Doctors Warn of Looksmaxxing Dangers After Influencer's Livestream Emergency

Brian Kilmeade sat down with experts to examine looksmaxxing, an online trend drawing young men nationwide in pursuit of sharper features and greater confidence. The practice splits into softmaxxing and hardmaxxing, with doctors now warning of serious risks after an influencer's livestream emergency.

Kilmeade described looksmaxxing as young men trying to surpass their genetic potential through methods that range from elaborate skin care routines to extreme physical changes.

Dr. Claire Wolinsky, a board-certified dermatologist in New York, said the trend has built steam for at least a year. She pointed to mewing, in which young men press their tongues against the roof of their mouths to reshape jawlines. Wolinsky dismissed such techniques as clearly not science-based at all.

Social media drives the shift in male beauty standards, Wolinsky said. Young people distrust traditional medical advice and look online for information. They see what attractive peers are doing and want to copy them. Influencers now set health and grooming rules for a generation of men, filling a void left by physicians.

Family therapist Tom Kersting, based in New Jersey, voiced worries about the mental health behind the trend. He asked if these young men show narcissistic behavior or seek external approval from online strangers.

Self-esteem comes from within, Kersting said. It has nothing to do with likes, followers or thumbs-up from the outside world.

Experts agreed some parts of looksmaxxing, like skin care and good sleep, bring real benefits. But the line between self-care and self-harm grows blurry.

Wolinsky raised alarms over hardmaxxing, which involves steroids, supplements or plastic surgery at a young age. These practices concern me as a mom and also as a physician, she said.

The talk turned to bone smashing, where people use hammers or other objects to damage facial bones in hopes of better structure. Wolinsky said there's no way that by destroying a bone, it gets thicker or better, or your jawline's going to look improved.

Kersting called looksmaxxing a sign of wider troubles for young men who feel pushed aside and forgotten about. As they search for identity, they turn to the internet. Social media influencers don't really have anything very influential to offer, he said.