Looksmaxxing: The online personal care trend taking young men by storm may have harmful undertones

Boys’ increasing interest in their physical appearance has birthed the trend of “looksmaxxing.” The term refers to maximizing one’s face and body to look and feel the best, but the rising movement may have a dangerous side.

Looksmaxxing has existed for at least a decade but recently gained traction on social media platforms such as TikTok and Reddit. 

Personal Care Insights speaks to John Ludeke, VP of marketing at men’s care brand Dr. Squatch, about looksmaxxing and its interpretation of the trend from a brand perspective.

“We have seen a shift in men wanting to feel their best and follow healthier living routines, amplified by social media,” says Ludeke.

“I expect [looksmaxxing] to continue growing and become the approach most guys use. Men are evolving toward a holistic approach to personal wellness, prioritizing physical and mental well-being. As men continue to embrace the idea that taking care of yourself should be the standard, we see the trend becoming less about looking a certain way and more about reaching the best version of yourself.”

Improvement or detriment?

Industry leaders identify social media as helping drive growth in the men’s care market, allowing them to connect more and destigmatize their desires to improve their appearance.

“Men are getting exposed to more content, and it’s never been easier to learn about better-for-you options that can be an improvement versus most of the conventional routines that guys are used to. We continue to see the grooming market grow,” highlights Ludeke.

Skin care brands are taking men into account with product releases.Companies such as Dr. Squatch are emerging to meet increased interest in skin care and hair care among men by offering products such as deodorant, shampoo and other grooming products. 

However, the looksmaxxing trend has not gone unscrutinized. Critics say the practices have an undertone (sometimes overtone) of judgment and bullying. Participants in the movement “mog” to each other, meaning they show off their physical appearance and battle to be seen as superior or more dominant in attractiveness.

The looksmaxxing community is often grouped with, or derived from, “incels,” or “involuntarily celibate.” The term is used to describe someone, usually male, who feels frustrated by a lack of female attention. 

The incel community is known for blaming feminist ideals for not attracting attention from the opposite sex — justifying their sexlessness through beliefs rooted in biological determinism and victimization by women, according to researcher Angus Lindsay at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

The incel-to-looksmaxxer pipeline is considered by some a causation of young men looking to achieve what they call optimal “sexual market value,” or SMV for short. As a result, participants turn to looksmaxxing themes for help, which can range from small tweaks to extreme changes.

Common terms among looksmaxxers aiming to achieve sought-after features include interpupillary distance (the gap between the eyes), mewing (a tongue exercise to improve jaw shape) and a positive canthal tilt (the angles of the eyes), which achieves “hunter” eyes that are angled upward.

Some exercises involve chewing tough gum or small rubber pieces to improve one’s jawline through muscle definition. Other, more dangerous practices include “bone smashing,” where young men hit their faces with hammers, bottles, massagers or other blunt objects, believing it will rebuild their bone structure to be more appealing — such as higher cheekbones.

Videos with the term “bone smashing tutorial” have garnered over 267.7 million views on TikTok, according to Forbes. There is no evidence that breaking these bones leads to a positive change.

Through the looking glass 

The pursuit of meeting beauty standards is not a modern trend, and neither is the range of extreme measures that accompany this goal. Women have dedicated their time and money to beautification for decades. This is mirrored in looksmaxxing.

Over the years, some cosmetics have been revealed to be harmful to health, like mercury in skin-lightening products and endocrine-disrupting chemicals in skin care. Men are investing in skin care to looksmaxx.

The societal pressure to optimize one’s appearance has now leaked out from its gender constraints and spilled to the other sex. The seemingly slow rise of men’s interest in self-care is now soaring, causing the same competition and obsession that has been present in female circles.

Men’s care boom

Despite the controversy around the trend, some looksmaxxer advocates say the movement is more about empowering men through healthy lifestyle practices, and that the more negative members and practices bring down the overall good.

“The looksmaxxing trend taps into a broader movement of self-empowerment and confidence-building through self-care. We’re seeing a shift where men want to feel their best, look their best and show up authentically,” says Ludeke.

“There’s been a greater social acceptance around male self-care, which has opened doors for them to invest in themselves in new ways.”

The opening of Flycatcher, a medical aesthetics practice tailored exclusively for men, is a signal of the uptick in men prioritizing their appearance. The male-centric medspa opened its doors this month.

Nutrafol also recently introduced Active Cleanse, a daily two-in-one shampoo and conditioner formulated for men with thinning hair. Personal Care Insights spoke to Dr. Brianna Diorio, the company’s director of Product Education, about its findings that men experience more scalp concerns globally than women.

On another side of men’s care, Depend, an underwear and bladder leakage product brand, teamed up with former NFL football star Emmitt Smith during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month to demystify “taboos” surrounding the disease and raise money for treatments.