feature Why do men age better? While women may be the fairer sex, men enjoy some significant cosmetic advantages when it comes to ageing. Tara Casey reports. 38 www.cosbeauty.com.au
feature Men <strong>and</strong> women age differently – <strong>and</strong> the process tends to treat men more favourably. So, apart from the obvious, how do the sexes differ? Bone size Male bones are generally longer <strong>and</strong> larger than female bones <strong>and</strong> have more obvious muscle markings. Men also have bigger skulls, with more prominent brow ridges, bigger jaws, chins, cheekbones <strong>and</strong> noses, giving men’s faces a squarish shape <strong>and</strong> stronger features than women’s. These differences in bone structure are hormonally triggered at puberty. Increased levels of testosterone trigger the growth of certain bony facial features so boys’ faces grow more than girls’. Female faces remain relatively childlike. High levels of oestrogen in growing girls prevents the growth of facial bone <strong>and</strong> results in increased thickness of lips <strong>and</strong> fat deposition in the cheek area, whereas a male face is often ‘chiselled’ in appearance. Faces with masculine features – such as a large jaw <strong>and</strong> prominent cheekbones – appear dominant, <strong>and</strong> dominance is associated with male reproductive success in many species, including humans. Using CT scans of 100 men <strong>and</strong> women, researchers at Duke University Medical Center in the US discovered that the bones in the human skull change as people age. The forehead moves forward while the cheekbones move back. As the bones move, the overlying muscle <strong>and</strong> skin moves as well, subtly changing the shape of the face. ‘The facial bones also appear to tilt forward as we get older, which causes them to lose support for the overlying soft tissues,’ says Dr Michael Richard, an oculoplastic surgeon at the Duke Eye Center. ‘This results in more sagging <strong>and</strong> drooping.’ The dramatic ageing of facial bones also happens at a significantly younger age for women than men, according to Dr David Kahn, assistant professor of plastic <strong>and</strong> reconstructive surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine in the US. Women’s facial bones begin to shrink at the onset of early middle age, while men don’t exhibit this until they are at retirement age. Musculature Males tend to be more muscular than females from birth, with girls showing a higher fat ratio even before puberty. At puberty, males begin to develop heavier bones <strong>and</strong> thicker muscles. The average adult male has about 150 percent of the lean body mass of an average female, <strong>and</strong> about 50 percent of the body fat. Because men have bigger muscles than women, this also affects the facial contours, especially in relation to the jaw <strong>and</strong> neck. It is the difference in their muscle development that makes males’ Adam’s apples protrude. Men characteristically have thicker necks than women, <strong>and</strong> often the masseter muscles at the hinges of the jaw are also more prominent. Cheek <strong>and</strong> forehead muscles can also be more pronounced. Their muscle size affects the appearance of men’s faces, providing a more sculpted look than is usually seen in women. Even the nerve impulses that control muscle movements differ between the sexes: men <strong>and</strong> women have different left- <strong>and</strong> right-brain connections that affect the face. In right-h<strong>and</strong>ed individuals, men have stronger left brain to left side uncrossed cortico-muscular projections <strong>and</strong> women stronger right to right. While men have larger muscles, women are more facially expressive, suggesting that they may use their facial muscles more. This gender difference is present from birth; girl babies smile more than boys do. www.cosbeauty.com.au 39