When Mohammad Khatami announced his candidacy for president the first time, rumors of the significance looks and clothing had to him, and the supposed time he spent in front of the mirror, were widely spread and harshly criticized by some of his opponents. These were points evidently proven right by Khatami's obvious attention to personal style, while the rumors were not denied by Khatami himself, either. In those days, however, there was no talk of Botox.

Khatami's obvious attention to personal style notwithstanding, he never bothered to deny the rumors. In those days, however, there was no talk of Botox injections. During Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, however, people were talking about obvious Botox injections in the absence of more substantive criticism. 

Although most Iranian men traditionally spend much time on — and greatly care about — what others think of their looks, the administration has over the years cast a shadow over that kind of care and attention, defining it as emasculating and Western-influenced, and punishing men who dress elegantly at work unless they are physicians or lawyers. Introducing cosmetic rejuvenation procedures to men produced a shock, rather than a backlash, particularly since nothing could be done by the administration to prevent men from undergoing such procedures, which have become increasingly popular. Iran’s Ministry of Health has announced that over the past year there has been a 20% increase in rejuvenation procedures received by Iranian men.

“Honestly, I don’t sense a difference between the desire to be youthful in men and women. If women like to stay and look young, so do men. This is the stuff we’ve been brainwashed about since childhood: that a man’s masculine and mature characteristic dictates his roughness. That he shouldn’t want to look young or spend a lot of time in front of the mirror,” Amir told Al-Monitor in a phone interview.