Sal P: A Complete Looksmaxxing Transformation at 28

Four years ago Sal was obese, burnt out, and powerlifting on a diet of fast food. The photographs below are the same man.

He started at 28, close to a decade later than most people who post a looksmaxxing transformation here, and he is specific about why the order mattered more than the effort: weight first, then skin, then hair, then the fine detail. The change he returns to most is not his face, though. It is how strangers behave toward him now.

His answer to anyone who thinks they have left it too late is flat. It’s never over.

Interview Date: August 28th, 2026

Personal Journey & Origins

DR: Take us back to when you were 28. What was going on in your life at that point?

Sal: Just starting law school. I wanted to change directions in life from data science to law. Physically I was obese and didn’t really care about how I looked. However, I guess starting University again and being surrounded by more attractive people, in a way lit a fire in me to improve. That combined with callouts by my friends and family.

DR: How did you first come across looksmaxxing, and what made you decide to start?

Sal: I was a fitness person at first, and then I started discovering looksmaxxing content on tiktok. My initial transformation started with just the goal of losing weight. It was later on that I discovered looksmaxxing, and that’s when I found some creators on social media like creatingattractive, Salludon, Clav etc. That’s when I truly started looksmaxxing. Started focusing on skin, hair, features etc, and tried to get little points from focusing on many different things.

DR: You started at 28, which is older than most people in this community. How did that affect the way you approached it?

Sal: More urgency I guess. I had less time, so I had to do everything as optimally as I could. To be fair i could have done it quicker, but when I actually discovered looksmaxxing, I really sped up things and tried to optimise everything.

The Transformation

DR: This took several years and went through a few different phases. Can you walk us through them in order?

Sal: I was 28 years old. Burnt out from life. Just eating fast food and lifting. I was powerlifting at this time. Insanely strong but it was literally fast food and lifting. My lifts were a 240kg squat and a 165kg bench. Low energy, zero motivation, sleepy all the time. Parents and friends told me to lose weight. I started losing weight slowly. Weight training regimen and calorie counting at this stage pretty much.

Stage 2: 29 years old, still overweight but slightly better. Sort of relaxed here. I guess I was to some extent temporarily satisfied with the weight loss. Also perhaps a bit tired of losing weight, since even at this early stage I had lost a fair bit of weight. Then after a few months of maintenance again dieted which leads to stage 3. Still 29.

Stage 3: Started caring more about how I dressed etc. Also I implemented Isotretinoin for acne. Skin improved. Started wearing fitted clothes. Training shifted to more aesthetics based. Focus on lats shoulders etc. no more deadlifts squats. I think the biggest change was from more of a fitness mindset to an attractiveness/aesthetic mindset.

Stage 4: Start of looksmaxxing. I maintained my isotretinoin [REDACTED: dosage removed] and aggressively expanded my skincare routine. I introduced retinoids, eventually upgrading to tazarotene, and used 4% hydroquinone for skin lightening, alongside daily sunscreen. To push the aesthetic results even further, I incorporated microneedling and GHK-Cu serums into the regimen.

Sal: My focus also shifted toward hair styling and overall hair health. While I wasn’t experiencing hair loss, I wanted to maximize hair quality, so I began using a ketoconazole shampoo once a week. I added sea salt spray for texture and applied castor oil and minoxidil to actively enhance my hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes.

In my training, I became highly proficient at calisthenics, mastering movements like the human flag and front lever, and hitting sets of 28 pull-ups while sitting around 15 to 16 percent body fat. I then pushed to get even leaner, transitioning to three full-body workouts a week. By focusing heavily on weighted pull-ups, dips, and spamming lateral raises, my waist started getting exceptionally small.

Sal: Stage 5: 30 years old. Effects of looksmaxxing kicking in. Over a six to eight month period, I maintained my previous gym and skincare habits. Dieting had become difficult, so I took a much needed break and simply maintained my physique for a long time. I was quite lean, hovering around 12 to 14 percent body fat, although pictures often made me look leaner because I do not store much fat on my abdomen. Unfortunately, my body tends to hold that stubborn fat in my face and legs.

After that maintenance period, I initiated another diet phase and got really lean. My face finally started leaning out, even though some of that stubborn fat remained. Alongside the fat loss, my hair quality improved significantly, which was likely the payoff from staying consistent with the serums and minoxidil.

My skin also saw massive improvements during this stretch, heavily driven by the tazarotene. To push my aesthetic goals further, I added azelaic acid to my routine, rotating it with the 4% hydroquinone. My specific intention was to lighten my skin to create a sharper, more distinct contrast against my dark features. Also started masseter training with jawline gum.

Sal: Stage 6: Pushing everything to max. As I kept pushing even further with the diet, my face finally started getting leaner. I decided to grow my hair out while keeping all of my previous routines exactly the same. The continued fat loss became incredibly noticeable, and my face leaned out so much that I started getting hollow cheeks on certain days.

DR: There’s a point where this stopped being about weight loss and became something more deliberate. What changed for you there?

Sal: It changed more when I approached 30. Rather than simply having an aesthetic physique my goal was to get top tier hair, skin, features in addition to physique. To maximise everything I could.

DR: You’ve said the biggest changes in your face only came once you got below 15% body fat. Why do you think that is?

Sal: I store a lot of fat in my face. It is the last area for the fat to leave. Once i got below 15, is when i really noticed the facial angularity and hollow cheeks kicking in.

Play video: Sal after the changes described here

DR: Take us through your skincare, from the first product you ever used to what you’re running now.

Sal: The start was oral skincare in the form of isotretinoin. I’ve also used tretinoin, transitioning to tazarotene. I’ve used hydroquinone 4% to fade hyper pigmentation and increase contrast. I’ve done microneedling with GHK serums. I used azelaic acid, the months I wasn’t using hydroquinone. Daily use of SPF 50++++.

DR: Out of everything you’ve done, which single change made the biggest difference to how you look?

Sal: Probably losing body fat. Although skin care comes second.

Life After the Transformation

DR: How do people treat you now compared to before?

Sal: Completely different. Easier to make friends, do well in interviews. People are just nicer in general. I was invisible before. Conversations were rushed and formal. People avoided making eye contact with me and tried to just avoid me in general. Afterwards, everyone wanted to talk to me and people were just friendlier in general. People would give me the benefit of doubt, and daily interactions improved a lot.

DR: You’ve said you were ugly most of your life and learned to isolate yourself so you wouldn’t be disappointed. How do you look back on that version of yourself now?

Sal: Perhaps I needed to hit rock bottom, to truly improve. I also believe that because I experienced that I learnt to appreciate and enjoy life more in my current state. It’s also a reminder to never stop my looksmaxxing efforts. The benefits and improvements are too great.

Mindset & Advice

DR: What would you tell someone in their late twenties or thirties who thinks they’ve missed their window?

Sal: It’s never over. Start now and you will improve significantly, no matter what. Start with basic goals of losing weight, improving physique, improving hair, improving skin. Once you achieve progression in the basics, you can focus on the small stuff, but at the start just focus on the basics to not get overwhelmed.