Featured Image Credit: 60 Minutes Australia
Topics: TikTok, Mental Health
Thomas Bamford
After some men have resorted to extreme measures in the name of 'looksmaxxing', a doctor has urged people to be careful when it comes to following online trends that can potentially cause a lot of harm.
For those not in the know, looksmaxxers are men who seek to maximize their appearances, with influencer Clavicular being particularly well known for this trend.
They use social media to attach scores to how other young males look, focusing on aspects such as jawline, muscularity, hair, fitness, fashion and the whiteness of their teeth.
Usually improvements centre around what's called 'softmaxxing' - things like intense exercise, diet, face care routines, and generally taking care of yourself. However, there's a darker side to the trend, called 'hardmaxxing', which includes things like steroid use, hair transplants, or even cosmetic surgery.
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And an even more ridiculous - and dangerous - element of looksmaxxing has emerged recently, with people resorting to what’s called ‘bone-smashing’.
Young men are deliberately hitting their cheekbones and jaws with hammers, pans, anything they can find, believing it will make them look more 'chiselled'.
Yep, you read that right. Young people are hitting themselves in the face with hammers.
The trend seems to have been pushed by Clavicular, who has amassed about 800,000 followers online.
‘Bone-smashing’ is done by tapping the chin, jaw and cheekbones with a hammer, or in some cases, a massage gun.
The theory goes that this causes minor damage to the bone, which will change the shape of the face as it heals to give you a more rectangular face, or the much coveted looksmaxxing square jaw.
But obviously, i doesn’t work, and a doctor has warned that it can instead cause huge damage.
Taking part in the trend can lead to:
In one case, bone-smashing caused a fracture behind the eye that resulted in blindness.
Experts say this trend is fuelling body dysmorphia among young men, driven by social media pressure and extreme 'looksmaxing' culture.
Brazilian Dr Ricardo Grillo wrote a letter to the Journal of Stomatology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery warning that risks 'encompass a range of severe maxillofacial injuries, which can cause 'cosmetic disfigurement, functional impairment and other potential long-term consequences'.
He added that obviously it was a stupid idea, with an enormous list of risks, including scar tissue and vascular and neurological damage.
He concluded: “There is also a risk of facial asymmetries since this trauma is not controlled.”
So please, don't hit yourself in the face with a hammer.
UNILAD has approached Clavicular for comment.