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 (10)
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, twelve quid. 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.
BEST OF
Best Beard Oils 2026: The Two That Aren't a Grift
The Bulldog Original Beard Oil is the #1 pick for most men: it kills beard itch within a week, costs £7, and lasts a month at correct application. The Beardbrand Utility Oil earns its mid-range price through genuinely better scent work and dual-use conditioning - but unless your beard is a serious investment, Bulldog does 90% of the job for a third of the price.
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 £180 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 £50 total.
EDUCATIONAL
How to Build a Men's Skincare Routine: The Three Steps That Actually Add a Point
If you're starting from zero, build around CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser, The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%, and EltaMD UV Clear SPF 46 - cleanser, one active, SPF. That's it. Three steps, under fifteen minutes a day combined, and your skin will look measurably better in six weeks. Everything else is optional.
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 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 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 £35 once and the blades run to roughly 2-4p 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.
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.
VS
Safety Razor vs Cartridge Razor: Which Actually Gives You a Better Shave in 2026?
The Merkur 34C paired with Astra Superior Platinum blades wins on shave quality, skin health, and long-term cost. The single-blade geometry cuts ingrown hairs meaningfully versus multi-blade cartridges, and your running cost drops to roughly £6-12 a year once you're past the two-to-four week learning curve. If you can handle three weeks of slightly worse shaves while your technique catches up, you'll never go back to paying £4 a head for Fusion5 cartridges.
EDUCATIONAL
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 £6 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.