What makes a woman beautiful? This is a question that remains important in today’s technologically advanced society. 

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, there were over 9 million surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures performed in the United States in 2011, with 91% of them performed on women. MarketLine reports that in 2010 the global make-up industry generated close to 35 billion dollars. Marketdata Enterprises, Inc. also reports that in 2010 the United States weight loss industry was worth 60.9 billion dollars.

And surprisingly, today there are girls who post pictures of themselves on social networks and invite others to comment on their looks by asking the question, “Do you think I’m pretty?”

This all tells us that wanting to be attractive is on the forefront of a lot of women’s minds. So again, let’s ask the question; what makes a woman beautiful? Is physical beauty all there is to it? Should a woman strive to be beautiful?

The media has a big influence on what we consider beautiful or attractive today. We tend to evaluate physical attractiveness by the standard of beauty of the women who are constantly flashed before us on television, movies, magazines, etc. This is very unfair because Hollywood can simply create the most physically beautiful image by plastic surgery, breast implants, lip injections, etc. They create an ideal which is unattainable for most women and is basically fake! This also perpetuates the false idea that physical beauty is more important for a woman than anything else.

Because of this, a lot of women focus their attention on the physical side of beauty, and yet there is more to being truly beautiful than just that. We don’t always hear about the rest of the story. In this part two article, we will again explore the main areas of beauty for a woman, and dig a little deeper, and bring out more of the ways that a woman can become truly beautiful.

Be beautiful on the outside

As was stated in “What Makes a Woman Beautiful,” women were created to be physically appealing. Their skin and hair are soft, and their bodies are curvy and beautiful. Women can and should be attractive. Most women want to make themselves look good as was evidenced by the statistics quoted above. So, let’s look at some more ways a woman can make herself physically beautiful.

A big way a woman can become more attractive is to maintain a proper weight. This can be a very touchy subject for a lot of women. Our sedentary lifestyle today helps make it difficult for a lot of us to keep excess weight off. The easy access to calorie laden, nutritionally empty food makes it equally as hard. It really does take effort especially as we get older. Sometimes it’s a matter of being more physically active, making better food choices, and reducing portion sizes.

Maintaining a proper weight means just that. It does not mean being pencil thin. Being too thin and gaunt looking can detract from a woman’s physical beauty. Many women believe they need to be a lot thinner than they need to be just because they see very thin women in magazines. This belief can produce some very serious problems such as anorexia and bulimia, which are unhealthy and dangerous. Don’t fall for the belief that you need to be overly thin.

There are many healthy diet plans available for losing and maintaining a healthy weight. Keeping a proper weight not only makes you more physically appealing, it adds to your overall health, and also makes you feel better about yourself.

A woman can also make herself look better by practicing good grooming habits. This seems very basic, but it is important. Keeping our bodies and hair clean and our clothes clean and neat looking makes us more appealing. When we go out somewhere we should look presentable.

When we practice good grooming, and wear the proper clothing for the occasion, we are telling others that we care about them and about ourselves. We also make ourselves more attractive.

Another way a woman can be more physically appealing is to avoid the overuse of make-up. The use of make-up is not a prerequisite to beauty. Many women choose not to use any and are naturally stunning. Many women feel the use of a little make-up makes them look better. This is a personal choice.

But, the extreme over-use of make-up can detract from a woman’s beauty. We have all seen women whose make-up was so thick and loud that it made them look silly. Use cosmetics to enhance your looks, not hide them. Aim for a natural look. Your make-up is not the first thing anyone should notice when they look at you. They should see you. Avoid the over-use of make-up.

Be beautiful on the inside

Inner beauty is also very important for a woman. If she lacks it, it detracts from her overall attractiveness and value as a person. But, when she possesses it she stands out among women! A woman can develop her inner beauty in many different areas, but we will focus on three important ways a woman can add to her inner beauty.

Being trustworthy is an important inner quality to have; it means you can be trusted. It is required in all relationships such as husband-wife, boyfriend-girlfriend, friendships, employer-employee, parent-child, etc. You can be trusted to not repeat something told to you in confidence. You can be trusted to not cheat on your mate. You can be trusted to not steal from your employer. These are just a few examples where trust is required.

Proverbs 31:11-12 tells us, “The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.” The Proverbs 31 husband could trust his wife with money—she would try to add, not take away, from the family finances. He could trust her with just about everything else because it says she would do him good, not evil, all the days of her life. How wonderful would it be to know someone would only do you good! Being trustworthy makes you more attractive.

Another important inner quality is to be unselfish, to not always look out for our own interests. We all have to think of and take care of ourselves, but it doesn’t have to get to a point where our wants and needs become so much more important than anyone else’s, and we demand our way most of the time. We have all probably known women who are so self-absorbed that they are difficult to be around.

Philippians 2:4 tells us to not only look out for our own interests, but also the interests of others. Being unselfish creates more peace in relationships, takes the focus off of ourselves, and adds to a woman’s inner beauty.

Being industrious is another important inner quality. This means to work diligently and conscientiously. This is an especially attractive quality to have as a wife or an employee, and many men look for this in a potential mate. Many employers reward employees who are industrious. The opposite of industriousness is laziness.

The Proverbs 31 woman was very industrious. She worked hard and the scriptures say she did not eat the bread of idleness. Being industrious is a valued attribute and makes us more appealing to others.

Be beautiful to God

Many women put a lot of time and attention into their physical appearance and neglect how they look to God. Again, it is worth mentioning, that one day our outer beauty will fade and our inner beauty will cease, but the beauty that God sees in us will be very important when we stand before Him!

The Bible says that God does not see the way that man sees. 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us, “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’” God looks a lot deeper than the physical appearance. He gets to the crux of who we are. The scriptures reveal to us qualities that God likes to see.

One quality that God values is humility. A trap many women fall into is to become vain or proud of their physical beauty. Pride and vanity originated with Satan, the devil. He was lifted up because of his beauty (Ezekiel 28:17). Pride is ugly to God. The scriptures tell us God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Pride and vanity can blind us from reality and truth and make us very unappealing to others, but more importantly, it makes us unappealing to God.

Another attractive quality to God is to not slander. Slander means to make a false statement or misrepresentation which defames and damages the reputation of another. In Titus 2:3, Paul admonishes the older women to not be slanderers.

In our Information Age, this quality becomes even more important. We can post something about someone on a social network page, forum, blog, or somewhere on the Internet and it can be viewed by hundreds of people. What we post can be entirely untrue and we can end up damaging a reputation. The Internet can be used for good, but we can inadvertently and advertently use it to hurt others. When we are careful about what we say or write about others, we look better to God.

Being merciful is another quality that is valued by God. It is so important to Him that when we show mercy to others, He will also show mercy to us. We need God’s mercy every day, and when we receive it from Him, He expects us to also show it to others.

Proverbs 3:3-4 reads, “Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.” God regards us highly when we are merciful to others.

There are many times in our lives when we can show mercy and compassion to others. Some examples are when someone has wronged us, or needs help in some way, or when we refrain from giving someone exactly what they deserve. We catch God’s eye when we are merciful to others.

Being a truly beautiful woman goes a lot deeper than just the physical appearance. Many women believe that physical looks is all that is required, and pay little attention to their inner beauty or how they look to God. They end looking nice, but in the long run have very little other value.

Strive to be the beautiful woman you were created to be. Take care of yourself physically, develop and maintain your inner beauty, and most importantly, strive to look your best to God!

To learn more about how to live a Godly life, read our free Bible study aid, Making Life Work.