It may have been going on forever, but the craze for smashing two words together to make a third word – a portmanteau – feels like it's a relatively new thing.
And some new words can feel a little awkward to say, while some work so well you want to say them as often as you can.
'Brotox' is one of those words that just rolls off the tongue so nicely that it can make you feel like dropping it into sentences where it doesn’t belong.
Brotox – as the name implies – refers to the suddenly-popular practice of men getting Botox treatments.
On Today with Claire Byrne, Dermatologist Rosemary Coleman told Philip Boucher Hayes that, while the "tweakment" is not nearly as common for men as it is for women, it is on the increase.
Philip then asked if, following treatment, men "end up looking like women". It sounded like an odd question, but Rosemary thought it brought up a good point.
Explaining that it is possible to make a male face more feminine through treatments, Dr. Coleman said that the "male face" must be approached "completely differently to the female face".
"We tend to – in general, now, everybody’s face is different – but tend to favour a slightly arched eyebrow, higher cheekbones, etc."
She goes on to make the point that, typically, men have low, horizontal eyebrows, so arching them can overall make things look a little exaggerated.
Botox treatment for men depends on what look the man in question is after, but, Rosemary says, men tend to be less interested in being wrinkle-free than some women.
Often, it’s a case of wanting to take a way a deep, angry-looking frown, but leave everything else as is. It’s a softening effect, really.
Crows feet lines can be softened as well, Rosemary says, but it’s not necessarily as straightforward as it might seem:
"Men’s skin will respond differently because you’re lucky, your skin is thicker than ours and therefore when men develop lines, they tend to develop deeper lines. So sometimes it actually won’t suit them to touch the crow’s feet because you might flatten that part of the face and then alter the shape with the cheekbones, so you really have to assess it very carefully."
Philip confessed that this whole 'Brotox' topic – brotopic, if you will – was "entirely new and completely alien" to him and he wondered if men were seeking treatment for themselves or were they feeling pressure to have it done.
Rosemary reports that most patients tell her that their partners were the ones to get the Botox ball rolling on their behalf. But Philip is sceptical and Rosemary agrees:
"Of course, the men want it because they’re not going to be foolish to be marched into a clinic if they don’t want it, but they usually say, 'Oh my wife says my frown is awful, you have to do something with it,’ etc.
"So, I think it’s perfectly reasonable for men to want to look their best, just like women do. Because when you look in the mirror and you see a fresher, more relaxed face, particularly with a nice, healthy, clear complexion, it does give you more self-confidence."
Despite 'Brotox' being a very agreeable-sounding word to say, it isn't the most common treatment that men look for, Rosemary says:
"They usually come in and want an improved complexion. And in Ireland that would most commonly involve reducing broken blood vessels, reducing pigment and sun damage and giving them a nice simple skincare regimen as to how to properly clean and care for their skin and keep the pores clean."
Apparently, our Celtic skin is more prone to broken blood vessels and as most men don’t wear make-up, they don't use it to cover up those offending blood vessels. That’s where the lasers come in.
"We’ve got two lasers in particular and one of them is far less painful and, needless to say, far more popular with the men, who really are the gentler sex when it comes to these sorts of treatments, it has to be said."
Less painful lasers here and a little Brotox there – all in a day’s work for men who just want to look their best. Cue the music.
You can hear Philip’s full chat with Dr. Rosemary Coleman by clicking above.
Read more: Things to consider before getting Botox
