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Gen Z Is Looksmaxxing by ‘Bonesmashing’ Their Faces

It’s just as unhinged as it sounds.

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“Bonesmashing” is the latest internet brainworm in the looksmaxxing universe. The idea is simple, bleak, and aggressively unmedical. People film themselves hitting their own faces with blunt objects in an attempt to “reform” bone and carve out a sharper jawline. TikTok and Instagram have hosted plenty of this content, and plenty of viewers beg for it to stop.

Oral and maxillofacial surgeon Lee Kojanis of Premier Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery in New Jersey doesn’t mince words. “We’re seeing a dangerous trend in which social media is glamorizing facial trauma,” he said. “‘Bonesmashing’ does not reliably improve appearance; it increases the risk of fractures, dental injury, and long-term complications.”

The fantasy behind bonesmashing leans on a misunderstanding of how bone responds to stress. Controlled surgical work uses imaging, planning, sterile technique, and fixation. Random blunt-force hits at home offer none of that. Kojanis said the premise is “deeply concerning and medically unsound,” adding, “Facial trauma does not heal like a cosmetic procedure, and the potential consequences can be significant.”

Those consequences can get real, real quick. “Repeated blunt-force trauma can cause true facial fractures, including injuries to the jaw, cheekbone, or orbital region, which may require surgical intervention,” Kojanis warned. A fracture near the orbit can affect vision. Injury to the maxilla or mandible can affect bite and chewing. He also flagged temporomandibular joint function, since “Damage to facial bony structures can affect critical functions, including…occlusion or bite…chewing efficiency, and TMJ range of motion.”

Maybe Don’t Hit Yourself in the Face With a Hammer!

Bonesmashing can also ruin your smile in ways you can’t reverse with a skincare routine. Dental injuries, root damage, gum trauma, chipped teeth, nerve injury, and infections are all on the table when someone treats their face like a DIY construction site. A 2024 paper in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery described bonesmashing as an urgent concern and highlighted the risk of serious injury tied to self-inflicted facial trauma trends online.

Kojanis also pointed out the real punch you are throwing at your own symmetry. “Performing repeated trauma in an uncontrolled, non-medical setting creates high variability in force and location, making asymmetric healing much more likely and often worsening facial balance rather than improving it.”

If you want “expert advice” summed up in one sentence, it’s this. Your face is not a hobby. If you’re worried about your jawline, talk to a qualified clinician who works in facial anatomy for a living. If you’re already hitting your face, stop and get checked, especially if you have pain, numbness, bite changes, swelling, vision changes, or loose teeth. The internet will move on. Your face won’t.

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