worried about the comments of friends and relatives, so I did not tell my family. After it was done, my family and coworkers were surprised, especially my mom, who said I already looked beautiful, so why would I want to do this. But in the end, she was defeated by the 'visual' and thought the result was great." Chen Guo said, "Now my face still has a bit of a skeletal shape, but it's about 30% better than before. Overall, I think it's very cost-effective to have double eyelids, and I would consider having the face slimming injection again."
Chen Guo is very happy. He said that before he had to pick the angle of the photo, but now he "no matter which angle, all look very smooth". What makes him happiest is the social fulfillment that comes from reaping the appreciation of those around him. "I still have some needs for wrinkle removal and acne marks, and I will consider solving them through medical aesthetics in the future."
Chen Guo already has a girlfriend. But he did not forget to often warn his girlfriend, the roadside beauty salons, skin care institutions "are collecting IQ tax, have the money as well as to go to a qualified medical institutions injection.
"New Oxygen 2019 medical beauty industry white paper" shows that 60, 70 after more enthusiastic about hair transplant, wrinkle, 90 after favoring double eyelid, eye opening, nasal integrated plastic surgery, 00 after a step further, able to accept the bone contouring plastic surgery. The lower the age of men, the more daring to try "major surgery".
Face value economy, "male color" era
Young men are flocking to the medical aesthetic market, which is a focus on the "face value" economy.
As economic levels and incomes rise, more and more people are eager to satisfy their aesthetic needs and invest in self-improvement after meeting their basic material needs.
"Face value" era. No man is willing to be linked to the opposite sex of the mouth "greasy", "rustic" such adjectives. When Li Jiaqi's popularity, once caused a wave of "male color" discussion, many people realize that the original male can also "lipstick", beauty, and is welcomed by the public.
A portion of consumers told AI Financial News that movie and TV dramas and idol variety shows have also played a role in pushing the envelope. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of talent shows and male idols, ranging from "salt wind" and "asceticism" to "little wolf dog", and women's aesthetics of men have become more and more varied, which has given rise to the desire of the majority of men to follow the popular aesthetic. The first time I've seen this, I've seen a lot of people who are not interested in it.
With love idol dramas and costume idol dramas becoming the mainstream of movie and TV dramas, as well as the popularity of delayed dramas that focus on men's "revolutionary friendships", men are also facing the status quo of being "gazed at" and chosen by women. For young men with a strong need for social interaction, the social climate and public opinion have also influenced their sense of aesthetics.
Most medical beauty organizations have felt this wave of male medical beauty. Staff at a number of medical institutions have told AI Financial News that the number of men coming to the hospital has been increasing almost every year, and this year there are more than in previous years.
Liu Di, founder and CEO of More Beauty APP, said in 2017 that "the entire male medical beauty market has a large profit margin in the future, and More Beauty APP is waiting for the male market to explode." He further pointed out that the number of Chinese men doing hair loss and wrinkles is rapidly increasing, and these new male users are mostly people with good career development and a certain status, so they are mostly high net worth users, and the customer unit price is very high.
Men are not only joining the ranks of medical beauty consumers, but some have already advanced to become opinion leaders in the field of medical beauty. It's no longer just about the girls, but more and more men are showing up.
In fact, men who don't shy away from plastic surgery and beauty-related topics tend to be more likely to quickly create an "out of circle" effect. Men are usually associated with rational consumption in many people's perceptions, and it's easier to build trust.
Lin Chu quickly became the local medical beauty circle "god". He said that his plastic knowledge learning channels include China Knowledge, Wanfang Data, Baidu Academic, the American Surgical Dermatological Association and other information databases, as well as professional medical beauty conference, and public hospital doctors exchange. He himself is not from microblogging, shaking sound and other social media to get information, because he believes that the knowledge on it is not thick and objective enough. He always tries to be as rigorous as possible in communicating treatment options to any women in his medical group who bring up skin-based concerns.
The reason for the popularity of microblogging beauty blogger Paste Ben Ben is similar. He often quotes from papers on various skin issues, detailing the ingredients in skincare products and how they work together. This often makes people feel more rational. Now he has 1.45 million followers on his microblogging account, and is one of the most sought-after "skin care experts" on the social media platform.
"Our hospital also works with some KOLs to organize regular live medical beauty broadcasts. Their way of speaking is humorous and their fans are loyal, and the diversion effect is very good." Li Ke said that the head of the limited number of male KOLs of beauty and skincare, everyone is competing for cooperation, "too small organizations they can not see."
Medical beauty skincare male bloggers are usually more lively and straightforward, and are outspoken about their hobbies, interests, and even private lives. The blogger "Bingo", who has 2.85 million fans, has generously shared his feelings about his relationship with his fans, his feelings about losing his love, and the history of his cosmetic surgery. The blogger "Paste Ben" has also told his story in microblogging - because of the low value of the low self-esteem, after the adult through the beauty and skin care means to adjust the regain confidence.
"Boys talk about skincare, medical beauty, itself is very contrasting and sense of fun. They live according to their own ideas and don't care what the outside world thinks, and I want to be like that." A college student, Liu Yang, told AI Finance, "I think boys who know about medical beauty and skincare are more open and tolerant, they have the **** same topic as girls, both sides can communicate pleasantly and without prejudice, and won't stick to the old concepts, and we all love and pursue beauty, which is also a kind of performance of gender equality."
Men's medical beauty is still in its infancy
The development of China's medical beauty market started late, but is growing extremely fast. The China Medical Aesthetics Market Trend Insight Report shows that the size of China's medical aesthetics market was still only 64.8 billion yuan in 2015, but by 2019, it had risen to 176.9 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 28.7%, exceeding the global figure of 8.42%; it is expected that the compound annual growth rate of China's medical aesthetics market in 2020-2023 will drop to 15.2%, but it is still higher than the global 7% of the projected growth rate.
However, there is still limited emphasis on male consumers in medical aesthetics organizations, and AI Financial News found that most of the private medical aesthetics organizations and public hospitals do not yet have specific marketing campaigns for male consumers or doctors who specialize in men's programs.
In the majority of male medical beauty group, the face of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even dare to "knife" men are still a minority. The majority of men do medical beauty less often, a single project, mainly functional needs-oriented, still medical beauty as a passive means of solving the problem, rather than the means of long-term maintenance.
Lin Chu said that the male medical beauty crowd and female starting point is different. "Boys generally speaking to improve the treatment of maintenance, such as the treatment of acne pits and acne, generally their starting point is the treatment, is to treat the skin as a one by one problem to treat, rather than to maintain, to do facial rejuvenation and skin management. Since I have been doing medical beauty for four years, I have been to large and small hospitals, and it is true that men are rare, treating acne mostly, but also hair removal and wrinkles, but that is still a very small minority."
And AI Finance contacted the male consumers, there are also people because of the price is expensive, treatment pain and other reasons to give up halfway; some people in the face of the problem is solved, will no longer try other projects, repurchase rate and retention rate is low.
The excavation of the male medical beauty market is also still in the early stages. Data show that the penetration rate of China's medical aesthetic market is 2%, which is still far lower than the data of 10% in South Korea and the United States; at the same time, China's male medical aesthetic consumption accounted for only 10.97%, while South Korea's male plastic surgery proportion is 40%, and the United States male plastic surgery accounted for about 50%.
A person engaged in the medical beauty industry pointed out that the industry's current focus should be on male beauty education, to reverse the "utilitarian" concept of medical beauty. "Some men have realized the importance of facial beauty, and continue to try a variety of medical beauty program, the most important work at this stage is to strengthen the education of consumers, so that they learn systematic knowledge of beauty, skin care process."
The source believes that medical beauty institutions and doctors need to make men realize that medical beauty is a way of self-improvement, rather than simply treating skin problems, and try to activate new consumers with low frequency as much as possible. "The market can focus on publicizing and packaging some of the projects for men's consumption pain points, so that they can easily choose the right products for themselves quickly in a wide range of projects, and reduce the consumption threshold of medical beauty."
(At the request of the interviewees, Li Ke, Chen Guo, Lin Chu, Liu Yang are all pseudonyms)