Looksmaxxing terms, explained: the complete glossary
Mogging, softmaxxing, PSL, canthal tilt — half of looksmaxxing is decoding the slang. Every term in plain English, with an honest note on which concepts matter and which are forum noise.
Looksmaxxing slang comes from early PSL-era rating forums and went mainstream on TikTok. Most of it is useful shorthand — softmaxxing, canthal tilt, gonial angle — but some of it (bonesmashing, extreme "hardmaxxing" claims) should be ignored entirely. Here's the vocabulary, sorted by what it actually means for you.
The method terms
Looksmaxxing (looks maxing, looksmaxing)
Maximizing your looks: systematically improving face, hair, skin, grooming, posture and style. The double-x spelling is the original community form; "looks maxing" and "looksmaxing" mean the same thing. Full breakdown in What is looksmaxxing?
Softmaxxing
Non-invasive improvement: skincare, hairstyle, beard and brow grooming, losing body fat, fixing posture, dressing better. Reversible, low-risk, cheap — and responsible for almost every impressive before/after you've seen. This is where everyone should start, and where most should stay.
Hardmaxxing
Invasive or permanent interventions — surgery being the obvious one. Real money, real risk, and decisions that belong with a qualified doctor, not a forum thread. Our honest position: exhaust softmaxxing first; most guys discover they never needed more.
Glow-up
The visible result of stacked habits over weeks or months. A realistic first milestone is 30 days — see the 30-day glow-up plan.
The rating vocabulary
The 1–10 scale
The decile attractiveness scale: 5 is a true average, 6–7 above average, 8+ model tier. Full tier-by-tier breakdown in the looksmaxxing scale guide.
PSL
The stricter forum calibration of the same scale, named for the communities where rating culture developed. PSL 5 is already notably good-looking; PSL 6 is model territory. If someone rates harshly, they're probably rating on PSL.
Mogging / getting mogged
Clearly out-classing someone in looks ("he mogs the whole photo"). From AMOG — alpha male of group. Fun slang, useless metric: you can't control who stands next to you. Track your own rating over time instead — that's the only comparison that pays.
The face anatomy terms
Mewing
Resting your whole tongue against the roof of your mouth as default posture. Popular, free, low-risk — but the evidence for adult facial change is limited. What it can and can't do: the mewing guide.
Canthal tilt
The angle between your eye's inner and outer corner. Slightly positive (outer corner higher) reads as alert and attractive; negative tilt reads tired. Mostly genetic — details in hunter eyes & canthal tilt.
Hunter eyes
Deep-set, horizontally narrow eyes under low-set brows with positive tilt — the eye shape looksmaxxing forums score highest. Largely bone-structure genetics; the changeable parts are debloating, sleep, and brow grooming.
Gonial angle
The angle where your jaw turns up toward your ear. Sharper angle = more defined jawline from the side. Influenced by genetics, body fat and masseter development — see jawline exercises and side profile.
Maxilla
Your upper jaw bone. A forward-grown maxilla supports the cheekbones and a compact midface — the anatomical idea behind most mewing discussion. In adults, maxilla position is essentially fixed without surgery; presentation factors around it are not.
Philtrum
The vertical groove between nose and upper lip. Forum threads obsess over its length; in practice it's genetic, and nobody in real life is measuring yours.
Terms to be skeptical of
Bonesmashing — deliberately striking facial bones hoping they remodel bigger — has no credible evidence behind it and a real risk of fracture and nerve damage. Do not do it. The same skepticism applies to any "hardmaxxing hack" promising bone change from home. If a technique sounds like it belongs in an injury report, it does. The unglamorous levers — skin, hair, body fat, posture, sleep — are the ones with actual results behind them.
Frequently asked
What does mogging mean in looksmaxxing?
Clearly out-classing someone in looks — comparison slang from AMOG ("alpha male of group"). Fun on forums, useless as a metric: track your own score instead.
What is the difference between softmaxxing and hardmaxxing?
Softmaxxing is non-invasive (skincare, hair, grooming, body fat, posture, style); hardmaxxing means invasive or permanent interventions like surgery. Start — and probably stay — with softmaxxing.
What does PSL stand for?
It's drawn from the names of the forums where strict rating culture developed. In practice it just labels the harsher version of the 1–10 scale, where 5 is already notably good-looking.
Is mewing the same as looksmaxxing?
No — mewing is one technique inside looksmaxxing. The full system covers skin, hair, jawline, grooming, posture and style; skincare and body fat typically move your rating far more than tongue posture.