Hello! 

Here’s a fact that might surprise you: Men spend more money on Botox than women. 

This has been the case for a while, but now the gap is getting wider. They spent $529 on average in the third quarter of 2026, the highest amount over a nearly five-year period, according to a recent report from Guidepoint Qsight, a provider of medical-aesthetics data. Women, on the other hand, spent an average of $455 per visit for neurotoxin treatments—products that temporarily reduce the appearance of fine lines, including Botox and competitors like Daxxify and Xeomin.

Men “typically need to do more units of Botox, or any neurotoxin, because they have a larger surface area, as well as stronger forehead muscles,” Erika Sheyn, senior vice president of aesthetics at Guidepoint Qsight, told me this week. The data doesn’t specify where on their bodies men got injections. Per the report, men spent about 19.6% more than women in 2022; that gap narrowed for a few years before recently growing again.

Spending on “Brotox,” as some call it, is particularly prominent in the Western U.S., the report found. Sheyn said this might be driven by the concentration of medspas in California, which often position cosmetic interventions as services rather than procedures. Men and women get treatments at the same cadence, she added, noting that the median rate is every four months. In other parts of the country, men are more likely than women to get the treatment at doctor’s offices. 

Women still make up the overwhelming majority of neurotoxin consumers. But we’re living in a time of hair transplants, peptides and body contouring, all appealing to men who want to optimize their appearance. In other words, the idea of aesthetic treatments isn’t so female-coded anymore. 

Famous men have drawn attention to Brotox. A few years ago, singer and actor Joe Jonas partnered with Merz-owned Xeomin to appeal to both men and women. Last year, Andy Cohen shared that he got Botox after some resistance. Gen X and millennials make up the largest patient populations for both genders, the study found.

Read on for top stories of the week, from the Journal and elsewhere. Send me your thoughts on this week’s newsletter and what you’d like to read about in future editions. You can contact me at sara.obrien@wsj.com. If you’re reading this in your inbox, you can just hit reply!

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This week, actress Hilary Swank announced that she’s pregnant with her third child at 52. As chief innovation officer at baby-care brand HealthyBaby, Swank and the company’s founder-CEO helped advocate for the passage of new California legislation that requires brands to provide more transparency into diaper ingredients. Signed into law last month, the bill requires California companies and manufacturers to disclose online a list of ingredients, and their purpose, by January 2029. It comes amid attention to health and environmental concerns associated with phthalates and volatile organic compounds used in diapers.

I’m Sara O’Brien, a reporter covering the intersection of culture, health and wellness. Each week, I’ll take you inside the latest health trends to help you understand where they came from, who’s profiting and whether they’re worth your money. Send me feedback or questions at sara.obrien@wsj.com (if you’re reading this in your inbox, you can just hit reply). Got a tip for us? Here’s how to submit.