'Insane' bonesmashing trend gains audience on social media
· Toronto Sun
Some young men who are unhappy with how they look have turned to an extreme do-it-yourself technique popularized on social media.
Bonesmashing involves lightly tapping your face with a hammer to shape the bones into a more chiselled look, all in an effort to improve your appearance and attract a sexual partner.
Visit orlando-books.blog for more information.
The TikTok trend is part of the looksmaxxing lifestyle of maximizing a person’s physical attractiveness, which typically involves common body care routines such as getting rid of acne, moisturizing skin, adding muscle by going to the gym and getting a haircut.
While those regular care routines are described as softmaxxing, the more extreme hardmaxxing is a more dangerous step.
Dr. Rady Rahban, a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, Calif., has called bonesmashing one of the craziest things he has heard.
“This one is insane,” Rahban said in a video on TikTok .
“As a medical doctor, the idea of breaking your cheekbone with a hammer thinking that it’s going to become thicker and larger is the same as drinking Clorox bleach to detoxify your liver. It’s in that realm of crazy.”
Popular TikTok trend
The trend went from obscure internet forums in the 2000s to become popular on TikTok in the 2020s.
The idea is to cause minor damage to the bone. When it heals, that person has a more squarer face and a stronger jawline.
That belief is based on German surgeon Julius Wolff, who in the 19th century believed healthy bones strengthen in response to physical stress, also known as loading.
“The very basic premise that repetitive mechanical load can influence bone density or remodelling is not completely divorced from science,” Dr. Joshua Rosenberg, a facial plastic surgeon and associate professor of otolaryngology at Mount Sinai in New York City, told GQ magazine .
“It’s just wildly misunderstood and misapplied here.”
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
Causes more harm than help
Last June, Dalhousie University in Halifax warned that the looksmaxxing trend can harm more than help young men.
One doctor from Brazil noted the risk of injuries from bonesmashing and warned that the trend was spreading on social media in a letter to the Journal of Stomatology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery .
Dr. Ricardo Grillo said the risks “encompass a range of severe maxillofacial injuries” that can cause “cosmetic disfigurement, functional impairment and other potential long-term consequences.”
He also said scar tissue could affect facial muscles, which could lead to damaged blood vessels and neurological issues as well.
“Of course, it’s a stupid idea,” Grillo said. “The list of risky points is enormous.”
Lopsided looks
There is also the threat of having an asymmetrical face if hammering certain areas more than others could make a person’s face look lopsided.
“You’re definitely not seeing the daily reality; the bruising, the inflammation, the downtime, the fact that most of this probably just looks bad and feels worse,” Rosenberg said.
“No one is hopping online to showcase their asymmetry or nerve symptoms. Most of these guys are not advertising the overwhelmingly negative outcomes.”