Bone smashing

Bone smashing is the practice of hitting areas of the face (e.g. chin or cheekbones) to make them more prominent by inducing bone growth. For example, a person could bone smash their cheekbones to make them bigger and improve facial appearance. Bone smashing originates from the incel community on forums such as looksmax.org

Bonesmashing theory is based on Wolff’s law, which states that bone in a healthy person or animal will adapt to the loads under which it is placed. The idea behind this theory is to apply external pressure to a specific area regularly, in order to promote bone growth and remodelling in that area.

Does it work?

It’s unlikely that bone smashing works to improve facial appearance in a safe and reliable manner. If you bone smash, you might get a temporary change due to swelling, but it’s unlikely that this change will persist. Additionally, bone smashing can be counter productive because you could damage your face and end up looking worse than before. It’s also very difficult to get a symmetrical result where you change the left side the same as the right side.

It’s unlikely that Wolff’s law applies to bone smashing. Wolff’s law argues that gentle forces over long durations reshape bone, not strong forces for short periods of time.

Bone smashing before/after results

Result #1:

• source: thread on looksmax.org
• age: 19
• protocol: 
  • 2 minutes per day for 6 months
  • medium force with hammer
  • stop when red bruises come out
• additional methods:
  • thumb pulling, where you pull the maxilla forward with your thumbs
  • supplement calcium, vitamin d and vitamin k

 Result #2:

• source: reddit thread
• age: 18
• protocol: 
• 2 minutes per hour every hour for 3 weeks
• medium force using knuckles
• two days of bone smashing followed by one day of rest
• stop if red blushing appears
• additional methods:
• mewing for 7 months
• thumb pulling for 2 weeks

 Result #3 [fake]:

• source: youtube video
• the author admits it’s a fake result that he photoshopped

 Result #4 [fake]:

• source: tiktok
• satire video that makes fun of bone smashing with a fake result

Is bone smashing safe?

If you bonesmash with too much force, you could damage your face. For this reason, we recommend that people don’t perform bone smashing. Instead, you can improve your facial appearance with a mewing device.