Looksmaxxing: the TikTok cosmetic trend reshaping faces

"Looksmaxxing" – young men taking sometimes drastic measures to "maximise their looks" and appear more attractive – has gone from niche subculture to mainstream social media phenomenon.

The term used by the "booming digital community" originated in the "manosphere" and online message boards of involuntary celibates (incels) in 2014, said The New York Times. The suffix comes from role-playing games: to "max" means to "fully develop a single character trait, like strength".  

But the practice has recently "exploded" into mainstream social media, said The Guardian – on TikTok, in particular. "Looksmaxxing influencers have gained huge followings, while algorithms promote videos watched by millions." The phenomenon has "prompted bewilderment among parents and teachers and concern that young people are finding yet more reasons to feel bad about themselves". 

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Softmaxxing, hardmaxxing and bone-smashing

Looksmaxxing "begins with 'softmaxxing'", said Jamilla Rosdahl, senior lecturer at the Australian College of Applied Psychology. This includes "basic hygiene" like hair removal, teeth brushing, skincare, fashion and exercise routines, she wrote on The Conversation.

These are "not cutting-edge suggestions", said The New York Times – "at least not for anyone who has ever consulted a women's magazine".

But one trend is more unusual: "mewing", or tongue exercises that supposedly tone facial muscles and define the jawline. Mewing is based on the discredited theories of two British orthodontists, John Mew and his son Mike, who claimed that tongue exercises could change facial aesthetics. "Promoted by looksmaxxers as a face hack, mewing has gone mainstream," said The Guardian. It is the subject of the Netflix documentary "Open Wide".

Other practices include "electric facials" to help men achieve a so-called "snatched jaw", and facial-fitness chewing gum. On TikTok, proponents "often tout the hard-to-chew gum as an alternative to more extreme measures like jawline surgery", said The Cut. 

Many looksmaxxers also believe "hunter eyes" – angled downwards towards the nose – create a "dominating stare women can't possibly resist", said Rosdahl. This is where "softmaxxing" progresses to "hardmaxxing": improving your appearance "by any means necessary". That might include plastic surgery, steroids, "starvemaxxing" (extreme diets), penis-stretching pumps, and "bone-smashing" – breaking facial bones so that they heal to look more defined or "masculine").

Bone-smashing began trending last autumn, prompting doctors to stress that it is "both wildly unsafe and obviously ineffective", said Rolling Stone. The idea is based on the false belief that when bones heal, they get stronger: a misunderstanding of Wolff's law, named for a 19th-century German surgeon who noted that bones adapt to stress. Dating back to "at least 2018" in the "toxic subculture" of incels, bone-smashing appears to have started as "a trollish suggestion": somewhere between "a taunt and a dare". After all, some incels "openly encourage suicide among their ranks". The latest wave of videos probably comes from "a mix of trolls and true believers". 

There has been "much hand-wringing in the media" about bone-smashing, said The Guardian, but "little evidence that anyone is actually doing it". But what is happening, according to cosmetic surgeons, is a rise in inquiries from young men about facial surgeries like chin implants.

The manosphere and Patrick Bateman

Looksmaxxing content is reaching a "widening demographic of teenage boys algorithmically predisposed to the 'manosphere' subculture", said the BBC. This online network is "propagandising masculinity and misogyny".

One of the most well-known names in TikTok looksmaxxing is Kareem Shami, a 22-year-old Syrian student in California with more than 1.5 million followers. His username "syrianpsycho" references the novel "American Psycho", and his profile picture is of incel pin-up Patrick Bateman (the serial killer played by Christian Bale in the film adaptation).

"Looksmaxxing may appear harmless," said Rosdahl. But "at its core" it has ties to violence and suicide. Looksmaxxing videos "pull young boys and men into a dark subculture of incels", where "within minutes" they may be "bombarded with videos that promote suicide and gendered hate speech".

Looksmaxxing forums are awash with "brutal judgment" and offer users a "compelling new outlet" for insecurities, said The Guardian. Men post photos of themselves asking for feedback, and those who receive a low rating on their perceived "sexual market value" are harassed and "told to take their own lives", Rosdahl wrote.

Young people are growing up in "an increasingly precarious world", she said. "This is juxtaposed with neoliberal hyper-individualism, hypersexuality and consumer capitalism".

"Where young people feel like they can't control their environment, they may turn to trends such as looksmaxxing as something they can control."

"As a young person in Syria, I lost control," Shami told the BBC. "I live my life with the idea that I strive towards stability."