How to looksmax: a step-by-step plan for beginners

How do you start looksmaxxing?

Start with a baseline, not a shopping list. Take one clear front photo and one side photo today. Write down the one or two things that bother you most. That's your starting area.

Then pick the change with the best effort-to-result ratio for you. For most teens that's skin or hair. For guys with more body fat, it is fat loss. It changes the jaw and cheeks more than any face trick. Do one thing well before you add the next.

Give each change a fair window before you judge it. Skin treatment takes weeks. Fat loss takes months. A haircut shows the same day. The table further down lists what to expect for each area.

1. Take a front and side photo in the same light you'll use every time.
2. Write down the 1 or 2 features you want to work on first.
3. Choose one change for this week from the matching section below.
4. Put it on a checklist and do it daily.
5. Retake the photo in the same setup after 2 to 4 weeks and compare.

What looksmaxxing means and where it came from

How to take a good selfie

Softmaxxing vs hardmaxxing: which should you start with?

Start with softmaxxing. It is the low-risk stuff you control: skin, hair, fitness, sleep, grooming, style. Hardmaxxing means surgery, drugs or extreme methods. For a teen or young adult, almost every visible gain at the start comes from the soft side.

Hardmaxxing is a medical decision, not a weekend project. Steroids sold as 'supplements' can cause severe acne and hair loss, according to the FDA. Bonesmashing has no evidence and can break bones. If you ever consider a procedure, wait until you're an adult. Do the soft side first, then talk to a board-certified doctor.

Source: U.S. FDA: Caution, bodybuilding products can be risky

Skin: how to looksmax your skin

Skin is where most people should start. A simple routine works better than ten products: a gentle cleanser, a moisturizer, and sunscreen every morning. The American Academy of Dermatology advises broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher on all exposed skin when you're outside.

If you have acne, choose one proven treatment and stick with it. The AAD says it can take several weeks to a few months to see a difference. Switching products every week irritates skin, and picking spots makes them last longer and raises the risk of scars. See a dermatologist if acne is painful, leaves scars, or does not improve. This week: buy a gentle cleanser and an SPF 30 sunscreen, and use them every day for 7 days.

Source: American Academy of Dermatology: How to select a sunscreen

Skincare routine for men, step by step

How to get clear skin

Hair: which haircut suits your face shape?

A haircut that fits your face shape is the fastest change in this guide. Round faces usually look better with height on top and shorter sides. Long faces usually look better with less height and a bit more width. Square and oval faces can carry most styles.

Find your face shape first, then bring two or three reference photos to your barber. Ask them to look at your face before cutting. For hair care, the AAD advises washing based on how oily your scalp gets, using conditioner, and limiting heat. This week: find your face shape and save 3 reference photos of cuts for that shape.

Source: American Academy of Dermatology: Tips for healthy hair

Find your face shape in the browser

Haircuts for men by face shape

Hairstyles for women by face shape

Body fat and face fat: how to get a sharper face

If your jaw looks soft, body fat is usually the cause. You cannot spot-reduce fat from your face with exercises or gum. Your face gets leaner when your total body fat drops, and the jaw, cheekbones and chin show more.

Use a small, steady calorie deficit and lots of protein, not a crash diet. Move every day. The NHS baseline for adults is 150 minutes of moderate activity a week. Add strength training on at least 2 days. Strength work also changes your frame, which matters as much as the face in most photos.

Puffiness is different from fat. Salt, alcohol and short sleep can make your face look bloated in the morning. That kind of puffiness comes and goes, so do not judge your progress by one puffy morning. This week: walk 30 minutes on 5 days and do 2 full-body strength sessions.

Source: NHS: Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64

How to lose face fat

How to get a jawline

How to debloat your face

Does chewing gum help your jawline?

Posture: why it changes your face and frame

A forward head and rounded shoulders make the neck look shorter and push the chin back. Standing tall does the opposite. It is the cheapest change on this list, and it shows in every photo.

Strength work for the upper back helps you hold a better position without thinking about it. In photos, push your face slightly forward and down toward the camera. Keep your shoulders back. This defines the jawline. This week: set a phone reminder 3 times a day to check your head and shoulder position.

What mewing does and does not do

Grooming: brows, beard and the small stuff

Clean grooming makes a face look sharper with almost no effort. Trim stray brow hairs and the gap between your brows, but keep the natural shape. Over-plucked brows can change the whole look of your eye area.

If you have a beard, keep a clean cheek line. Set the neckline about one finger above the Adam's apple. A beard can add shape to a soft jaw. Patchy stubble usually looks better clean-shaven or kept very short. This week: tidy your brows and set a fixed day each week for a beard or shave.

What hunter eyes are and what you can change

Canthal tilt explained

Check your canthal tilt

Teeth: whitening and the basics

Your smile shows in almost every photo. Brush twice a day, floss, and see a dentist for a cleaning. The American Dental Association says whitening toothpastes remove surface stains with mild abrasives. For stronger whitening, talk to your dentist first and look for products with the ADA Seal.

Coffee, tea, energy drinks and smoking stain teeth. Rinse with water after them. This week: book a dental cleaning if you have not had one in a year.

Source: American Dental Association (MouthHealthy): Teeth whitening

Style: clothes that fit

Fit beats brand. Shirts should sit at the shoulder seam, not past it. Trousers should not bunch at the ankle. Most guys look better as soon as they size down out of baggy basics or get one item tailored.

Pick a few neutral colors that work together and work near your face. A clean white or grey tee, dark jeans and clean shoes cover most days. This week: check the shoulder fit of your 3 most-worn tops and replace the worst one.

Sleep: the cheapest looksmax

Short sleep shows on your face: puffy eyes, dull skin, darker circles. Sleep experts recommend 7 hours or more for adults and 8 to 10 hours for teens aged 13 to 18. Sleep also helps with fat loss and training, so it supports every other area here.

Keep the same wake time every day, keep your room dark and cool, and put the phone away before bed. This week: pick a fixed wake time and hold it for 7 days, weekends included.

Source: AASM: Recommended amount of sleep for pediatric populations

Photos: how to look better on camera

Many people look better in person than in their photos. A close selfie can make your nose look wider than it is. Hard overhead light adds shadows under the eyes. Fixing the camera setup is a real looksmax for dating apps and social media.

Hold the camera at eye level or a little above, at arm's length or more. Face a window. Use the back camera with a timer when you can. This week: take 20 photos in window light at different distances and keep the best 3.

How to take a good selfie

Why your face looks different in selfies

What are the most common looksmaxxing mistakes?

Most beginners do not fail from a lack of tips. They fail because they try everything at once, judge too early, or chase the wrong problem. Here are the mistakes we see most in looksmaxxing advice.

The fix for nearly all of them is the same. Pick one area, use the same photo setup every time, and give each change its full window before you add another.

• Ten new products in one week. If your skin breaks out, you will not know which one caused it.
• Judging by one photo. Light, distance and angle change a face more than a month of work.
• Face exercises for face fat. Fat loss happens across the whole body, not in one spot.
• Crash diets for a sharper jaw. They cost muscle, sleep and mood, and they are hard to keep up.
• Copying a forum 'ideal'. Your face shape decides what suits you, not someone else's rating chart.
• Skipping sleep to train more. Short sleep shows on your face and makes training harder.
• Buying 'bodybuilding' supplements. The FDA has found hidden steroids in some of them.

How to glow up, the long version

How to get rid of a double chin

How long does looksmaxxing take?

It depends on the area. Some changes show right away, some take weeks, and some take months. Where we could not find a source for a time, the table says 'varies'.

Source: American Academy of Dermatology: 10 skin care habits that can worsen acne

How to use Lookist to plan your looksmax

The hardest part for beginners is picking where to start. A Lookist face report gives you an overall score out of 10. It adds 15 feature scores with a written note for each. The lowest scores on things you can change, like skin clarity, skin texture or hair, make a good starting area.

Lookist then builds a daily glow-up plan from your results. It follows the goals you choose: jawline, skin, facial harmony or overall glow up. It covers skin care, gentle hair care and sleep reminders. You check off tasks and can see your routine history.

Scan history lets you compare past scans and scores over time. That's the same before-and-after check from the steps above. Before a haircut, the Hairstyle Tester lets you try styles on your own photo.

What your face score means

The best looksmaxxing apps compared

Lookist for beginners