After a long and exhausting day of doing math, PE, and whatever classes you hate, you lay in bed and open up TikTok. On the “For you” page, you see many videos on how to “Looks-Max”, or ways to exercise your “vuvuzela arms” away. TikTok users participate in harmful trends. Some create those trends or post new names for “undesirable” body parts to persuade people to buy their phony products.
When we think of harmful trends, the “One Chip Challenge” may come to mind, where people eat an incredibly spicy chip, which could lead to intense pain. Or the “Cinnamon Challenge” where people take a heaping spoonful of cinnamon and consume it all. Many trends, however, hurt the mind and not the body. Recently, a trend using the term “facial harmony” has come up. The video starts with the creator showing their lips, eyes, nose, and whole face. Each video always has the same text with the statements “Bad facial features but good facial harmony” or “Good facial features but bad facial harmony.” The viewer, usually an adolescent, could look at the trend and think, “Do I have bad facial harmony?” or, “Is it noticeable that I have bad facial features?” and begin to lose their sense of security and self-appreciation.
This isn’t the only trend that makes teens and other individuals insecure about things that don’t exist. Over the past year, the term “Looks-Maxxing” has gotten attention. Looks-Maxxing is when people, usually young men, buy ridiculous and unnecessary products or use foolish techniques to modify what they think are undesired facial and bodily features. When doing a deep dive, one will find that many Looks-Maxxing influencers are advertising products. These products do not work but they are relatively pricey. Famous YouTuber Kurtis Connor made a video honestly reviewing these products and only one worked! Not only that but Looks-Maxxers on TikTok create videos of normal genetic facial features and make them an insecurity or an unwanted feature. According to Looks-Maxxers, having a widow’s peak, different nose, or smaller jawline, is ugly and should be fixed immediately.
“It makes people insecure… People shouldn’t feel the need to have a sharper jawline,” said Olivia Motta, 8th grader. “I don’t like it. It makes people insecure for no reason. People are beautiful in their own way without the need for beauty trends.” said Angie Rodosta. Like the “good facial features bad facial harmony” trend, this could add to someone’s insecurities or cause them to develop mental health problems. As of 2021, 12% of teenagers and adolescents have an eating disorder. That’s an estimate of 156,000,000 kids! Although there are many bad sides to these beauty terms and trends circling the internet, there are some helpful aspects. Some creators in the Looks-Maxxing community promote helpful tips like eating healthy, taking frequent showers, brushing your teeth, and washing your face. These tips could motivate someone with severe depression to take care of themselves. There are always good and bad sides to things.
It is hard being a teenager, especially when villains on TikTok have beauty standards for them. A technique people can use to fight self-deprecating thoughts is putting up sticky notes around their room with thoughtful messages that they can see when they get ready for the day. People can also put reminders on their phones or watch inspirational videos. Or, if insecure thoughts pop up, focus on your breathing. Just think “Breath in, breathe out,” instead of “I need to buy retinol.” We need to stop focusing on our looks and focus on our minds, whether it’s our mental health or knowledge.
