[3] Softmaxxing, a variant of looksmaxxing, is a practice in which people perform several body care routines in an effort to improve ones physical appearance.
Additional practices have been associated with looksmaxxing, with a popular example being the act of "mewing", which involves performing various exercises with one's tongue with the goal of achieving a "square jawline".
Practices associated with hardmaxxing include getting implants or limb-lengthening surgeries, intentionally starving oneself ("starvemaxxing"), using moisturizers to attempt to appear more white ("whitemaxxing"), and withholding sexual climax in an effort to boost testosterone ("edging").
[4][5] An additional method, known as "bonesmashing [Wikidata]", refers to the act of hitting one's face against objects such as a hammer in order to create a "chiselled look".
One of the most prominent features checked for is "hunter eyes", which refers to a positive canthal tilt, resembling that of a predatorial animal.
[9][10] In 2015, a forum site named Looksmaxxxer.com was registered to the Internet Archive,[citation needed] coining the term "looksmaxxing" and inspiring its usage on anonymous imageboard websites such as 4chan.
[4][5][6] Writing for The Conversation, senior lecturer and researcher Jamilla Rosdahl of the Australian College of Applied Psychology considered the practice to convert young men into incels as a result of TikTok algorithms.