Why Is Looks-Maxxing Everywhere & What Is It?

Every time I open social media at the moment, I'm getting a 'maxxing' of some kind. Looksmaxxing is the big one, but then there's skinmaxxing, hairmaxxing and even I did a post the other week about 'orgasm-maxxing' (which you all really loved) because... well, why not?

The concept is pretty self-explanatory, whereby you're basically trying to do all the things to maximise your physical appearance in said area, e.g. looks, skin, hair etc.

At first, I just did my usual eye roll and carried on with my day. It's just another trend, I thought, but after seeing numerous posts about it, it got me thinking a bit more... Is this something we're all pretty much doing all the time anyway? Isn't life now just a constant struggle to improve every part of ourselves? If it's not training harder, eating better or working harder, it's something else... it's a constant battle.

Now of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to look good. I work in skincare, so I'm hardly going to say, "No honestly, the acne suits you" or "Keep working on that sun damage", but there has got to be a difference between feeling your best and optimising every single part of yourself.

It's not just improving your skin to get rid of acne either. We're now normalising changing our jaw width, facial proportions and symmetry as well. It's like social media is constantly prompting you to find a new part of yourself to dislike. I didn't even know that the dimples in my hips were something that needed 'filling', or that I needed Botox in my traps because apparently it looks 'better'... seriously, WTF?!?!?

I think social media has completely changed what normal looks like now, and conversations about 'tweakments' are just commonplace within groups of friends, whereas back in the day people didn't admit to any of it. This is a good thing, don't get me wrong, but at the same time it makes me sad that we're seemingly never good enough as we are. We always have to strive to be better when it comes to the looks department, and I don't think it's a particularly good thing for us, or for the younger generations below us, to have to deal with either.

The combination of filters, FaceTuning, Botox and fillers, professional lighting, good angles and so on has really played games with reality and our perception of what actually looks normal. Then, when we compare all of that to ourselves in the mirror, it can make us feel like we need to do more, and I think that's when it can start playing with our mental health too.

Plus don't even get me started on some social accounts with millions of followers who post 'what I eat in a day' or 'GRWM' reels and then you realise they're completely AI generated. As in completely AI, not real, fake, don't exist, can't even eat or get ready as they are completely none existent - nada... Then people are commenting "oh wow, you look gorgeous" and "yes guurl! I'm so going to try this!" 😑

The problem with all this looksmaxxing is that there is never really a finish line. It just keeps moving and moving, so we're very rarely going to say, "Yep, I'm done now, that's enough." Realistically, we just look for another problem to solve because, unfortunately, that's just how our brains tend to work.

I guess I don't really know what to think about all of this. Am I just living in the past and I actually should embrace it all? Grab the opportunities around us to keep improving? Or should I just take myself out of the race altogether and not overthink whether I really need a completely symmetrical face whilst I'm walking around Sainsbury's at 3pm on a Tuesday?

Either way, I just want to normalise not having to do all of the things. I'm forty-one now and have still never had Botox or any other injectables, and I'm OK with that. It's not a flex and I'm not trying to say you shouldn't have them either... I genuinely don't care what you wish to do with your face or body. It's absolutely none of my business whatsoever. Maybe I'm just in that longing phase for the early noughties again, when everyone looked a little different instead of all looking exactly the same and I, for some reason, can't stop banging on about it.

If you're fed up of all the noise and don't know where to begin with it all, why not fill out my free skin check-in form here or book an online consultation with me here. We can talk all about your skin concerns in a way that doesn't make you feel like what you have is not good enough... I'm not into that style.

What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear them.

Thank you so much for reading,

Emmaline