Key Points:
Platforms like TikTok, Reddit, and online manosphere forums have turned looksmaxxing into a viral trend.
The looksmaxxing and the pursuit of the “ideal male appearance” is boosting the global cosmetic surgery market.
Experts warn that looksmaxxing and related AI face-rating tools may take advantage of young men’s insecurities, promoting unrealistic beauty standards.
What is it like to be an ideal man in a not-so-ideal world? As times have changed across different eras, the ways of describing masculinity have also evolved. With the advent of the internet and social media, a new term has emerged that young men often encounter while doomscrolling — the manosphere. Among the many digital forums found online, the manosphere is a space that claims to promote masculinity, but is often criticised for promoting misogyny.
While discourses surrounding the manosphere and hypermasculinity have been prominent in recent times, such as in Netflix’s critically acclaimed Adolescence, the rising trend of men embracing aesthetic treatments has entered an extreme stage. Some call it looksmaxxing. It has become the new obsession for several young men who are constantly chasing perfection through looksmaxxing. The BBC reported that the term looksmaxxing claims to be “maximising one’s appearance.”
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Recently, talk show host Stephen Colbert name-dropped some rising trends among young men and asked, “Are men OK?”
The looksmaxxing trend among young men is driven by the pursuit of an idea of the ideal man who is picture-perfect. The Conversation described this online phenomenon as being closely tied to the “incel subculture,” which is also teased in the series Adolescence. An incel is part of an online group of men who claim that they are unable to find a partner or form sexual relationships despite having the desire to do so.
The concept of the sexual market value of men began in manosphere forums and has now entered the TikTok community in Australia, where AI apps rate faces and offer appearance advice. However, research claims that such practices exploit young men by taking advantage of their insecurities, pushing them further toward the realm of looksmaxxing.
And for what?
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The clichéd concept of capitalisation emerges in this scenario, where men are psychologically coerced into embracing cosmetic aesthetics in order to become their mental image of an ideal man.
The global cosmetic surgery market is worth billions of dollars, and online trends centred around chasing a particular physical appearance have certainly boosted the industry over the years. The industry was worth $59.13 billion in 2025, according to a report by Fortune Business Insights. The Guardian reported that looksmaxxing has always existed here and there.
However, it has certainly grown in recent years, and social media can be credited for its widespread explosion, reaching thousands or even millions of people. Online forums, Reddit pages, and TikTok videos are among the prime channels for the dissemination of looksmaxxing. These rising trends also promote certain physical features that are considered ideal in a not-so-ideal world, such as chiselled and defined jawlines, pouty lips, high cheekbones, and eyes that tilt slightly downward toward the nose, also known as “hunter eyes.” Procedures worth a fortune, indeed!
Vogue reported that, according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) in the UK, there has been a 26% rise in face and neck lift procedures among men between 2024 and 2025.
While there is a constant juggle between simple methods such as skincare and improving diet, and more extreme practices like hardmaxxing through steroids and surgical procedures, the trend of looksmaxxing has begun to reach the pinnacle of “ideal” perfection. There have also been reports of rising interest among men in hardmaxxing procedures such as “scrotox,” where patients seek procedures intended to make the testicles appear larger.
Moreover, the rising trend of maximising one’s appearance in order to meet beauty standards has amassed a significant audience on social media. The looksmaxxing community promotes a particular idea of masculinity while also believing in the rigorous morning routine of Patrick Bateman from the satirical horror comedy American Psycho (2001). “I believe in taking care of myself, in a balanced diet and a rigorous exercise routine,” said Bateman.
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