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- Sep 12, 2025
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Summary of Looksmaxxing: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The video is broken down into three main sections:
The Good
The positive side of looksmaxing heavily overlaps with healthy "glow up" advice and can impact men's lives in a beneficial way [00:45]. This includes:
Self-Improvement: Inspiring men to prioritize their health, well-being, and self-confidence [01:05].
Basic Care: Encouraging self-discipline in areas like going to the gym, eating healthy, and having a good grooming and hygiene routine (e.g., using soap in the shower, having a skincare routine) [01:16], [02:59].
Style: Developing a sense of personal style and learning how to dress for one's body type [02:00].
The Bad
The "bad" side begins when the trend fosters unrealistic beauty standards and focuses excessively on physical appearance over inner qualities [05:08]. This can lead to:
Mental Health Issues: Contributing to body dysmorphia and other mental health problems by making individuals hyper-fixated on things they don't like about themselves [05:21].
Unachievable Ideals: Placing a huge emphasis on features like perfect facial symmetry and canthal tilt which some people cannot achieve without drastic measures [05:59].
Dangerous Practices: Promoting practices like excessive gum chewing or "mewing" (tongue posture), which are heavily debated for effectiveness and can potentially worsen underlying issues like TMJ (jaw disorders) [06:29], [07:13].
Misleading Content: Online content often overpromises results and preys on insecurities, sometimes by showing misleading "before and after" photos (e.g., comparing a 12-year-old's photo to a 22-year-old's) [08:35].
The Ugly (The Dark and Dangerous Side)
The "ugly" extremes of looksmaxing are rooted in the harmful belief that physical appearance is the sole cause of dating and relationship struggles [10:18]. This unhealthy and deeply disturbing extreme includes:
Extreme Surgery: Men being convinced to spend $50,000 to $100,000 for cosmetic procedures like leg lengthening surgery in Turkey, which can be detrimental to future quality of life [10:59].
Chemical Use: Injecting anabolic steroids [11:37].
Bizarre Devices: Wearing devices to "stretch out" private areas [11:45].
Physical Harm: Concerns about a practice called "bone smashing"—hitting one's face with blunt objects to restructure facial bones—which the creator urges viewers not to attempt [13:11].
The video concludes by stressing that tying one's worth and happiness directly to physical appearance is an unhealthy, impossible pursuit, and encourages viewers to instead focus on self-improvement in a balanced way [18:14].
The video is broken down into three main sections:
The Good
The positive side of looksmaxing heavily overlaps with healthy "glow up" advice and can impact men's lives in a beneficial way [00:45]. This includes:
Self-Improvement: Inspiring men to prioritize their health, well-being, and self-confidence [01:05].
Basic Care: Encouraging self-discipline in areas like going to the gym, eating healthy, and having a good grooming and hygiene routine (e.g., using soap in the shower, having a skincare routine) [01:16], [02:59].
Style: Developing a sense of personal style and learning how to dress for one's body type [02:00].
The Bad
The "bad" side begins when the trend fosters unrealistic beauty standards and focuses excessively on physical appearance over inner qualities [05:08]. This can lead to:
Mental Health Issues: Contributing to body dysmorphia and other mental health problems by making individuals hyper-fixated on things they don't like about themselves [05:21].
Unachievable Ideals: Placing a huge emphasis on features like perfect facial symmetry and canthal tilt which some people cannot achieve without drastic measures [05:59].
Dangerous Practices: Promoting practices like excessive gum chewing or "mewing" (tongue posture), which are heavily debated for effectiveness and can potentially worsen underlying issues like TMJ (jaw disorders) [06:29], [07:13].
Misleading Content: Online content often overpromises results and preys on insecurities, sometimes by showing misleading "before and after" photos (e.g., comparing a 12-year-old's photo to a 22-year-old's) [08:35].
The Ugly (The Dark and Dangerous Side)
The "ugly" extremes of looksmaxing are rooted in the harmful belief that physical appearance is the sole cause of dating and relationship struggles [10:18]. This unhealthy and deeply disturbing extreme includes:
Extreme Surgery: Men being convinced to spend $50,000 to $100,000 for cosmetic procedures like leg lengthening surgery in Turkey, which can be detrimental to future quality of life [10:59].
Chemical Use: Injecting anabolic steroids [11:37].
Bizarre Devices: Wearing devices to "stretch out" private areas [11:45].
Physical Harm: Concerns about a practice called "bone smashing"—hitting one's face with blunt objects to restructure facial bones—which the creator urges viewers not to attempt [13:11].
The video concludes by stressing that tying one's worth and happiness directly to physical appearance is an unhealthy, impossible pursuit, and encourages viewers to instead focus on self-improvement in a balanced way [18:14].
