Bill* was 24 when he uploaded images of himself to online Looksmaxxing communities for strangers to rate his appearance. “I thought it would be helpful, but people never focus on the areas you expect, and so you end up with more insecurities. Some suggested surgery and facial reconstruction, which I thought was extreme.” Still, changes were made—Bill altered his haircut to better suit his face shape, started using blusher to emphasise his bone structure, and went so far as to book in for a Blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery), before cancelling. “I realised it was allowing other people too much influence on my life,” he says.
Birthed on male incel communities in the early Noughties, the relentless drive to maximise one’s appearance, or “Looksmaxxing”, has never been so mainstream. Once relegated to forums on Reddit and Discord, it has ripped through social media like a wildfire over the last few years. Even if you don’t know the term, you’ve undoubtedly seen the look: a Superman-esque chiselled jawline, downward-sloping “hunter eyes”, and of course, a ripped physique and a full head of hair.
Despite its recent ubiquity, Looksmaxxing culture remains rooted within the incel culture that birthed it. The majority of its disciples are straight, cisgender men, who are increasingly of the Gen Z and Gen Alpha demographic, and they too are indulging in the far-right and chauvinist rhetoric that is at the cornerstone of the manosphere. Of course, their spiritual leader has always been Patrick Bateman—the misogynist “psychopath” with a 12-step skincare routine—from Bret Easton Ellis’ cult novel American Psycho. It’s no coincidence that today, the self-confessed “godfather” of Looksmaxxing is the creator Kareem Shami, who lectures his followers from the handle “@syrianpsycho”.
While the likes of Shami claim that the process can transform lives, there’s no question that it is having an overwhelmingly negative effect on young men.
Clinical psychotherapist, Dr Toni Pikoos, who specialises in body dysmorphic disorder, takes particular umbrage with the community’s latest tool: the PSL Scale—an AI-powered facial attractiveness evaluation that uses a psycho-scientific framework to rate individuals. “When using this, or a stranger online, there is a belief that these are honest accounts of one’s looks. While there are generally accepted standards, we know that beauty is often in the eye of the beholder and is influenced by more than just a static image.”
In the long term, this may lead to efforts to fix, change or hide one’s appearance, which can manifest as more significant disorders like eating disorders or body dysmorphic disorder. “People often look for feedback on their appearance when they are feeling vulnerable—receiving negative feedback then that could lead to urges to self-harm or suicidal ideation. Over time, it can fuel anger and a sense of injustice toward others, rather than helping people reflect on what they might want to change or develop in their own lives.”
These are standards that are not functional, not associated with health benefits, they are biologically unattainable for most and psychologically damaging to pursue
Dr Vishnu Nathan
However, some users, especially women, view such tools as necessary feedback in a world driven by self-optimisation. “I was essentially fishing for compliments,” says writer Amber Rawlings, who was 25 when she posted a picture in a Reddit forum. “I had a bleached buzzcut at the time, so I think I was chuffed that I was pulling it off. I at least, hoped that people would log on and be like, ‘she’s still fit’. That said, because I had the buzzcut, a lot of people were taking the piss, saying I looked like Eminem.”
26-year-old A&R executive El Brownn has paid for ratings and used Facebook groups to get strangers to assess her appearance. “I enjoy self-improvement and wanted my outward look to reflect that,” she explains. “They’re good, but if you’re sensitive, don’t want to undergo surgery, or are on a budget, it might not be for you.”
Bill’s experience was decidedly more hostile, however. “Some people are very reassuring, but others suggested that I was wasting their time because ‘there was so much to recommend’. Others can get quite aggressive if they feel you aren’t listening to them. You need to be mentally in a good place, and I do think it could be doing more harm than good. I don’t think I’d do it again.”
After spending weeks observing these communities—many of which posit themselves as simply for “self-improvement”—I found it was impossible to separate even the tamest from incel ideology. Many use their jargon—”Stacy” and “Becky” for women and “Chad” or “Beta” for men, and few journeys ever finish; there’s always another tier to ascend to, and so the gains are never, ever enough.
It’s unsurprising, then, that Looksmaxxing has spread to the aesthetics industry. Dual-qualified doctor, Dr Vishnu Nathan, of the Taktouk Clinic, explains that he’s witnessing younger patients present with specific requests, shaped by the digital worlds they inhabit. These centre around jawline definition and chin and midface projection through filler. But at the extreme end, they are seeking orthognathic (jaw) surgery and lateral canthoplasty—reshaping, tightening and repositioning of the eye’s outer corner—for “eye-maxxing”.
“These are geared not to enhance real-world facial harmony, but to ‘fix’ their appearance for the algorithm,” he says. “Such requests are often framed in language borrowed directly from online forums, frequently without a clear understanding of risk or limitation. It has fundamentally reshaped aesthetic practice, demanding stronger safeguarding and ethical boundaries.”
As such, Dr Nathan has been turning away more patients than ever—many of whom are using reductive frameworks to justify particular surgeries. “The misuse of the golden (phi) ratio falsely presents beauty as objective, mathematical and universally applicable, but this approach is flawed. Facial harmony depends on function, balance and proportion, not abstract ratios. Yet patients increasingly mesaure themselves against formulaic ideals, including arbitrary benchmarks, such as possessing extreme jaw projection. These are standards that are not functional, not associated with health benefits, they are biologically unattainable for most and psychologically damaging to pursue.”
This narrowing of ideas was highlighted by each individual I spoke to. All took to the forums, in part, to reassure themselves that their appearance was societally acceptable, at the very least. But this rarely ends well and often opens an existential feedback loop that is difficult to close. “I felt like I lost myself in the process, but it did solidify that I looked presentable…” concludes Brownn. “But where’s the fun in that? Looksmaxxing made me look… Bland.”
*Some names have been changed