PSL Test: How to Estimate Your PSL Rating
A PSL test places a face on the 1 to 8 scale used on looksmaxxing forums. The scale is harsh: forums put the average person around 4 and treat 7 and 8 as almost unreachable. PSL is forum slang, not a tested scale, so any PSL number is an estimate. This page gives you the tier chart, a rough conversion from a 1 to 10 score, and the features forums look at. For a scored report on your own photo, Lookist gives an overall score out of 10 and 15 feature scores with notes.
Want all 15 feature scores with explanations? Get Lookist for iPhone
How to estimate your PSL rating
Posting a photo on a forum for a rating gets you a dozen guesses and some harsh comments. A steadier way is to start from a scored report and convert it, then sanity-check it against the tier descriptions.
- Take a straight-on photo at eye level, in soft front light, with a neutral face.
- Get a face score out of 10. Lookist gives you an overall score and 15 feature scores from one front photo.
- Use the conversion table on this page to move that score onto the 1 to 8 PSL scale.
- Read the tier description for that number and check it against the features forums care about.
- Treat the result as a range of about half a point either way, not an exact number.
What the PSL scale is
PSL comes from the names of three old looks-rating forums. On looksmaxxing forums today it means a 1 to 8 attractiveness scale. The scale is deliberately harsh. Forum users put the average person around 4, and they treat 7 and 8 as almost unreachable.
Nobody has tested the PSL scale. It has no fixed definition, no measuring method and no study behind it. Two forum users can give the same photo a 3.5 and a 5. That is why any PSL number should be read as an estimate.
The name also belongs to a face-analysis app. This page is about the forum scale, not that app.
PSL slang you will see in rating threads
Rating threads use a lot of shorthand. Knowing it makes the tier chart easier to read. These are the common terms, in plain words.
- Normie: an average-looking person in forum terms. LTN, MTN and HTN split normies into low, mid and high tiers.
- Chadlite and Chad: forum labels for the upper tiers. They describe looks, not personality.
- Mog: to look clearly better than someone else in the same photo or setting.
- Ascend: to move up a tier through looksmaxxing.
- Softmaxxing and hardmaxxing: soft means grooming, skin, hair and fitness. Hard means surgery and other medical work.
PSL tier chart
These are the tiers as forums describe them, with the forum shorthand where it is common. We left out the labels forums use for the lowest tiers, because they are insults, not descriptions.
Forums use half points, so you will see ratings like 4.5 or 5.5. Half a point is a small step. A different photo of the same person can move a forum rating by that much.
| PSL | Forum label | What forums mean by it |
|---|---|---|
| 7 to 8 | Top of the scale | Forums treat it as almost unreachable. |
| 6 to 6.5 | Very attractive | Near the top of what forums call realistic. |
| 5 to 5.5 | HTN (high-tier normie) | Clearly above average in forum terms. |
| 4 to 4.5 | MTN (mid-tier normie) | The forum middle. Most people sit here. |
| 3 to 3.5 | LTN (low-tier normie) | Below the forum middle. |
| 1 to 2.5 | Bottom of the scale | Rarely used for real photos. |
PSL vs. a 1 to 10 rating: conversion table
Most rating apps and sites use 1 to 10. PSL uses 1 to 8 and sets the middle lower, so the same face gets a smaller number on PSL. A face someone calls a 7 out of 10 might get a 4 or 5 on a forum.
There is no official conversion. The table below is a common rough mapping: subtract about 3 from a 1 to 10 score and keep the result between 1 and 8. Use it to get into the right tier, not to argue over half points.
| Score out of 10 | Rough PSL | Forum tier |
|---|---|---|
| 9.5 and above | 6.5 to 7 | Very attractive to top of scale |
| 8.5 to 9.4 | 5.5 to 6 | HTN to very attractive |
| 7.5 to 8.4 | 4.5 to 5 | MTN to HTN |
| 6.5 to 7.4 | 3.5 to 4 | LTN to MTN |
| 5.5 to 6.4 | 2.5 to 3 | LTN |
| Below 5.5 | Below 2.5 | Bottom of the scale |
What forums look at when they rate PSL
Forum ratings mix bone structure, soft tissue and presentation. These are the features that come up most in rating threads.
Bone structure
Jawline, chin, cheekbones and brow ridge. Forums also talk about the width of the face compared with its height, called fWHR. Bone structure mostly does not change with routines after your late teens.
Eye area
Canthal tilt, eyelid exposure and eye spacing. Forums often call a deep-set eye with a positive tilt hunter eyes. Sleep and puffiness change how the eye area looks day to day.
Symmetry and harmony
How well the two halves match and how well the features fit together. Every real face has small differences between sides.
Skin, hair and face fat
Clear skin, a haircut that suits your face shape, and lower face fat change a rating a lot. These are also the things you can change fastest.
What a photo can and cannot show
Forum ratings, for all their problems, look at the whole person in the photo. Some things change a rating that no single photo captures well.
- Skin: clear, even skin changes how a face reads more than most ratios do.
- Hair: a cut that suits your face shape changes the whole outline.
- Facial fat: less fat around the face lets the jaw and cheekbones show more.
- Grooming: brows, facial hair and teeth.
- Photo quality: light, angle, lens and expression.
- Height, frame and style, which forums often fold into a rating.
How to move up a PSL tier, honestly
Forums argue about bone, but most of the movement between tiers comes from soft tissue and presentation. A face with clear skin, a cut that suits its shape, lower face fat and good photos often reads half a tier to a full tier higher than the same face without them.
Start with the areas that change fastest, then build habits for the slower ones. The table below sorts them by how quickly you can expect to see a difference.
| Area | First move | How fast it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Photo | Eye-level camera, soft front light, neutral face | Right away |
| Haircut | Pick a cut for your face shape | Right away |
| Brows and grooming | Clean up brows, beard line and neckline | Right away |
| Sleep and puffiness | Regular sleep, less salt and alcohol at night | Days |
| Skin | Simple routine with sunscreen and an acne treatment if needed | Several weeks to a few months |
| Face fat | Steady overall fat loss | Weeks to months |
| Bone structure | No routine changes it | Does not change |
How Lookist scores a face instead
Lookist does not use PSL. It gives you an overall score out of 10 from one front photo, a potential score, and a percentile chart that shows where your score sits among other Lookist scans.
Below the overall score are 15 feature scores, each with a written note: symmetry, facial harmony, jawline, cheekbones, nose, eyes, lips, chin, forehead, skin clarity, skin texture, skin tone, skin radiance, eye brightness and hair. That covers the bone, eye and soft-tissue areas forums argue about, one by one.
Your results feed a daily glow-up plan with skin care, hair care and sleep tasks. Scan history keeps past reports so you can compare photos taken the same way. Hairstyle Tester tries new cuts on your own photo before you book a barber.
Limitations: PSL is slang, and a score is not your worth
PSL ratings on forums are opinions from a small, self-selected group, often in a harsh mood. Research on attractiveness finds that people do agree on some things, like symmetry and averageness, but it also finds real differences in what individuals like. A single forum number cannot capture that.
A 1985 study found that classic face proportion rules rarely fit real faces. That is a good reminder that reference points are not targets.
Rating culture can be rough on people. If checking your PSL is making you anxious, or you spend hours a day thinking about your looks, take a break from the forums and talk to someone you trust or a doctor. Body image worries are common and they get better with help.
Tips for a fair PSL estimate
Forum users rate the photo as much as the face. Give any rater a fair photo.
- Hold the phone at eye level, an arm's length away or more. Close selfies distort the face.
- Look straight into the lens. A turned head lowers symmetry.
- Keep a neutral face and relaxed eyes. Squinting changes how your canthal tilt looks.
- Use soft light from the front, not overhead light.
- Push your hair off your forehead and jaw.
- No filters. They change your proportions before anyone sees them.
Frequently asked questions
Is 5.5 on the PSL scale good?
In forum terms, 5 to 5.5 is above average, often called HTN. Forums put the average around 4. On the rough conversion, 5.5 lines up with about 8.5 out of 10. Remember that PSL is slang, not a tested scale.
What does a 6.5 PSL rating mean?
Forums treat 6 to 6.5 as very attractive, near the top of what they consider realistic. On the rough conversion it lines up with about 9.5 out of 10.
How can I calculate my PSL score?
No official formula exists. A common shortcut is to take a score out of 10 and subtract about 3, then read the tier chart. Start from a scored report, such as the Lookist overall score, so the input is steady.
What does PSL stand for?
It comes from the names of three old looks-rating forums. Today it is used as a 1 to 8 attractiveness scale on looksmaxxing forums.
What is the average PSL rating?
Forums put the average person at about 4. That is partly because the scale is harsh by design. On the rough conversion, 4 lines up with about 7 out of 10.
Can I raise my PSL rating?
You can raise what a photo shows: good light, a straight-on angle, a neutral face. Skin, hair, grooming, sleep and body fat change how you look in real life. Bone structure does not change with routines. The Lookist app builds a daily plan around the things you can change.
Why is the PSL scale so harsh?
The forums that made it set the middle low on purpose, around 4 out of 8, and treat the top two points as almost out of reach. Ratings there also come from a small group that is often in a critical mood. That is why the same face usually gets a lower number on PSL than on a 1 to 10 scale.
Is this the same as the PSL app?
No. PSL is also the name of a face-analysis app. This page covers the forum PSL scale. Our comparison page covers the PSL app.
What PSL is a 7 out of 10?
There is no official conversion. On the rough mapping, 7 out of 10 lines up with PSL 4, which forums treat as the middle.
Does the PSL scale work for women?
Yes. Forums use the PSL scale for women too, often with different slang for each tier. Lookist scores the same 15 features for men and women.
References
- Little, Jones and DeBruine (2011). Facial attractiveness: evolutionary based research. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 366
- Farkas, Hreczko, Kolar and Munro (1985). Vertical and horizontal proportions of the face in young adult North American Caucasians: revision of neoclassical canons. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 75(3)
- Carré and McCormick (2008). In your face: facial metrics predict aggressive behaviour in the laboratory and in varsity and professional hockey players. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 275
Read how we check sources. For photo handling in the app, read our privacy policy.