Why ‘Looksmaxxing’ Is Putting Teen Boys at Risk

In the past, adolescent boys used to get a break from unhealthy messages about the male body. While men of a certain musculature have always been the chosen hero of movies and TV shows, at least when the movie ended, boys returned to a reality filled with normal looking bodies. 

Now that more than a third of American children report using social media “almost constantly,” boys don’t get a break anymore. Social media content about hyper-masculine male bodies has become such an incessant barrage in boys’ lives that it has been given a name: “looksmaxxing.” Under this strict ideology, little boys are no longer allowed to look like little boys, they are expected to be fifteen-year-olds with Cillian Murphy’s jawline, Vin Diesel’s biceps, Channing Tatum’s torso, and Jason Momoa’s height.

“There is a real lack of healthy narratives around masculinity, especially for young men,” Krista Fisher, a research fellow at the Movember Institute of Men’s Health, tells Parents.

These biologically impossible male beauty standards for adolescent boys have far reaching impacts on their mental and physical wellbeing. Here’s what parents need to know about looksmaxxing, and how best to support their sons as they navigate the pressure to look perfect.

What Exactly Is ‘Looksmaxxing?’

“Looksmaxxing” centers around a belief that real men must have a specific set of physical traits: a square jaw, deep set almond shaped eyes also known as “hunter eyes,” a tall stature ideally between 6’1” to 6’ 4”, a muscular physique, a Hollywood-level hair style, and clear, acne-free skin. A lot of “looksmaxxing” content emphasizes the importance of “optimizing” puberty, claiming that boys have the most influence over their appearance during this time of biological growth. Making progress towards these idealized traits (known as “ascension”) helps to increase boys’ “sexual market value” or SMV, which refers to the likelihood that women will find them attractive.

There are also more specific sub-niches nested within “looksmaxxing.” These include “auramaxxing” (strategies to improve social standing), “smellmaxxing” (using cologne to attract women), “moneymaxxing” (ways to make money to attract women), “dickmaxxing” (strategies to enhance the length or girth of the penis), and “starvemaxxing” (restricting diet to lose weight).

The origin of the term “looksmaxxing” came from online incel (involuntarily celibate) or “redpill” communities and their skewed view of modern gender dynamics. Incels self-identify as unattractive and unsuccessful in romantic relationships. They also believe that women romantically manipulate men for financial and social gain, and are only interested in dating a small subset of men who are abnormally attractive.

But today’s narrow gender norms around masculinity require boys to have a James Bond-esque sex appeal, meaning that men need women to find them attractive in order to be considered a real man. As a result, incels direct blame and hatred towards women for emasculating them by not finding them attractive. Looksmaxxing was born out of the idea that young men need to increase or “maximize” their physical appearance to be attractive to women and respected as a man by their peers.

But now that the term has gone viral on mainstream social media platforms, many boys may be unaware of the misogynistic origins of the term. Fisher points out that young boys seem to gravitate towards this content because it taps into an unmet need for boys. They have questions about their bodies, romantic relationships, and how to operate in the world as young men. In the absence of anywhere else to go, especially offline, masculinity influencers on social media and looksmaxxing forums have given boys the anonymity to ask hard or embarrassing questions, a feeling of community with likeminded peers, and a constant stream of advice from confident older boys who claim to have successfully changed their appearance.

Boys are Learning to Modify Their Bodies

How boys go about manipulating their appearance can vary from simple measures—known as “softmaxxing” to more extreme strategies, or “hardmaxxing.”

“Softmaxxing” includes non-surgical approaches like eating a high protein diet and eliminating junk food, exercising, showering regularly, daily skin care, staying attentive to hydration, practicing good posture, updating wardrobes, getting regular haircuts, engaging in regular hair styling techniques, teeth whitening, shaving off their eyelashes, taping their mouth shut at night, using Volufiline and other products that promote temporary lip plumping, and sleeping on their back to promote “face symmetry”.

One of the most well known “softmaxxing” techniques is a tongue exercise called “mewing” that is promoted on social media by UK-based orthodontist Mike Mew. He claims this tongue exercise can create “facial improvements” including aligning the teeth, accentuating cheekbones, sharpening jawlines, straightening the nose naturally, diminishing wrinkles, and improving airways.

Another “softmaxxing” technique growing in popularity is the use of fitness chewing gum, which is engineered to be extra hard to chew as a way to exercise the jaw and create a more prominent jawline.

Conversely, “hardmaxxing” includes extreme techniques like using human growth hormones, steroids, plastic surgery, or “brotox” (botox for men). “Looksmaxxing” content on TikTok, YouTube, and online forums throw around a head spinning amount of plastic surgery recommendations—specifically for boys and men, including jaw surgery, chin extensions, fat grafting, buccal fat removal, nose jobs, ear jobs, liposuction, lip lifts, shoulder and limb lengthening surgeries, and surgeries that reshape the outer corners of the eyes and bones around the eye sockets.

Moreover, a concept called “bonesmashing” encourages boys to break their own jaw and facial bones with a hammer or other hard object, due to a belief that the bones will grow back stronger and more defined. This term was originally coined as a joke in incel forums, but as “looksmaxxing” has become more mainstream it seems that that nuance may have been lost. In online forums dedicated to “looksmaxxing,” boys as young as thirteen are claiming to use the technique.

The Physical Toll of Impossible Male Beauty Standards

To some degree it is understandable why impressionable boys are so quick to jump on the “looksmaxxing” bandwagon. Masculinity influencers throw around medical terminology and cite scientific studies with the confidence and authority of a licensed doctor. Real medical professionals, however, seem to be generally unanimous in the ineffective and dangerous nature of some of these practices. 

Both the British Orthodontic Society and the American Association of Orthodontists state that there is no scientific evidence to support mewing, and the latter also claimed the practice could lead to tooth alignment disruption, bite problems, and speech issues. It is also worth noting that the General Dental Council suspended Mike Mew’s license last year for malpractice.

The American Dental Association, meanwhile, announced that fitness chewing gum can lead to inflammation and jaw pain, and that some of these gums contain caffeine and vitamin B5, which can act as a laxative in high doses. Dentists have also warned that using this gum may lead to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.

And while recommendations to take growth hormone may be rampant on “looksmaxxing” forums Jason Nagata, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of California San Francisco, urges caution. He says that growth hormone is meant to be used to address specific medical conditions like genetic disorders or a medically verified growth hormone deficiency, and should only ever be used under the supervision of a medical professional. “Misusing growth hormone can lead to serious side effects, including joint pain, headaches, and insulin resistance, so close medical monitoring is essential,” he says.

Even some of the over-the-counter supplements and protein powders that are widely recommended by masculinity influencers and “looksmaxxers” can have negative health effects. Katie Hurley, a child and adolescent psychotherapist and senior clinical advisor for The Jed Foundation, encourages parents to read the labels of any supplements or protein powders their sons are currently using or interested in trying. She warns that some of these products have been found to affect moods.

How ‘Looksmaxxing’ Is Fueling a Mental Health Crisis

The impact on physical health is just the tip of the iceberg. The effect of “looksmaxxing” on boys’ mental health and well being can be far more destructive.

A common practice in “looksmaxxing” forums, like looksmax.org and r/Mewing, is for young teens and tweens to post detailed measurements of their bodies and attach multiple photographs of every angle of their face and bodies to encourage others to rate their sexual market value and offer recommendations on how to enhance their appearance.

The rating scale on these forums has become fairly standardized. One user explained the scale as 1-3 being “subhuman,” 4 is a “low tier normie”, 5 is a “mid tier normie”, 6 is a “high tier normie,” 7 is a “Chad-lite,” 8 is a “Chad,” and 9 is an “Adam” or “Slayer.” In incel culture, a “Chad” is a stereotypically handsome man and an ‘Adam’ is the peak of ideal male attractiveness.

Ratings and recommendations come from completely anonymous users and range from gentle and encouraging to cruel and dangerous. In extreme cases, recommendations include references to “ropemaxxing” which means that a boy is so hopelessly unattractive that he may as well take his own life because he will never be able to achieve an acceptable level of masculinity.

For boys who may find this level of vulnerability intimidating there are now apps like Umax and LooksmaxxingGPT where teens can upload photos of themselves and receive AI-generated ratings and recommendations. Some of these apps provide ratings not just on overall looks or potential for improvement but go so far as to provide a “masculinity” score based on uploaded photos.

It’s obvious how these ratings and recommendations systems can negatively impact a boy’s mental health. But even if they are not engaging with the content to this level, research is finding this hypermasculine body content and similar social media content can still negatively affect teen mental health.

In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General said the risk of anxiety and depression doubles in adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media. And in the same statement, almost half of adolescents stated that social media makes them feel worse about their bodies. At the time, the average for this age group was at 4.8 hours a day—only on social media platforms. More recent studies show that screen usage has only grown. One 2025 survey revealed that the average American stares at a screen for almost 7 hours per day.

Nagata also pointed to studies that found that the more time boys spend on Instagram, the more likely they are to engage in disordered eating, be dissatisfied with their own appearance (and their muscles, in particular), and the more likely they are to take performance enhancing drugs like anabolic steroids. “Since 2002, there’s been over a 400% increase in hospitalizations for eating disorders in boys,” he says. Nagata clarifies that while eating disorders in boys can sometimes look like anorexia, it has become more common for boys to develop bigorexia, or muscle dysmorphia, an obsession with developing bigger muscles.

This is all supported by the new research study that found that young men who engage with masculinity influencers reported high levels of psychological distress, including high rates of worthlessness, nervousness, and sadness compared to boys not engaging with the content.

What Parents Can Do to Help

Social media has seeped into so much of the childhood experience and how children relate to each other that it can be hard to identify when a child’s behavior or mindset has crossed into unhealthy territory. Hurley says the best way for parents to monitor social media’s impact on their child’s life is to keep a monthly log of their activity level, routines, habits, and behaviors, which she explains will help parents identify if and when signs of negative patterns begin to form.

Having conversations with boys about “looksmaxxing” content and how they perceive their own bodies in relation to others can also be helpful. But Hurley is aware that some boys may find it difficult to open up about these topics. In those cases, she’s provided some ideas to help parents manage these tricky discussions:

• Take care of yourself first. It’s important to approach these conversations calmly. Find a way to take care of yourself before taking on the conversation to ensure you are able to create a space where your son feels able to share his experiences. 
• Combine these conversations with activities. Try kicking off a conversation while taking a walk, playing a board game, or doing house chores together. The act of being in motion acts as a “tension release” which can make it easier for boys to talk about hard things.
• Ask open ended questions. Approaching your son with curiosity and open ended questions can help him feel more encouraged to opening up. For instance, you can ask: “What is it like to be a teenage boy in today’s world?” or “I noticed you seem to like to eat the same things every day. Can you tell me more about that?” or “What’s new on TikTok that you’re interested in? Can you share with me some of your favorite TikTokers? I’m curious to see what you like.”
• Create a strengths board. Sit with your son and create a list of things he’s good at. Write it down on a large board and put it in a place that is visible to him every day. As he learns new things, you can update the board together. A strengths board can serve as a healthy counterbalance for teens on social media platforms that are designed to feed off teen insecurities.
• Validate their experience. If they are worried about being short, for example, ask them to tell you more about what it feels like to be short among tall boys. After listening, validate their experience by saying something like, “That does sound hard.”
• Incorporate male voices. Ask fathers, grandfathers, uncles, older brothers, or close adult male friends to share their experiences and mindsets about their growing bodies during adolescence. 
• Fact check together. Equip your son with facts to help him feel more secure when faced with “looksmaxxing” content. When did the men in your family hit their growth spurts? At what age did his favorite athletes begin getting taller? What athletes or other impactful men are not tall but are still respected for their contributions? Show him that not all important male figures fit conventional beauty standards.

If you’re wondering when to reach out for help, Hurley says it never hurts to check in with your child’s pediatrician or therapist. “It’s always a good time to ask somebody if you feel like you’re out of your depth and you don’t know how to assess the situation,” she says.

Children are growing up in an evolving digital world that can be overwhelming for parents and children alike. But while it may look different today, industries profiting of teen’s body insecurities is nothing new. When we understand what’s happening behind phenomena like “looksmaxxing,” and understand that boys need safe offline spaces to talk about their bodies and their place in this world, we will also have the tools to start advocating for and supporting boys in ways that help them grow into healthy adults.

While parents may never be able to entirely free their sons from the grip that social media has on their childhoods, we can find ways—however small—to give them a break from the social media deluge and just let them be boys again.