Jorge Luis: Hello everybody. My name is ]orge Luis, Beauty editor for Lapalme Magazine and here we are in for Jorge Luis interviews. This time with Dr. John Mesa, how are you, Doctor?
Dr. John Mesa: I’m doing very well. What about you?
Jorge Luis: We’re surviving this pandemic, but we’re getting there. Yes. So I thought we would do a little interview about what men should do, should not do about injectables because we’re in a generation where men now, they are not afraid to do a little changes here and there. So can you please tell us, doctor, what is your experience? Do you think your percentage of patient men is rising?
Dr. John Mesa: Oh yes, definitely. The men in all the ages are raising and I think it is because of social media, because, nowadays everybody has to be on Instagram and Facebook and it’s mainly pictures. So people start seeing their little kind of things that they don’t like, little defects, little wrinkles here and there, and they are becoming more conscious for things that they weren’t there, but now are visible to the public and they want to improve them to feel themselves better. And also to have a better relationship with their partners.
Jorge Luis: I know it’s a social media pressure.
Dr. John Mesa: Yes, for example, now, with the pandemic, now there is a boom of true liposuction because when you’re on your laptop, the cameras shooting angle is down here and it’s shooting from below to high and then you can see the double chin.
Jorge Luis: Yes, I always tell people the higher the better, like I put a stack of books for the laptop whenever I do interviews also.
Jorge Luis: So Doctor, is there an age that you would say, men start doing injectables or little Botox here and there, or there’s no rule?
Dr. John Mesa: I mean, I would say that you start aging in the thirties. So the twenties is the golden age when you look really good, nothing happens, there is not a single wrinkle, but once you’ve turned into 30 is when things are going down. So from my perspective, I tell the patients, if you want to age slower and not to show the signs of aging, you should start doing a little Botox in the mid-twenties, like 25, 26 because that prevents the wrinkle of the face that is going to look better and then start in the thirties then you need to start doing maintenance. Why? Because the skin starts sagging, the cheekbones is started going kind of smaller. And that’s when you start seeing the signs of aging and different to women, men, you cannot be a certain age and then suddenly look younger because of the taboo that we have in society. So it’s better to kind of slowly maintaining yourself. So you don’t have to have [inaudible] because women it’s totally different and it’s more common to do cosmetic procedures, but in men, there is still a little bit of taboo, even though things have gotten better.
Jorge Luis: I know that things are getting open and it’s like you said, I was thinking that perhaps 20 years ago, 15 years ago, I used to see men and women and all of a sudden they got facelifts. And now I see like, this guy, or this lady look rested and I like that look.
Dr. John Mesa: Yes, exactly. You’re seeing it with the celebrities, you see celebrities that are in the twenties and thirties and are essentially the same, fifties, seventies, for example, J-Lo. J-Lo is a perfect example.
Jorge Luis: She’s ageless. She looks the same.
Dr. John Mesa: But I have to say that that is not because of her genetics.
Jorge Luis: Yes, we know that. But that’s good work. Because you see them rested and you see them beautiful and you see them as themselves because you see some people that I cannot even recognize.
Dr. John Mesa: Yes, exactly. I mean, and especially in men because plastic surgeons don’t work too much on men, they don’t have the same experience as we do for women. And then they end up doing a bad job. For example, I have seen a lot of celebrities that were famous in the nineties that they look like a woman and they are men. And I don’t want to say who they are, but it’s horrible. So, people, men should look like men with plastic surgery.
Jorge Luis: So let’s go to the focus of this interview. What do men should do and what should not do.
Dr. John Mesa: I mean, what they should do is to do treatments that are going to improve their appearance and to maintain that masculinity. And what they shouldn’t do is, first of all, go to the cheapest practitioner. Why? Because usually people that offer the cheapest and lowest discount are people that have less experience or they don’t have the proper training. And of course, in order to grab an audience or clientele, they sell things very cheaply and then you end up having those problems. So the men have to look for, if you are planning to go to a plastic surgeon that is ideally board-certified, that is also an expert in cosmetic surgery because in plastic surgery we have reconstructive and cosmetic and we think cosmetic surgery makes sure that they specialize on the face. Because the fact that I can do a lot of liposuction doesn’t mean that I am good in doing faces. So basically, if a man was planning to do any kind of improvement of his face, should do their homework, do the research and read reviews, see the before and after, and consult with a couple of surgeons to determine which one is the best fit for him.
Jorge Luis: I know because I see so many cases in the news. Sometimes I get horrified because so-so has got a beauty salon in the back room, they get this work done. I’m like why?
Dr. John Mesa: Yes, exactly. I mean, it’s very common. I have some medical practitioner colleagues or people that hear about me, like, internists, cardiologists, or something that they decide to do cosmetic surgery. And they say, well, can you teach me how to do injectables? And I’m like it took me 16 years…
Jorge Luis: To teach them to do injectables, they ask you that?
Dr. John Mesa: I mean, yes. They have been asking me because in other countries or in other places, they do like a weekend course and then you kind of learn the basics, but there is a lot involved. So you need to be able to inject, you need to be able to know how to do a good job and also how to address the complications. Because usually, they don’t teach you how to do that.
Jorge Luis: Can you tell us, Doctor, what are the newest services out there? Because I see now lately, like every year there is something new.
Dr. John Mesa: Yes, so right now, what is in fashion is a radio frequency skin tightening because it’s a way to rejuvenate the face and the neck without the need for major surgery. Because you know the gold standard is the surgery for a facelift or neck lift. But for example, if men in their late thirties or forties, they are not ready for that. They don’t want to have the scars. So with these procedures, through the little teeny, tiny incisions, in my case, I do it behind the ear and the chin, to kind of tighten the skin and it gives you like a facelift and neck lift appearance without having the downtime and incisions of regular surgery. And these can be done as an outpatient and I usually do it under the local anesthesia, completely awake.
Jorge Luis: We’ve come a long way if you can remember. Those big scars we had behind the ears, you know, I do hair, so I’m like, I know where you’ve been this summer. So doctor, so you are based in New York and Miami and Jersey.
Dr. John Mesa: Yes. I have three offices.
Jorge Luis: Wow. You’re really busy.
Dr. John Mesa: A little bit. My two main offices are Manhattan here and in New Jersey and then I go once a month to Miami.
Jorge Luis: So we’re going to leave his contacts for all three offices. He’s highly recommended, he does a lot of my friends, I’m not going to say who, and thank you so much Doctor for having us.
Dr. John Mesa: No, thank you so much for coming to visit me here in New York.
Jorge Luis: So, come and see Dr. John Mesa in New York, Miami, or New Jersey.
Dr. John Mesa: Thank you.
John Mesa, M.D.
Harvard Trained & Triple Fellowship trained
Board Certified Cosmetic Plastic Surgeon
New York City Office: 903 Park Ave New York City, NY 10022
New Jersey Office: 200 South Orange Ave. Suite 255. Livingston, NJ 07039
Miami Office: 18300 NW 62nd Ave. Suite 120. Miami, FL 33015
For more than 30 years, Jorge Luis has honed his artistry, innovating his exclusive color technique called "color melt" where the color goes from dark to light seamlessly. Jorge has worked at some of hte most high profile salons in New York City and currently serves as the Senior Colorist and Stylist at the famed Sally Hershberger Salon in New York City.
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