Buzz
Welcome to this week’s TikTok Myth—a concept so bizarre, it’s hard to believe it’s real. Today’s focus is on "bone smashing," also referred to as "bone mashing." This involves lightly striking your face with a hammer in the pursuit of beauty.
While not entirely new, bone smashing has recently gained traction—or at least more attention as a subject of ridicule and caution. For years, it has been a hot topic on some of the most disheartening Reddit threads, where (mostly) young (mostly) males inquire about the legitimacy of this practice after seeing it on YouTube or Instagram—and often proceed to experiment with it themselves.
What exactly is bone smashing?
The concept of bone smashing revolves around the idea of increasing the size or thickness of facial bones in targeted areas. Enthusiasts often use hammers or their knuckles to gently tap regions like the cheekbones and jawline, aiming to enhance bone structure.
This bizarre beauty trend appears to have originated from the creative minds of "mewing" influencers (more on that term shortly). They latched onto Wolff’s law, which explains how bones adapt to physical stress, and extrapolated it to an extreme conclusion.
Wolff’s law is scientifically validated and widely accepted. It explains that bones strengthen in response to stress, which is why weight-bearing exercises like walking or running are recommended for those at risk of osteoporosis. Bone smashing proponents believe they can apply this principle to stimulate facial bone growth.
But does bone smashing actually deliver results?
There is zero scientific evidence supporting the claim that hammering your face can sculpt a defined jawline or cheekbones. While Wolff’s law explains bone adaptation to stress, the process is far more complex than a TikTok soundbite suggests. Some bone smashing advocates cite examples like athletes or boxers, such as this Instagram post featuring a tennis player with one forearm larger than the other. However, it’s safe to assume his physique wasn’t achieved by hammering his arm.
What actually occurs when you repeatedly tap your facial bones with a hard object? While aesthetically pleasing bone growth is unlikely, you might experience swelling and bruising as the soft tissues react to the impact. Some influencers who claim to practice bone smashing share videos displaying bruised and swollen cheekbones. It’s one way to enlarge parts of your face, albeit temporarily.
In more severe cases, the consequences could be far worse. You risk fracturing a bone, sustaining a concussion, or causing other injuries—such as missing your target and damaging your teeth or eyes. While some bone smashing enthusiasts stress the importance of doing it gently or safely, I cannot vouch for the safety of any such method.
What is the origin of bone smashing?
Initially, bone smashing struck me as humorous. However, the more I researched, the more it seemed deeply concerning. Delving deeper reveals a darker side to this trend.
Bone smashing is part of a broader obsession among a subculture of young men striving to reshape their faces for a more masculine appearance. This is the same realm as mewing, which involves tongue exercises purportedly designed to square the jawline and even address various health issues. However, no peer-reviewed studies support these claims, which are solely propagated by its promoters.
The troubling aspect emerges when you consider the countless hours people dedicate to mastering techniques like mewing, bone smashing, and thumb pulling—all part of looksmaxxing, a pursuit often tied to incel culture and focused on enhancing (typically male) attractiveness.
Numerous looksmaxxing influencers dominate platforms like YouTube and Instagram, yet there’s no reliable way to confirm the authenticity of their “before and after” photos. Often, the changes appear to result from clever posing or camera tricks. In other cases, the influencers are so young that their transformations likely stem from natural puberty. Additionally, many videos use filters to enhance features, and some influencers openly admit to cosmetic procedures like fillers.
Much of my knowledge about bone smashing comes from older discussions on text-based forums. Nowadays, TikTok content on the topic is mostly memes or cautionary tales. For instance, this influencer advises against bone smashing and instead suggests chewing gum to strengthen jaw muscles—a far safer alternative.
Why this trend is even more unsettling than it appears
Why are so many young people—and, disturbingly, some adults—fixated on the smallest details of their and others’ appearances? Delving deeper, you’ll encounter theories about evolutionary traits that supposedly determine one’s likelihood of being loved or gaining social influence. Do you possess “hunter eyes,” or are you cursed with “scleral show,” where the whites of your eyes are visible below the iris? Is your “canthal tilt” positive or negative? (This refers to whether the corners of your eyes tilt upward or downward relative to the horizontal.)
Naturally, there’s no universal standard for what makes someone the most attractive or powerful-looking, and these ideas crumble under even the slightest scrutiny. On Reddit forums where such topics are debated, newcomers often express confusion over why celebrities and attractive individuals possess so-called “inferior” traits. In one instance, a reply stated: “Remember, this sub[reddit] focuses on objective beauty. ...While some might find scleral show appealing, it remains an objectively unattractive feature.”
The notion that facial features dictate your fate is absurd, yet it has a lengthy historical backdrop. For example, in the early 20th century, Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso wrote extensively about how certain facial traits supposedly identified born criminals. He advocated for stricter punishments for those with these features and leniency for others, even if they committed the same crimes.
Facial features also played a central role in the eugenics movement, pseudoscientific theories about the origins of ‘Aryans’, and the discredited practice of phrenology. Scientists gathered photographs to define racial characteristics, while museums measured skulls to “prove” racial superiority and identify so-called pure Native American traits. History shows that nothing good has ever come from attempts to classify humans based on “objective” facial measurements.
