In society, it’s often true that your level of attractiveness can bring advantages. But what happens when someone works on improving their looks and begins to base their entire self-worth on it?
“Looksmaxxing” is a term used online that’s about trying to improve your appearance to “maximize it.” Methods are typically with skincare routines, workouts, diets, haircuts, as well as clothing style improvements.
The idea has spread across social media, mostly focused on appearance, dating, and self improvement. It includes three different types of such softmaxxing, advanced looksmaxxing, and extreme looksmaxxing.
Softmaxxing looks like regular day to day skincare, such as managing your weight, building muscle, and improving your diet. Softmaxxing isn’t as dangerous and mostly involves focusing on habits rather than altering your whole body.
Advanced looksmaxxing is more intense, requiring time and money, but doesn’t always include surgery. Examples can resemble professional trainers or specialized makeup. The goal is to optimize appearance with basic self care.
Finally, extreme looksmaxxing involves major medical procedures and obsessions with changing physical features. This includes harmful practices, such as cosmetic surgery, extreme dieting or exercise routines, pursuing unrealistic desires.
So what’s wrong with wanting to improve how you look? The problem lies in more extreme communities where controversial and unrealistic methods are promoted such as damaging facial structure or simply features that are genetic and can’t be changed easily.
It encourages people, especially teens, to compare themselves to unrealistic standards. Filled with edited photos, filters, and curated images. When someone measures themselves against that, they believe they’re not good enough.
This way of thinking can negatively impact a person’s mental health. The constant pressure to meet acceptable standards can destroy confidence, lower self-esteem, and cause them to hyperfixate on small flaws about themselves that go unnoticed by others.
Many influencers and accounts try to promote these ideas, trying to present themselves as normal but they’re actually creating false expectations. They try to promote these ideas by using harmful methods and encouraging other people to do the same.
As of recently, 20-year-old Braeden Peters more known as “Clavicular” has been a huge face in this community. He has frequently trending clips on the internet related to his appearance-focused content online with some extreme self-improvement methods.
His most alarming clip shows him repeatedly striking himself in the face with a trophy, then stating “I know it hurts, but that means it’s working. That’s the only indication. You have to push past the pain.”
These online communities can pull people into isolation where their ideas on appearance and worth are lessened.
However, medical professionals have constantly debunked and warned that most of these methods are ineffective and can lead to serious damage. Huge misinformation in this community can drive more people into doing said methods, possibly damaging their body for no real benefit
Board-certified APRN Mariana Martines states that this method, medically, does not work. “The reality involves a long list of permanent medical issues. Instead of a chiseled, looksmaxxing jawline, you are far more likely to experience nerve damage, facial symmetry, and chronic pain.” (Perfect Aesthetic Medicine).
Instead of getting pulled into unhealthy looksmaxxing culture, people should focus on habits that improve their well being without turning appearance into an obsession. The goal should be feeling healthier, more confident, and more comfortable with themselves, not chasing perfection.
To conclude, looksmaxxing is seen as simply “maximizing your looks” but it gets incredibly alarming once severe methods are used. These methods are preached as working, but most looksmaxxing “glow-ups” are just simply growing up.
Everybody is beautiful the way they are and they shouldn’t change themselves just because of what they see online. Attractiveness is subjective, and personality goes a longer way. You don’t need to hurt yourself or change everything about yourself to be “enough.”
Wanting to improve yourself is not a bad thing at all, but make sure you do it in a healthy way and most importantly, love yourself.
