--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Beauty is only skin deep; ugliness goes…" description: "\"Beauty is only skin deep; ugliness goes all the way through.\" — Edward Abbey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/edward-abbey-254_beauty_beauty-is-only-skin-deep-ugliness-goes-a_1395233.png" --- # Beauty is only skin deep; ugliness goes all the way through. ![“Beauty is only skin deep; ugliness goes all the way through.” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/edward-abbey-254_beauty_beauty-is-only-skin-deep-ugliness-goes-a_1395233.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/edward-abbey-254_beauty_beauty-is-only-skin-deep-ugliness-goes-a_1395233.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/edward-abbey-254_beauty_beauty-is-only-skin-deep-ugliness-goes-a_1395233.png) > “Beauty is only skin deep; ugliness goes all the way through.” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Physical appearance is superficial; inner character defines a person fully. **In simple terms:** Looks are shallow; character runs deep. Key Takeaway Value inner qualities over looks. Themes character inner beauty superficiality Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - relationships - personal growth - self‑image Key Concepts human nature self‑esteem Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess character beyond appearance? - Can kindness be taught? A Different Perspective Superficial judgments can still affect social outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Beauty is only skin deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-is-only-skin-deep/) [Beauty is skin deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-is-skin-deep/) [Beauty skin deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-skin-deep/) [Skin deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skin-deep/) [Ugliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ugliness/) ## Related quotes > [Beauty is more than skin deep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlize-theron/beauty-is-more-than-skin-deep/) [Charlize Theron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlize-theron/) > [Beauty is . . . a valuable asset if you're poor or haven't any sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kin-hubbard/beauty-is-a-valuable-asset-if-you-re-poor-or-haven-t-any-sense/) [Kin Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kin-hubbard/) > [If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is ugliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/if-beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder-so-is-ugliness/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [Justice, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/justice-like-beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [What ever beauty may be it has for its basis order and for its essence unity Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/what-ever-beauty-may-be-it-has-for-its-basis-order-and-for-its/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [He was the mightiest of Puritans no less than of philistines who first insisted that beauty is only skin deep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kronenberger/he-was-the-mightiest-of-puritans-no-less-than-of-philistines-who/) [Louis Kronenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kronenberger/) > [If beauty is only skin deep, look really, really hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-heffernan/if-beauty-is-only-skin-deep-look-really-really-hard/) [Virginia Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-heffernan/) > [The saying that beauty is but skin deep, is but a skin-deep saying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-saying-that-beauty-is-but-skin-deep-is-but-a-skin-deep-saying/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Beauty is not in the face; Beauty is a light in the something you do daily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-murdock/beauty-is-not-in-the-face-beauty-is-a-light-in-the-something-you-do/) [Mike Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-murdock/) > [Beauty is skin deep, ugly is to the bone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/beauty-is-skin-deep-ugly-is-to-the-bone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Beauty \[is\] a kind of radiance. People who possess a true inner beauty, their eyes are a little brighter, their skin a little more… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-diaz/beauty-is-a-kind-of-radiance-people-who-possess-a-true-inner-beauty/) [Cameron Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-diaz/) > [Against Him those women sin who torment their skin with potions, stain their cheeks with rouge and extend the line of their eyes with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tertullian/against-him-those-women-sin-who-torment-their-skin-with-potions-stain/) [Tertullian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tertullian/) > [True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/true-beauty-in-a-woman-is-reflected-in-her-soul/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [Beauty is only skin deep, and the world is full of thin skinned people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armour/beauty-is-only-skin-deep-and-the-world-is-full-of-thin-skinned-people/) [Richard Armour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armour/) > [Beauty is only skin deep. What's really important is finding a balance of mind, body and spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lopez/beauty-is-only-skin-deep-what-s-really-important-is-finding-a-balance/) [Jennifer Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lopez/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) Tumblr > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) [Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Beauty is only skin deep; ugliness goes all the way through.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Abbey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/beauty-is-only-skin-deep-ugliness-goes-all-the-way-through/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/beauty-is-only-skin-deep-ugliness-goes-all-the-way-through/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/edward-abbey-254_beauty_beauty-is-only-skin-deep-ugliness-goes-a_1395233.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/edward-abbey-254_beauty_beauty-is-only-skin-deep-ugliness-goes-a_1395233.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/edward-abbey-254_beauty_beauty-is-only-skin-deep-ugliness-goes-a_1395233.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Beauty is only skin deep; ugliness goes all the way through.” — Edward Abbey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edward Abbey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Beauty is only skin deep; ugliness...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/beauty-is-only-skin-deep-ugliness-goes-all-the-way-through/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/beauty-is-only-skin-deep-ugliness-goes-all-the-way-through/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```