Wanting to look better is normal. Exercising, taking care of your skin, finding clothes that fit well, or getting a haircut you like can all be healthy forms of self-care. But there can be a point where improving your appearance stops being one part of your life and starts taking over your life.

That distinction has become especially relevant with the rise of looksmaxxing, an online movement focused on maximizing physical attractiveness.

I recently appeared on ABC News Live alongside board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Terry Dubrow to discuss looksmaxxing, including some of the increasingly extreme advice circulating online. ABC described the segment as an examination of whether looksmaxxing works and whether it can be done safely.

Watch the full segment here

A television interview only gives you a few minutes to talk about a complicated psychological issue, so I wanted to go deeper into one question that I think is especially important:

When does wanting to improve your appearance become something psychologically unhealthy?

What Is Looksmaxxing?

Looksmaxxing is an online term for attempting to maximize your physical attractiveness.

The important thing to understand is that looksmaxxing exists on a continuum.

At one end are fairly ordinary behaviors:

• Exercising

• Getting a haircut

• Improving your grooming

• Taking care of your skin

• Dressing differently

• Trying to improve sleep or nutrition

For many people, these behaviors can be perfectly healthy. At the other end, some looksmaxxing communities promote increasingly aggressive attempts to alter appearance, including extreme dieting, steroid or supplement misuse, repeated cosmetic procedures, and other potentially dangerous or unproven practices.

The psychological concern is not simply that someone wants to become more attractive.

The concern is what happens when someone begins to believe:

“If I can just fix this part of my appearance, then I’ll finally feel okay about myself.”

And then, once that feature is changed, another perceived problem appears.

Why Has Looksmaxxing Become So Popular?

There probably is not one single explanation. One factor is that appearance has become extraordinarily easy to compare.

Social media gives us an almost endless stream of faces, bodies, before-and-after photos, fitness transformations, facial measurements, attractiveness ratings, and advice about how to optimize the way we look. And we usually are not comparing ourselves to the average person we pass at the grocery store.

We may be comparing ourselves to carefully selected photographs involving ideal lighting, editing, filters, cosmetic procedures, performance-enhancing substances, or dozens of attempts to capture one flattering image.

There are also online communities specifically devoted to analyzing physical appearance.

Someone can post a photograph and receive detailed feedback about their jaw, hairline, skin, facial symmetry, body fat, height, muscularity, or other features.

For some people, that information may feel useful. For someone who is already vulnerable to anxiety, perfectionism, obsessive thinking, or body-image concerns, it can also become fuel for an unhealthy cycle.

Recent research and clinical commentary have raised concerns about the intersection of looksmaxxing, social comparison, body dissatisfaction, eating-disorder symptoms, and body dysmorphic concerns, particularly among boys and young men.

Social media does not automatically cause Body Dysmorphic Disorder, and most people who watch appearance-related content will never develop BDD.

But it can create an environment in which someone who is already struggling with their appearance has nearly unlimited opportunities to compare, check, research, and criticize themselves.

What Is Body Dysmorphic Disorder?

Body Dysmorphic Disorder, or BDD, is a mental health condition involving an intense preoccupation with perceived flaws in someone’s appearance.

The feature may appear relatively minor to other people, or other people may not notice it at all. People with BDD can become consumed with trying to evaluate, hide, or change the perceived flaw.

That can include behaviors such as:

• Repeatedly checking mirrors

• Avoiding mirrors entirely

• Comparing their appearance to other people

• Asking others for reassurance

• Excessive grooming

• Repeatedly photographing themselves

• Researching cosmetic procedures

• Trying to camouflage certain features

• Avoiding situations where other people may see them

The distinction between ordinary insecurity and BDD is not simply how much someone cares about appearance.

A much more useful question is:

How much is appearance controlling the person’s life?

Four Signs Appearance Concerns May Be Becoming Clinically Significant

When I am thinking about whether someone’s appearance concerns may be becoming more serious, there are four areas I would pay particular attention to.

1. Appearance is taking up a significant amount of time

Someone may spend hours thinking about one particular feature. They may repeatedly examine themselves from different angles, compare photographs, search for treatments, watch appearance-related videos, or evaluate how they look.

Even when they are doing something else, a significant portion of their attention remains focused on their appearance. This kind of preoccupation can become mentally exhausting.

2. There is a compulsive quality to the behavior

Someone may feel driven to perform certain behaviors repeatedly.

For example:

“I just need to check the mirror one more time.”

“I need someone to tell me whether my nose looks weird.”

“I need to take another picture from a different angle.”

“I need to compare my jawline to this person’s.”

The behavior often reduces anxiety briefly.

But that temporary relief can actually reinforce the cycle. The next time insecurity appears, the person becomes even more likely to check again.

3. Appearance concerns are changing how the person lives

This is one of the most important warning signs.

Someone may begin avoiding:

• Dating

• Social events

• Photographs

• Swimming

• The gym

• Bright lighting

• School

• Work

• Seeing friends

• Leaving home

Some people begin postponing important parts of their lives until they believe they have finally fixed their appearance. The problem is that the standard they are trying to reach may continue changing.

4. Attempts to change appearance are escalating

Someone may move from relatively benign strategies to increasingly extreme ones.

That can include rigid dieting, excessive exercise, steroid or supplement misuse, repeated cosmetic procedures, or spending large amounts of money trying to correct perceived flaws.

Again, none of these behaviors automatically means someone has BDD.

The concern is the pattern. Is the person becoming increasingly distressed Are they losing control over the behavior? Is appearance consuming more and more of their life?

Why Cosmetic Procedures May Not Fix Body Dysmorphic Disorder

This is an important distinction. Cosmetic procedures are not inherently unhealthy. Many people undergo cosmetic procedures and are satisfied with the results.

The problem is different when someone has Body Dysmorphic Disorder. BDD often operates through a repeating cycle. Someone notices a perceived flaw. They become anxious, ashamed, or distressed about it.

They attempt to reduce that distress by checking mirrors, comparing themselves to other people, seeking reassurance, hiding the feature, researching procedures, or changing their appearance. Those behaviors may provide temporary relief. But they do not necessarily change the underlying obsessive pattern.

Research examining cosmetic treatment among people with BDD has found that cosmetic interventions frequently fail to meaningfully improve the underlying disorder, and clinicians have long reported poor psychological outcomes in this population.

After one feature is changed, the person may become intensely focused on the result. Or another perceived flaw may suddenly become more important.

The body changes, but the psychological cycle continues. That is why BDD is generally conceptualized as a mental health condition rather than simply a cosmetic problem.

What Should Parents, Partners, and Friends Watch For?

If you are concerned about someone you care about, I would pay less attention to whether you personally agree that something is wrong with their appearance and more attention to how much distress the issue is causing.

Ask yourself:

Is appearance becoming the main thing they talk about?

Are they spending more and more time researching their appearance?

Are they withdrawing from people or activities?

Are they refusing photographs?

Are they repeatedly asking you whether they look okay?

Are their eating, exercise, supplement use, or spending becoming increasingly rigid or extreme?

Are they pursuing one cosmetic intervention after another without ever feeling satisfied?

These changes are often more meaningful than the specific feature the person is worried about.

Be Careful With Reassurance

When someone is extremely distressed about their appearance, the natural response is usually reassurance.

“You look fine.”

“Your nose isn’t big.”

“Nobody notices that.”

“You’re attractive.”

That may help momentarily. But if someone has developed a compulsive reassurance-seeking cycle, repeatedly answering those questions can sometimes become part of the problem.

They feel anxious.

They ask for reassurance.

Their anxiety decreases.

Then the doubt comes back.

So they ask again.

Instead of endlessly debating whether the perceived flaw exists, it may be more useful to focus on the impact the concern is having.

For example:

“I can see how distressed you are about this, and I’m concerned about how much time it’s taking up and how much it’s keeping you from doing.”

That shifts the conversation away from whether the person is objectively attractive and toward their actual quality of life.

How Is Body Dysmorphic Disorder Treated?

The encouraging news is that BDD is treatable.

One of the best-supported psychological treatments is a specialized form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, designed specifically for Body Dysmorphic Disorder.

Treatment may involve helping people recognize the cycle between appearance-related thoughts, anxiety, avoidance, checking, reassurance seeking, and other repetitive behaviors.

Over time, they gradually practice responding differently.

Instead of checking the mirror repeatedly, they may learn to tolerate the uncertainty.

Instead of avoiding photographs or social situations, they gradually begin participating again.

Instead of repeatedly asking whether they look okay, they practice allowing the uncomfortable thought to exist without trying to immediately eliminate it.

Research on CBT for BDD has found meaningful improvements for many patients, including substantial remission rates following treatment.

Medication, particularly serotonin reuptake inhibitors, may also be helpful for some people and can sometimes be used alongside psychotherapy.

The goal of treatment is not to convince someone that they are attractive. The goal is to help appearance-related thoughts stop controlling their behavior and their life.

So, Is Looksmaxxing Bad?

Not necessarily.Wanting to improve your appearance does not mean you have a mental health disorder.

Getting in better shape, changing your hairstyle, dressing differently, or taking better care of yourself can feel good and may improve confidence.

The psychological warning sign appears when the pursuit becomes increasingly rigid.

When appearance determines whether you will date.

Whether you will see friends.

Whether you will let someone photograph you.

Whether you can enjoy your body.

Whether you feel worthy of being seen.

At that point, another appearance optimization strategy may not be what you need. You may need to understand why appearance has become so psychologically powerful in the first place.

Wanting to look better is normal. The concern is when appearance stops being one part of your life and starts controlling your life.

Watch: What I Couldn’t Say on TV About Looksmaxxing

I recently discussed looksmaxxing on ABC News Live and later recorded a longer video exploring the psychology behind the trend, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, social media, cosmetic procedures, and treatment.

You can also watch the original ABC News segment here:

ABC News – “Does ‘looksmaxxing’ work and can you do it safely?”

When to Consider Talking With a Mental Health Professional

If concerns about appearance are consuming substantial amounts of time, leading to compulsive behaviors, interfering with relationships or daily life, or pushing you toward increasingly extreme attempts to change your body, it may be worth speaking with a mental health professional who has experience with body image, anxiety, OCD-related conditions, or Body Dysmorphic Disorder.

Houston Therapy is a private-pay psychology practice in Houston providing psychotherapy and psychological services for a variety of mental health concerns.

If you think we may be able to help, you can learn more about our therapists or contact our intake team to see whether someone at Houston Therapy might be a good fit.

This article is for educational purposes and is not intended to diagnose Body Dysmorphic Disorder or replace individualized mental health care.