90% of men under 50 worried about cost-of-living stress ruining their looks

A new survey has revealed that nine out of 10 men are worried about the effect cost-of-living stress is having on their appearance. Perhaps surprisingly, the age most affected is men between 18 to 24 years old, with a staggering 40% worrying ‘a lot’ about it. 

The research, conducted by independent survey company OnePoll on behalf of SafeAP, a downloadable app founded by two NHS doctors to help people find qualified cosmetic practitioners, surveyed 1,000 UK males aged 18-50, breaking the results down by age and region. 

30% of men worried ‘a lot’ about the impact, with 41% of those surveyed at least ‘somewhat’ concerned; only 10% were ‘not at all’ worried. The top five concerns were weight/fitness (40%), skin quality (25%), and teeth appearance (23%), with eyebags (19%) and hair loss (19%) tied for fourth place – other areas included muscle tone and wrinkles. Even among the least worried age group (46-50), nearly one in five (19%) had substantial concerns. 

A previous study by SafeAP showed that while more than half of women cite fear of complications as a factor preventing them from seeking procedures such as wrinkle-relaxing or filler injections and non-surgical liposuction, only just over a third of men (36%) claim having this concern. Only 27% feel put off by horror stories they might see in the media. This has prompted the team behind SafeAP to warn that men could be particularly vulnerable to predatory marketing tactics – especially as the same research showed that more than twice the number of men (21%) than women (9%) admit to having already had a negative experience with a cosmetic procedure.