Is “Looksmaxxing” Self-Improvement or Self-Destruction?

Unhealthy beauty standards affect men like women. The only difference is that few understand the societal pressures male individuals experience because most consider speaking openly about their challenges less masculine. As a result, you may seek online communities of like-minded people to make you feel less alone and get advice to improve yourself. Eventually, you may end up in looksmaxxing forums to overcome your insecurities.

What Is Looksmaxxing?

Looksmaxxing involves adopting self-enhancement practices to maximize your natural physical qualities and become more attractive to boost your sexual market value. Men—particularly teenage boys—mostly gravitate toward this concept. Although this path to self-improvement isn’t recent, it has gained a second wind due to TikTok.

Personal grooming is the bedrock of looksmaxxing. The basics are physical fitness, oral hygiene, showering, skincare, hair care, style, wardrobe curation and garment care. It takes skills to stay lean, keep your body fresh and spotless, wear hairstyles that complement your head shape and don complementary fashion items daily. Mastering these essential skills enables you to appear neat, smell nice and look sharp when you step outside or share your life on social media without undergoing a dramatic, expensive makeover.

Moreover, looksmaxxing values nutrition and sleep to raise your attractiveness level. Its proponents tout the benefits of eating carotenoid-rich foods to slow aging. Some also encourage significant beta-carotene intake to make the skin more orangey or yellowish, unleashing its natural glow.

Looksmaxxing advocates say eight hours of uninterrupted sleep beats forty winks any day. Getting adequate rest daily makes the face look more youthful—the most important physical characteristic.

This global online trend promotes holistic improvement. However, many agree that prioritizing the skin, eyes, lips, muscles, jawline, hair, and height can yield faster results. That’s why looksmaxxing can get extreme, ranging from wearing dermatologist-approved sunscreen to having leg-lengthening surgery.

Mogwarts—A Magical School of Self-Improvement

Individual self-improvers enthusiastically compare notes with one another. However, many seek advice and guidance from online gurus like Kareem Shami— the founder of Mogwarts, a self-described school of looksmaxxing on Skool.

This internet academy draws inspiration from the fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In looksmaxxing parlance, to mog means to assert dominance over others by having a superior physical appearance.

Despite Mogwarts’ name, Kareem built this premium channel to be a positive space for young men who want to embark on their journey to self-improvement. The founder wants to create a hate-free community after experiencing bullying in high school because of his acne and size.

Kareem worked on himself. He used beauty products to clear up his acne and lessen his eye bags. He also reshaped his face by mewing—a tongue posture for strengthening the jawline.

Countless people’s jaws dropped with his amazing glow-up, which attracted more than a million followers on his TikTok account. Although social media influencers in the space can be deceiving, Kareem’s transformation was convincing enough to compelled thousands to sign up for Mogwarts. A  subscription grants paying members access his advice classes, walkthroughs, podcast episodes, live streams and one-on-one talks.

Although Kareem is one of the most successful believers in looksmaxxing, he only recommends nonsurgical practices—also known as softmaxxing. Still, he tolerates his more extreme followers as a Skool chat moderator. He doesn’t censor starvemaxxing—the practice of drastic dieting to resculpt your face’s contours—even though it contracts his recommended caloric deficits for people over 18.

Mogwarts may sound magical if you hope to improve your sexual capital and social charm. However, it’s the exception rather than the rule.

The Dark Side of Male Glowing-Up Obsession

Looksmaxxing is not without dangers. Although there’s nothing wrong with men wanting to better themselves, the community has earned a reputation for being a self-loathing subculture due to some’s extreme views. Dubious characters may convince their more impressionable peers to harm themselves for the sake of looking better.

For instance, starvemaxxing can cause you to develop an eating disorder. Using organic beauty products with no approved therapeutic claims and little scientific backing can be benign at best and detrimental to health at worst.

Fans of the harder side of looksmaxxing may persuade you to undergo surgery—and spend five to six digits—that may permanently damage your body. For example, leg lengthening aims to expand the limbs by breaking the bone and inserting metal pins. This operation involves months of recovery time and an arduous rehabilitation process to learn to walk again. In countries that legally perform this surgery for cosmetic purposes, you may have to travel overseas to get it done.

Younger men are at risk of jumping in with both feet. The prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain responsible for self-control and decision-making—typically takes 25 years to develop fully. Those 24 or under may fail to weigh the consequences of extreme looksmaxxing measures before taking them.

Healthier Alternatives to Looksmaxxing

Jumping into the looksmaxxing rabbit hole can be dangerous. Social media algorithms may bombard you with harmful content, worsening any underlying mental health conditions you may have and poisoning your worldview.

If your issues aren’t skin-deep, no amount of physical makeover may be enough to remedy what you’re going through mentally. Therapies represent healthier interventions than looksmaxxing. After all, calming the mind can benefit the body.

Take guided meditation as an example. Teacher-led mindfulness practice alleviates sleep disturbance—something people with anxiety or depression experience at a higher rate than the general population. One study found that meditating for 45 minutes daily at home and attending a 2.5-hour class weekly was as effective as taking Lexapro in reducing anxiety symptoms.

Talking is another underrated hardship reliever. You don’t necessarily have to speak with a psychotherapy professional. Consider opening up to someone you trust instead.

Men tend not to discuss their mental health issues out of fear of feeling like a burden to others. If you share this sentiment, understand that your loved ones will be more than happy to help you overcome your body image issues.

Contrary to popular belief, seeking help for mental health isn’t a sign of weakness—but of strength, so find the courage to take the initiative because your friends and family may hesitate to approach you. Allows yourself to get your bottled-up emotions off your chest. You’d be surprised how willing they are to support you.

Does Looksmaxxing Sound Self-Improvement or Self-Destruction to You?

Unchecked looksmaxxing can cause more harm than good. Enhancing your physical appearance is futile if you don’t slay your demons. Seek healthier approaches to self-improvement to avoid destroying yourself in the process.