Botox is not likely something most of you would consider—or have considered. Despite a significant cross-over of lotions, potions, facials and other youth-enhancing strategies made especially with men in mind, this wrinkle eraser and prevention method has not made any significant inroads.
Would men change their minds if Botox was longer-lasting – eliminating the need for repeated sessions?
Revance Therapeutics Inc. is betting on it. The company has come up with a new form of botulinum toxin, similar to Botox, but with a key difference – durability – according to Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Browne.
To challenge Botox which has a monopoly over the current wrinkle-reducing market, Revance is planning to move into new therapeutic areas that Allergan, the maker of Botox, hasn’t. The company is planning to test and promote its product, called RT002, as a remedy for such ailments as plantar fasciitis, a common cause of heel pain in runners and overweight patients.
The company is also planning to go after groups hesitant about starting multiple repeat injections with Botox. These include both women and men, with a focus on the millennial demographic, pitching the product as a preventative treatment.
According to Gerald Imber, M.D., a plastic surgeon and antiaging specialist in New York, men “age differently from women. Our skin is thicker and better nourished because we have more blood flow to support facial hair. And shaving acts like an exfoliant, removing dead skin with the stubble. So men rarely get fine wrinkles and largely—we don’t care. Smile lines lend character. But we also get horizontal forehead lines that look like accordion pleats. Frowning, squinting, and generally strong expressions give rise to deep vertical glabellar lines between the eyebrows, called the ‘elevens.’ Men seem far more prone to both types of forehead lines, and they are not a good look.”
Revance’s RT002 is still in experimental stages and isn’t likely to be available at plastic surgeons’ offices before 2020. But if you are thinking of preventing or erasing those “elevens” and “accordion pleats” on your forehead, it’s something to consider down the road.
