04/09/2026
BOY MOMS! How do you protect your son from turning a handsome "glowup" into a mentally unhealthy obessession with looks all in the name of "getting the girl"?! Steroids are regularly touted by members of the so-called “looksmaxxing” movement, a popular online trend where young men (teens) demonstrate ways to reach their “peak” physical attractiveness AT ANY COST.
One of the main goals—and a result frequently promised by “looksmaxxing” influencers to their young followers—is to attract romantic partners.
This includes using steroids and “bone smashing,” which involves hitting one’s face with a hammer in an effort to change the bone shape.
They often don’t realize that using illegal steroids can lead to undesirable physical side effects, many of which contradict their intended use, including long-term muscle weakness, stunted growth (in adolescents), severe acne, breast development, and premature hair loss and balding. Many who pursue “looksmaxxing,” document their journey online. By Adam Yamaguchi, Grace Baek April 6, 2026 / 12:39 PM EDT / CBS News
Strikingly, online incel communities have embraced the term lookism to articulate their objections to how beauty functions in our global world.5 On the surface, it suggests an awareness that how we look influences all sorts of opportunities that are available to us, such as jobs, friendships and intimacy. However, rather than understand these experiences within the increasing awareness that appearance matters, incel discourse focuses on women as the gatekeepers of beauty and desirability. This narrative has been largely absent in looksmaxxing discussions on social media, but, as Krista Fisher points out, the popularity of looksmaxxing “taps into an unmet need for boys”. Heather Widdows Ph.D. Perfect Me- Psychology Today.
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