After Dillon Latham’s girlfriend dumped him during their junior year of high school, the then-17-year-old decided to invest in his appearance. He began spending hours daily in the gym, applying homemade skincare concoctions to his face like beef tallow moisturiser, and permed his hair to give it a tousled mop look. He says he felt and looked better.
Soon, Latham started posting tips on TikTok to inspire teen boys in similar situations. His videos are captioned with language like “this is making you ugly”, “stop ruining your skin”, and “get a smaller nose.” The makeover advice went, and continues to go, viral.
To date, his TikTok clips have nearly 98 million likes and 1 billion views across social media. Latham, who is now selling his own brand of hairspray, says he’s making six-figures in revenue monthly from sales and social media, leading him to skip college and be a full-time influencer. Latham’s videos are part of a trend called “looksmaxxing” that capitalises on mostly boys’ insecurities, and tells them they can become attractive and masculine by toning their faces and bodies via rigid fitness, skincare, and hair care routines.
In its mildest form, looksmax social media creators tell teen boys to wash their faces; in its most extreme, they tell boys to regularly pummel their jaws to induce micro fractures, get surgery, and take steroids. Social media algorithms tend to amplify this content. Psychologists interviewed by Fortune expressed concern ab.
