The Changing Face of Masculinity Draft

By: Mackenzie Branstad

FAYETTEVILLE, ARK.- When Cooper Mahaffey was in middle school, he had a birthmark right above his lip. In class, Mahaffey was teased because kids said that it looked like his nose was running and the mark became an insecurity for him. At twelve years old, Mahaffey spent time researching laser treatments and eventually convinced his mom to get the birthmark removed. 

“I just want to be my best self inside-and-out,” Mahaffey, 24, said. 

Men like Mahaffey, represent one of the fastest growing demographics in aesthetic medicine. In 2024, Men underwent 1.6 million procedures, a 4% increase since 2023. Over the past decade male patients have increased by 88%, demonstrating a new interest in aesthetic treatments.

“If I can see the value in making a change to my body, there’s probably a lot more people looking for the exact same thing,” Mahaffey said. 

Photo courtesy of Cooper Mahaffey 

When Mahaffey graduated from Oklahoma City University, a wrestler, at 130 pounds he decided to make a change and began using peptides that made him gain 32 pounds in four months. 

“When I was 22 and 130 pounds, I didn’t feel like I could be a father or someone who raises strong kids. Once I made that change in my life and found out that I could take control of my environment and achieve those things, it gave me the confidence to not be worried about what others think about me,” Mahaffey said.  

In 2026, 66% of young men felt social pressure to act more or less masculine. For some, the choice to change their appearance is based on personal insecurity, like a birthmark. Now in a more digital age expectations to look a certain way are amplified by social media. 

In the United States, Instagram has more than 46 million male active monthly users. Traditional media like fashion magazines have mainly been targeted towards women and girls. Little research has addressed the effect of idealized Instagram exposure for men and how it affects their mental health.

For men whose work involves being on camera through digital meetings or content creation on social media their appearance is a noticeable part of their daily life. Shayne McKinney, 44, a Northwest Arkansas influencer with over 500,000 followers on TikTok, openly posts videos online about his recent hair transplant. 

In December 2025, McKinney decided to get his hair transplant but for a few years, he noticed hair loss became more prevalent on his head which made him feel insecure. Since McKinney is a content creator, his long black hair is a part of his brand. He wanted to avoid losing his hair and refused to shave his head because of his work. 

“As a content creator, I always had to make sure camera angles were pointed at the front of my face and I wouldn’t film anything with my back to the camera,” McKinney said. 

McKinney wants to use his platform transparently in order to encourage his viewers to take control of their own insecurities by sharing his hair transplant journey online. 

Photo from McKinney

“The procedure was safe and easy to do, when I saw there was a problem I thought why not?” McKinney said. 

As men like McKinney grow more open about sharing appearance enhancers online, trends like looksmaxxing are becoming more popular demonstrating a new version of masculinity. In 2026, looksmaxxing became an internet sensation where men try to make themselves look more attractive on social media. Looksmaxxing includes sharp jawlines and trenchant bone structures as well as really muscular body types. The overall theme of looksmaxxing is for someone to  become the most attractive version of themselves. 

“I think the overarching habits that looksmaxxing teaches is great, like being able to have self-care but not the unhealthy additions of it,” Mahaffey said. 

As availability and awareness of aesthetic treatments becomes more popular professionals like Irma Perez are noticing new numbers of treatments. Perez, has her masters degree and is trained to administer botox and other aesthetic treatments like dermal fillers at Inspire Wellness in Rogers Arkansas. She believes that more people are willing to get treatments because of the awareness. 

“I think that there is more awareness because of social media and it is not such a quiet thing anymore,” Perez said. 

In 2021, some of the most popular aesthetic treatments among men were muscle enhancements and contouring, hair transplants, chin augmentations, injectables like botox and fillers as well as liposuction and tummy tucks. 

Even with social media trends around men in aesthetics there is still a stigma for men who get surgical and non-surgical procedures done. There is even a stigma around women even though they make up 94% of botox patients. Many non-surgical treatments for men are pretty inconspicuous and don’t majorly change the person’s apperance. 

Now Mahaffey lays back in the chair at the med-spa, awaiting his facial. A regular treatment for Mahaffey as he now works in Aesthetics as the youngest representative at the company he works at. 

Photo courtesy of Cooper Mahaffey

Watching the aesthetic treatments greatly impact his own life and confidence has changed how Mahaffey feels about the treatments. He now believes they are self-care and spends his day learning about aesthetic treatments in order to make his clients feel more confident in themselves. 

“I think it’s your attitude and who you are as a person that matters. Who wants to read a beautiful book with ugly words?” Mahaffey said.