- Looksmaxxing, a online-fueled trend encouraging men to intensely “improve” their looks, is on the rise.
- It’s related to similar looks-focused trends, like its softer and more extreme counterparts.
- While often presented as self-improvement, health professionals caution these practices can fuel body image issues, anxiety, eating disorders, and even risky behaviors.
- Teenage boys may be particularly vulnerable due to several reasons, including digital narratives about masculinity and value.
A rising phenomenon on social media is prompting teenagers to “maximize” their appearance.
Known as the looksmaxxing craze, the trend focuses on achieving the “ideal” physique and facial features. It follows similar online trends, called softmaxxing and hardmaxxing, which promote everything from rigorous grooming routines to cosmetic procedures and extreme body modification.
Although proponents say these behaviors can be confidence-building, psychologists warn they can intensify body dysmorphia, anxiety, and other unhealthy behaviors.
One therapist labeled this trend as a “online-created body image disorder craze.”
“Young men fall into this false sense of approval, and what they believe others desire from them,” he explained. “They can get trapped in possibly lifelong battles with feeling a sense of not being good enough and handling that inadequacy.”
He further described that “People will devote their time on changing their body based on feelings of inferiority or insecurity.”
“Men can get stuck in a cycle of trying to ‘optimize’ their looks, but as therapists, we know that if you’re struggling with inadequate or inferior, those are the issues to work on with a qualified professional.”
Exploring the Differences Among the Three Main Trends?
While the language varies, the phenomena all have one thing in common: the drive to obsessively change one’s looks.
“Looksmaxxing is essentially self-improvement put on overdrive. It’s reframing the male physique as something to be built,” the expert clarified.
Whereas softmaxxing involves subtler adjustments to one’s looks, frequently accomplished through grooming and lifestyle adjustments, the extreme version is more intense.
“It includes drastic methods to transform your appearance, including rhinoplasty, injectables, hair transplants, and genioplasty. The clear problem with this is that once you unlock that Pandora’s Box, it’s difficult to close the lid,” he noted.
Another licensed therapist explained the differences.
“It’s natural to have wanting to look good, and taking pride in your looks can build self-esteem and be gender affirming. But the major distinction is that looksmaxxing is based on self-loathing and trying to fit in, at the cost of your health and safety,” she stated.
“Hardmaxxing, on the other hand, seems to be dipping its toe into self-harm practices, particularly some of its linked behaviors, like smashing your face with a blunt object.”
Why This Trend Is Especially Popular Among Young Men
What makes this movement seem to be resonating with adolescent boys in particular?
One therapist explained that young men, particularly adolescents, are typically at a phase of their lives when they are still figuring out who they are, and many may be seeking ways to project what they view as “the ‘ideal’ version of manhood.”
He also suggests movements like looksmaxxing may be connected to incel culture and the manosphere.
“It started in recent years, with online influencers espousing specific views of manhood. These kinds of ‘alpha’ influencers have led some men down a harmful path,” he commented.
Another specialist shared a additional viewpoint about possible underlying causes.
“Psychological struggles and loneliness are also widespread right now, making this demographic especially vulnerable,” she noted.
The Line Separating Healthy Self-Care and Harmful Obsessions
Recognizing the boundary separating taking pride in your appearance and an damaging obsession with how you look can be difficult for many people.
“Self-improvement practices turn problematic when fear is the primary motivator; when your habits are consuming so much mental space that you can’t be present in your daily existence and relationships,” one specialist said.
There are multiple risks linked to these kinds of unhealthy behaviors.
“Eating disorders and dangerous actions are often connected to poor body image, anxiety, and poor self-worth,” she said.
“Males are at risk of feeling embarrassment around their physiques due to societal messaging that they must be fit and toned. And for some men, it can seem like a threat to their sense of manhood and self-worth.”
The other counselor noted that, for some individuals who attempt to make purely superficial changes to their body, it can lead to damaging, compulsive emotional voids.
“It can escalate quickly, and you may believe you need do something to help yourself feel better rather than feeling comfortable in your own skin.”
Ultimately, he said, positive personal growth usually isn’t represented by the kind of improvement content that’s trending on apps like TikTok and Instagram.
“It’s about taking care of yourself from the inside out,” he concluded.
Tips for Practising Self-Acceptance
Developing greater body acceptance is not a process that occurs overnight, but there are positive steps you can take to begin that process.
First, having mixed feelings about your appearance is valid and understandable.
One therapist suggested “exploring” that and discovering an creative expression for it.
“Creativity is a great way to let those feelings out in a way that might even be fun. Consider drawing, collaging, or making a journal to document your experiences,” she suggested.
Although social media use can worsen unhealthy behaviors and emotions, there are methods to reduce these dangers.
“Follow accounts that advocate for body acceptance and positive male role models. Or engage with people who don’t fit into the narrow view of manhood promoted by the mainstream,” she
