Most glow up advice is either too vague to be useful or buried in overcomplicated routines you’ll never stick to.
Table of Contents
This glow up checklist for men breaks down the specific actions that create visible transformation, backed by what actually works in 2026.
No generic “drink more water” bullshit.
Start With Body Composition
Everything looks better when you’re lean. Sharp jawline, visible cheekbones, better-fitting clothes, more energy. Your face literally changes shape when body fat drops below 15%.
Get to 10-15% body fat first. This is non-negotiable. You can have perfect skin and great style, but neither matters as much as being lean.
If you’re over 18% body fat, set up an aggressive cut to strip fat fast. The visual difference between 20% and 12% body fat is more dramatic than any other single improvement you can make.
Build muscle in the right places. Once you’re lean, strategic muscle development creates the biggest aesthetic impact.
Focus on:
- Shoulders (lateral delts specifically)
- Upper chest
- Lats for V-taper
- Traps for neck thickness
The beginner aesthetic workout routine hits these areas with the right frequency. Three to four sessions weekly is plenty when you’re training smart.
Handle facial bloat immediately.
Even lean guys can look puffy from sodium, alcohol, or poor sleep. Foods that debloat make a noticeable difference within 48 hours.
Potassium-rich options like bananas, spinach, and avocados help flush excess water.
Cut alcohol for two weeks and watch your face sharpen up. Ethanol causes systemic inflammation and water retention, particularly in facial tissue. The difference is obvious in photos.
Invest in Your Looks
You live in 2026 now. There’s insane tools out there that can help you level up like nothing else.
For example, there is quite literally apps out there that can show how you’d look like fully glowed up and give you a full glow up plan to follow.
All for a cost of a burger you wouldn’t think twice about buying.
I highly recommend you try apps like ratebyfresh.
They’re a game changer and not many guys know about them, so take advantage.
Fix Your Skin
Clear, even-toned skin signals health and youth. It’s one of the first things people notice, yet most guys still use 3-in-1 body wash on their face.
Build a real skincare routine. Morning and night, no excuses.
Take a look at our recommended skincare products list.
Tretinoin is the only topical that actually remodels skin.
Get it prescribed through a dermatologist. Start slow (2-3x weekly) to avoid irritation, then increase frequency as your skin adapts.
Sun protection isn’t optional. UV damage ages your skin faster than anything else. Use mineral or chemical sunscreen daily, even when it’s cloudy.
Tinted sunscreens give you coverage while evening out skin tone. The tint helps hide under-eye circles and redness without looking like makeup.
Find your Hairstyle
Your hairstyle dramatically changes how your face is perceived. The wrong cut makes your head look misshapen. The right one creates the illusion of better bone structure.
Get a proper haircut from someone who understands male aesthetics. This means spending $40-80, not $15 at Great Clips. Find a barber through Instagram who specializes in modern men’s cuts. Look at their portfolio first.
Show multiple reference photos. Don’t just say “short on the sides, longer on top.” Be specific about length, texture, and styling.
Handle Grooming Details
Eyebrows need maintenance. Unibrows, stray hairs between your brows, and wild long hairs kill your appearance. Either go to a professional for shaping every 4-6 weeks or learn to maintain them yourself with tweezers and small scissors.
Remove hairs between your brows only. Don’t thin them out or create an arch. You want straight eyebrows that frame your eyes horizontally, not feminine arches.
If your brows are thin or patchy, get them thicker and darker with minoxidil, castor oil, and potentially biotin supplementation. Thick brows create more contrast and definition in your face.
Teeth matter more than you think. Yellow or crooked teeth tank your attractiveness. Get them whitened professionally or use Crest 3D Whitestrips consistently.
If alignment is off, clear aligners like Invisalign are worth the investment. The halo effect of a good smile carries into every interaction.
Maintain your facial hair properly or stay clean shaven. Patchy stubble looks worse than being clean shaven.
If you can grow full coverage, keep it trimmed and shaped with defined lines. If it’s patchy, either commit to growing it out fully (takes 3+ months) or shave it off.
The disconnected goatee works if you can’t grow a full beard but have decent coverage around the mouth. Otherwise, clean shaven is always better than bad facial hair.
Nose and ear hair require weekly attention. Get a trimmer and use it. This is basic men’s hygiene essentials stuff that separates adults from college freshmen.
Upgrade Your Style
You can be lean with great skin and still look average if you dress like shit. Style amplifies everything else you’ve worked on.
Build a basic wardrobe that actually fits. Most guys wear clothes two sizes too big. Everything should fit close to your body without being tight.
Shoulders should end at your shoulder bone, sleeves should hit your wrist bone, pants should have minimal break.
Start with basics in neutral colors: well-fitting white and black tees, dark jeans that actually fit, chinos in navy and khaki, white sneakers (Common Projects or Stan Smiths), Chelsea boots, one good jacket.
Develop a consistent aesthetic. Random pieces from different styles look confused. Pick a lane and stay in it.
Study guys whose style you want to emulate. Save photos. Notice the common elements. Most good style is simple, well-fitted basics in complementary colors, not loud pieces fighting for attention.
Optimize Your Health Markers
Internal health shows externally. When your hormones, sleep, and gut are optimized, your skin glows, you hold less facial fat, and you project more energy.
Sleep 7-9 hours consistently. Poor sleep increases cortisol, tanks testosterone, causes facial bloat, and creates dark under-eye circles.
Strategic supplementation fills gaps. Most supplements are bullshit, but a few actually work. Top glow up supplements that move the needle:
- Vitamin D3 (4,000-5,000 IU if deficient)
- Omega-3s (2-3g EPA/DHA daily)
- Creatine (5g daily, improves training and potentially facial structure via muscle mass)
- Collagen peptides (debated, but some research suggests skin benefits)
Don’t waste money on proprietary blends or miracle pills. The basics work better than exotic compounds.
The Action Plan for Your Glow Up Checklist
Start with the highest-impact items first. Going from 20% to 12% body fat creates more visible change than perfecting your skincare routine while staying fat.
Month 1-2: Aggressive fat loss, basic skincare routine (cleanser, moisturizer, sunscreen), get a proper haircut, clean up obvious grooming issues.
Month 3-4: Continue cutting or transition to lean bulk if you’re already sub-15% body fat, add tretinoin to skincare, dial in your style basics, address hair loss if needed.
Month 5-6: Fine-tune everything, take progress photos monthly, adjust based on what’s actually working for your specific situation.
This isn’t a 30-day challenge. Real transformation takes months of consistency. The guys who actually glow up properly understand this is a long-term investment in yourself, not a quick fix.
Most improvements compound. Better sleep improves training, which builds muscle and burns fat, which improves confidence, which changes how you carry yourself. The system works together.
Common Mistakes That Stall Your Progress
Trying to do everything at once. You’ll burn out. Pick three things to focus on this month. Master those, then add more. Sustainable improvement beats perfectionism that leads to quitting.
Ignoring body composition. No amount of skincare or style fixes being fat or skinny-fat. Sort your physique first. Everything else amplifies or diminishes based on this foundation.
Following trends instead of fundamentals. The looksmaxxing guide for men emphasizes fundamentals for a reason. They work for everyone. Chasing every new hack or aesthetic keeps you spinning without real progress.
Not tracking progress with photos. You see yourself daily and won’t notice gradual changes. Take front, side, and 45-degree angle photos in the same lighting monthly. The difference over six months will be obvious in photos when it’s invisible in the mirror.
Expecting linear progress. Some weeks you’ll look amazing. Others you’ll feel like you’re going backward. Water retention, stress, sleep quality all affect how you look day-to-day. Trust the process over months, not days.
