Editor-in-Chief
James "Jamie" Aldridge
Background
42, Kent-born, London-based. Senior Creative Director at a mid-size ad agency. Worked on grooming accounts for years (can't tell you which — you know the drill). Started Looksmax Man because the internet kept feeding him looksmaxxing TikToks in 2024 and he couldn't decide whether to laugh or take notes. Ended up doing both. Still co-runs [Off The Record](https://otrfragrance.com) with Mariana V. — this is his other thing, the grooming side. The running joke is that he started looksmaxxing at 41 out of spite for the internet; the undisclosed part is that his skin has never looked better.
What Jamie Cares About
Cares about what actually works vs what's being sold. Takes grooming seriously because the results are real. Takes the discourse around grooming — the looksmaxxing subculture, the alpha-mogging TikToks, the $400 jade rollers — ironically, because most of it is cope dressed up as optimization. Will trash an expensive product with a grift narrative. Will champion a $12 drugstore moisturizer if it outperforms the $180 one. His whole editorial thesis: men who care about how they look are fine — men who pretend they don't are the weird ones. Now let's skip the bone-smashing content and talk about what adds a point or two.
Hot Takes
- Hardmaxxing is cope dressed up as self-optimization. If your path to attractiveness involves hitting your face with a hammer, the problem isn't your bone structure.
- Softmaxxing — real softmaxxing — is just what every adult man should've been doing since his twenties. The branding is new. The practice is ancient.
- If a skincare brand won't tell you the percentage of the active ingredient, assume there isn't one.
- A good haircut does more work than any product on this site. Find a barber who'll charge you £40 and tell you you're wrong. Everything else is maintenance.
- I will die on this hill: fragrance counts as grooming. If you smell like the 6am Tube, your jawline doesn't matter.
Sample Voice
Look, I spent three weekends reading mewing forums so you don't have to. The tl;dr: you can't bone-smash your way to Paul Mescal, but you can absolutely go from a four to a six with a razor that costs more than twelve quid and a moisturizer that isn't actually a body lotion your ex left behind. I'm not being reductive — I'm being generous. Most of you are a seven already. You just smell like gym kit and forgot what SPF was.
Guides by Jamie (25)
BEST OF
Best Blades for the Merkur 34C: 5 DE Blades That Actually Suit the 34C (From $0.03 a Shave)
Gillette Silver Blue is the blade for a Merkur 34C, no real debate. It's sharp enough that two passes clears the 34C's mild-moderate head, forgiving enough to survive sloppy angle control, lasts three to five shaves, and costs about five cents a shave.
HOW TO
Retinol for Beginners: How to Use It Without Burning Your Face Off
The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in Squalane is the right starting point for most men getting into retinol - same active concentration as products costing six times more, the squalane base is forgiving enough to take the edge off early irritation, and at under $9 for a bottle that lasts four months, you've run out of financial excuses. Pair it with the CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser, La Roche-Posay Toleriane moisturiser, and EltaMD UV Clear SPF 46 and you have a complete protocol that a dermatologist would recognise as legitimate.
VIBE GUIDE
Beard Oil Is Mostly Cope (and Other Things Looksmaxxing TikTok Won't Tell You)
If you're only going to fix one thing, make it SPF. EltaMD UV Clear SPF 46 is the sunscreen dermatologists actually use on themselves - matte, niacinamide-spiked, and invisible enough that you'll run out of excuses not to wear it daily. Everything else in this guide is worth doing, but nothing moves the needle on long-term skin quality like consistent sun protection.
BEST OF
Best Moisturizers for Men 2026: From Drugstore Heroes to Premium Flex
CeraVe Daily Facial Moisturizing Lotion with SPF 30 is the best moisturizer for most men right now - ceramide-backed barrier repair, SPF 30, dermatologist-tested formula, $14. It does what moisturizers costing five times more do, and it does it in the morning step you were already taking. If you use nothing else from this guide, use this.
DUPE GUIDE
The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in Squalane: What It Actually Does, What to Pair It With, and What Not to Waste Your Money On
The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in Squalane is already the budget answer to a $230 SkinCeuticals bottle - same active percentage, 6% of the price, and it works. The catch is that retinol without the right support routine is how you end up with a raw, peeling face and a grudge against actives. Pair it with the CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser, La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Moisturiser, and EltaMD UV Clear SPF 46, and you've got a complete retinol routine for under $65 total.
BEST OF
Best Sunscreens for Men 2026: The Single Anti-Ageing Move That Actually Works
EltaMD UV Clear SPF 46 is the best daily sunscreen for most men right now - matte finish, 5% niacinamide, virtually no white cast for a mineral formula, and dermatologist-recommended without the dermatologist-speak price tag. If you do one thing for your face this year, this is it.
BEST OF
Best Hair Styling Products for Men 2026: Pomade vs Clay vs Fiber — Ranked by Hair Type
For most men, the wrong format is doing more damage than the wrong brand - and Hanz de Fuko Quicksand is the one product that consistently fixes this, particularly if your hair is fine or limp and every other clay or pomade has left you looking like you've been caught in a light drizzle. It scores 82/100 here, tops the list, and the dry wax format is genuinely the most under-used category in men's styling.
HOW TO
Skincare Actives Layering Order: What Goes On First, What Cancels What Out, and What's Just Cope
Starting from zero? The sequence is: CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser, your active (niacinamide or retinol depending on the time of day), moisturiser, then SPF. The EltaMD UV Clear SPF 46 goes on last every single morning - full stop. Get the order right and your actives actually reach your skin and do something. Get it wrong and you're moisturising over an acid and quietly wondering why nothing's changing.
BEST OF
Best Men's Shaving Gear 2026: Razors, Creams, and the Aftershaves That Don't Burn
The Merkur 34C paired with Astra Superior Platinum blades is the best shaving setup for most men in 2026. The razor costs around $40 once and the blades run to roughly $0.03-0.05 each - after the learning curve (give it three weeks, not three shaves), the shave quality beats a Fusion5 cartridge and the annual cost is embarrassing by comparison. If you're not ready to commit to a safety razor, Harry's Truman is the honest cartridge option that at least doesn't pretend the pricing model is fair.
HOW TO
SPF Myths That Won't Die in 2026: What Sunscreen Actually Does (and Doesn't)
If you're only buying one daily SPF, EltaMD UV Clear SPF 46 is the one - matte finish, 5% niacinamide for sebum control, fragrance-free, and invisible enough on most skin tones that you'll actually use it every morning instead of telling yourself you'll start tomorrow.
DUPE GUIDE
CeraVe vs La Roche-Posay 2026: The Drugstore Wars, Decided
If you can only buy one brand, go CeraVe for the cleanser and PM moisturiser, and La Roche-Posay's Anthelios UVMune 400 for SPF - or EltaMD UV Clear if you're in the US and can't import. Splitting the two brands by category beats going all-in on either, and your skin won't care about your brand loyalty.
VIBE GUIDE
Mewing, Hardmaxxing, and Other Lies the Internet Sold You: The Softmaxx Products That Actually Work
The EltaMD UV Clear SPF 46 is the single most impactful softmaxx product you can buy. Daily SPF is the only anti-ageing intervention with consistent clinical backing, and this one adds 5% niacinamide, leaves no white cast, and costs less per year than one round of whatever treatment the TikTok algorithm is currently selling you.