Tunisia – Men are increasingly opting for cosmetic surgery in Tunisia

Cosmetic surgery and beauty care are no longer exclusive to women in Tunisia, as a large number of men nowadays resort to cosmetic surgery to fix flaws in their physical appearance. There has been a large influx of men to cosmetic clinics in recent years, opting for procedures such as liposuction, face or skin enhancement and hair transplant.

Cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Hajar Lajanf, told A24 the turnout of men to her clinic was only 10%, and they kept it secret, but now the percentage is more than 35% of various age groups. She said men are now more open to talk about and have cosmetic surgery.

Dr. Lajanf added that men choose cosmetic surgery and beauty care due to personal as well as professional reasons, which is the case for fashion models, who believe good-looks can guarantee their professional future.

Shotlist:

Soundbite (Osama Baltifah – Fashion model):
“In the past, only women did cosmetic surgery, and even if men did it, they did it in secret with simple procedures that were unnoticeable. Nowadays though, social network sites have filters that let people notice any issues they might have with there looks through the camera and in videos. I believe times have changed, and it is acceptable for men to fix what they don’t like about their appearance.”

Shots of the session with the doctor

Soundbite (Dr. Hajar Lajanf – Cosmetic surgeon):
“When the business of cosmetic surgery first started in Tunisia, men rarely went to clinics to treat hair loss, or have hair transplant, and those who did kept it secret. The percentage of men doing cosmetic surgery was only about 10%, but now it has increased to 35%. I believe that a man should take care of his appearance, but taking that step towards cosmetic surgery is difficult for most. Some men believe they are too old, to have a surgery to restore their hair or reduce wrinkles on their face.”

Soundbite (Dr. Hajar Lajanf – Cosmetic surgeon):
“Some come to us for cosmetic surgery for their profession, maybe they work in sales, and need to be good-looking to convince people to buy their products such as in fields of fashion and cosmetics.
For example, a surgery to fix a defect in the shape of the nose, if it is big or crooked, gives the person more confidence. Nowadays, there is a new phenomenon, which represents a very strong factor, which is photos, when a person takes a photo, they want to see themselves beautiful, which gives them incentive to improve their skin, hair or facial features. Cosmetic surgery is no longer exclusive to women, the concept is now part of Tunisian culture.”

Soundbite (Osama Baltifah – Fashion model):
“I a fashion model, I need to take care of my appearance and fix any flaws. I exercise and watch what food I eat and keep track of my weight. I need to take care of the quality of my skin and hair. It’s very important to look your best, every top modal in the world are always in the best shape.”

Soundbite (Dr. Hajar Lajanf – Cosmetic surgeon):
“There is this picture of a Turkish man with small beard and is a representation of a masculine face, so there are many people who do cosmetic surgery to change the shape of their face by defining the jawline and hiding excess fat under the chin, so that the face looks more defined.”