What does 'beauty is only skin deep' mean?

This refers to the fact that one can be beautiful on the outside and mean or unpleasant on the inside - you also see this in the saying "pretty is as pretty does."

More Opinions:

• It is saying if someone looks beautiful on the outside, they might be so mean in the inside, or if someones super ugly, may be nice in the inside. It's like the saying: Don't judge a book by it's cover, instead, Don't judge a person by it's cover, it's exactly the same!
• The phrase refers to the outward beauty of a person. Of course, we must realise that a person can be beautiful on the inside. Such a person is often referred to as a 'lovely' person. However, when we refer to something beautiful we are usually referring to that somethings outward appearance. What the phrase tries to emphasise is that the outward appearance of a person counts for nothing, but it is what lies beneath the skin, the actual person him/herself is what really matters. I believe the underlying message of this saying is completely true
• It means that you shouldn't care about what a person looks like because it's only the outside. If someone is really good looking and is a total jerk, do you think that you'd like that person No way! If a person were ugly but super nice, would you like to hang out with that person? Probably, yes. Beauty is just the outside, and the inside is what counts!
• It basically means that the only thing that should matter about a person is their personality. Not what they look like. Just because they are "beautiful" on the outside doesn't mean they are on the inside; the way they act.
• It means that what's on the inside is what counts, your personality.
• It means that it shouldn't matter what you look like on the outside, what matters is on the inside, beauty is only the face, the real beauty is the personality
• The saying simply means that just because someone (or something) appears attractive on the surface doesn't mean they aren't rotten beneath that outer layer. Or in other words, a person may be beautiful on the outside, but still have an 'ugly' heart or soul.
• A good analogy would be: imagine buying an apple, the plumpest, shiniest, ripest looking one in the basket, then biting into it only to find it rotten and wormy.
• Appearances can be deceptive.
• Beauty is only skin deep means that being beautiful only counts on your physical appearance, which clearly isn't true. Beauty not only is what's on the outside but is what is on the inside as well.
• Social psychology tells us that beauty in fact is not only skin deep. That is that beautiful people actually are nicer and more friendly. The argument goes as follows. Hopefully, we can all agree that we subconsciously assign positive characteristics such as intelligence and friendliness to beautiful people. Studies confirm this assumption. We then treat these people nicer than we treat others. studies confirm this as well. The unprovable hypothesis is that beautiful people are beautiful on the inside as well. As a result of having been beautiful and therefore kindly treated children they develop a positive self-image and treat others as they have learned others treat them. This continues into adulthood creating beautiful people that are friendlier and nicer than less beautiful people. Thus beautiful looking people become truly beautiful people by way of a self fulfilling prophecy. Our experience with beautiful people being nice fuels are expectation by way of a psychological phenomenon known as association that similar looking (and therefore also beautiful) people will also be nice. We in turn treat them nicer and they treat us nicely in return further developing their own good charatcer. We find evidence of this belief in popular songs "you must have been a beautiful baby, you must have been a wonderful child,... you must have been a beautiful baby cause baby look at you now"
• It is usually interpreted as beauty isn't always on the outside, but look at this literally, i noticed this at school when we were doing a drama topics on this, the words beauty is only skin deep, implies that beauty cannot be on the inside, so if you do have beauty, it will only be on the inside, however if you aren't beautiful on the outside, then you can't be beautiful on the inside either......
• As a researcher in Social Psychology, I have to disagree with the statement above. The flaw in this line of thinking is the assumption that if beautiful people are treated well, they will become mature, thoughtful, compassionate individuals who treat others well. No doubt that is sometimes the case, but people who experience little adversity often develop into amazingly uncharitable, self-centered individuals.
• We all know one or more beautiful people with an inflated sense of entitlement and self-worth. They believe they are a prince or princess and deserve to be universally treated better than anyone else. Often they also believe they have the right to treat others like dirt. Since we have better memory for negative events than positive ones, this is often the lasting impression we have of beautiful people and it (perhaps unfairly) spawns the saying "beauty is only skin deep."
• It means beauty is beyond skin, it's in the soul..
• It means very simply that if you took a 'beautiful' and a 'not beautiful' person and removed the skin, are they not equal in their looks? Nothing about personality in the beauty statement. It is only skin deep. don't believe it? remove the skin layer of a 'beautiful' person, and I am sure you will see that the beauty too is removed. You will not have to go deeper. Beauty is superficial, and so is the one whom measures a person's worth by it.
• I agree with the researcher in Social Psychology. What's more, some people who are actually uncaring, cold and callous often go to great lengths to look beautiful, as their personalities are so unpleasant.
• The phrase "beauty is only skin deep" is presumptive, misleading and a patently false statement. It presumes, first of all, that everyone accepts the standard definition of beauty, i.e., a person whose physical appearance would be appealing to a majority of people. That majority would first have to agree on a definition of beauty. It also negates the concept that beauty comes from within! True beauty goes much deeper than skin. It's difficult to interpret because I don't know that either gender would view themselves in the same light as someone of the opposite sex would. But, the essence is that, if you perceive that a person's features are arranged in a way that is pleasing to you, take it for what it is - a pleasant looking face! Nothing more, nothing less. Also, many thanks to the researcher in Social Psychology - interesting, informative and thought-provoking response.
• Ok, I'm amending...beauty is only skin deep means just that...there is only one criteria for judging beauty and that is a physical criteria since 'beauty' is a physical characteristic. The qualities we use to determine 'inner beauty' are not physical qualities and therefore the phrase 'inner beauty' becomes a contradiction in terms. The definition of beauty is subjective but, no matter how one defines it, beauty can only be skin deep. One can only be seen as being physically beautiful...the more important characteristics that indicate a person's moral core or system of values are not physical characteristics and so they cannot make a person beautiful. If you base your attraction to someone on physical beauty alone then your entire relationship will be superficial since beauty really is only skin deep.
• I'm writing this for my girlfriend, because I said last night while we were making love that her beauty is "distracting" and I liked to close my eyes and feel her, but I think she might have taken it the wrong way. A person may be beautiful outside as well as inside, and in order to experience them on multiple levels one must look past what may be apparent on the outside and experience what is in their hearts, in their body, in order to truly empathize with them. To observe what is beautiful to you in a way is a selfish act, especially when you are intimate to that thing, because the whole time you are thinking what a beautiful thing I have, and not respecting any changes in that thing internally. it is easy to be distracted by appearances both in being fooled into thinking something's better than they are, and in missing something even better than what physically excites you. This is why vanity is such a sin, because images can distract us from what truly matters. Which is why I tell my wife, whom I love, that I can be distracted by her beauty, and I must close my eyes to really see you, because I am aware of my vanity, and don't wish to project it on you. I wish everything between us to be the consequence of our spirits, nothing less. So I wasn't lying to you, or using a euphemism I love you.
• The issue of subjectivity is apparent. Are the above views biased or objective ? Is the actual phrase an old cliche ? What do the studies by Social Psychologists tell us? Human physical "beauty" appears to be an emotive subject and such emotion can cloud meaningful research. However, what definition of "beauty" do we share in order to have a rational debate ? What about the "Golden Ratio"?

Beauty is only skin deep because it doesn't matter what you look like on the outside, it's who you are on the inside.

There is 1% of people in this world who are beautiful on the outside and on the inside.

Physical beauty can hide a cold heart and a flawed character. Sometimes really beautiful people are treated like they are special til they come to believe they are better than others, then they are "spoiled".

Physical beauty fades with age, but a warm heart and generous nature last a lifetime.

External attractiveness has no relation to goodness or essential quality. This maxim was first stated by Sir Thomas Overbury in his poem "A Wife" (1613): "All the carnall beauty of my wife is but skin-deep." The real eternal person is a soul, a spirit. The body is only a vehicle for the soul to dwell in for a time.

A very gorgeous body may hide a very awful person. Actions speak louder than words.