The “looksmaxxing” community is the newest, most controversial trend to hit our TikTok algorithm. The community, composed of predominantly teenage boys, tries to improve their physical appearance through methods that are impractical at best and nonsensical at worst. Influencers target a demographic insecure with their changing bodies — promising a “glow up” that dismisses the natural aging process. The objective is to “ascend” to a higher tier of looks, guided by the hope that improving one’s face could enhance a future “predetermined by genetics.”
But why did this trend become so popular? Originating in online forums, looksmaxxing became popular on mainstream social media apps like Tiktok and Reddit. These platforms guaranteed fame to attractive individuals, leading to popular videos of beauty influencers showcasing an ideal life and pushing their routines onto a young audience. Simultaneously, viral “glow up” videos and “mogging” clips led people to equate attractiveness to superiority. Universal standards of beauty spread online via videos of beauty charts and ideal proportions, and the closer one got to this convention, the quicker they became successful.
Participants’ looksmaxxing routines frequently initiate with “softmaxxing,” which include healthy habits such as daily exercise and skincare. However, the trend infamously encourages a relentless pursuit toward an ideal face, leading individuals into “hardmaxxing” — a set of practices to address genetic constraints by surgery or dangerous activities. Popular practices in this extreme include “bonesmashing,” performed by the streamer Clavicular, where he hits his jawbone with a hammer to achieve hollow cheekbones. Though discouraged from a medical standpoint, idolization for hardmaxxing persists among a wide audience.
A large portion of the looksmaxxing community follows the guidance of popular internet figures, like Kareem Shami and Clavicular, who have posted several viral videos of their transformations. Monetizing their enhanced appearance, such influencers sell supplements and personal consultation sessions to their followers. Their videos encourage one to comply by, or better yet purchase, guides with straightforward exercises and quick-fix vitamins. In addition, these figures adopt a misogynistic online personality. For example, Clavicular’s live streams on Kick are frequently set in a club, where women act as props to add to his “alpha” persona. In an interview with Adam Friedland, he stated women are “outrageously hypergamous” and have an “exponentially easier time living life.” His widespread fame, evident by the million followers on TikTok, suggests the impact of these ideas.
Another major problem arises with the principles of looksmaxxing, which propagate toxic masculinity. General advice often dismisses feminine men, associating “female features” with inferiority. Instead, a man is encouraged to chase “dominance,” reflective of traditional male roles that reject self-expression. This performative masculinity distances men in relationships and prioritizes a hierarchy instead of genuine connection with their partners.
Although looksmaxxing follows the existent lookism in society, recent pushback rejuvenates rejection against this bias. Modern movements toward acceptance and diversity minimize the effects of beauty influencers, while medical organizations such as Johns Hopkins Medicine and the National Institutes of Health warn about the negative side effects of the trend and persistent surgeries. Really, if one wants to look better, there’s no beating eating healthy, adopting hygienic habits, and exercising regularly.