Marriage has its effects on how a woman looks. So many people believe it makes a woman more beautiful but others have observed the opposite. Marriage is a physical, social, and psychological transition from singlehood, and it is not unexpected that it comes with its own impact too.
Marriage, especially with the right partner, is often associated with peace of mind. There is also free and legal sex free from guilt or shame. And eventually, the woman conceives. All of these have hormonal, psychological, and physical effects on a woman’s body.
In addition to the effects of hormonal changes on a woman’s beauty after marriage, the psychological aspect of marriage is another key determinant of a woman’s look after marriage. This is because some women may begin to dress and take care of themselves differently, others may stop looking after themselves because they think they have already found the ‘prize’.
Under the right circumstances, a woman may look more beautiful after getting married. This is often due to the hormonal, psychological, and physical effects of marriage mentioned above.
Effects of Marriage on a Woman’s Appearance
The changes that occur in a woman’s appearance after marriage can be classified into biological changes, lifestyle changes, emotional/psychological changes, and sociocultural changes.
Biological Changes of Marriage
Marriage and marriage-related events like pregnancy or child-bearing-related stress can cause hormonal fluctuations which can affect a woman’s skin texture and general beauty. Post-partum effects like hair thinning or pigmentation are common occurrences after childbirth.
Also, natural aging may coincide with marriage years leading to quick wrinkling and reduced skin elasticity, which can affect a woman’s beauty after marriage.
Lifestyle Changes of Marriage
Marriage may be accompanied by lifestyle changes like a change in dietary preferences, shared meals, change in physical activity levels which might be impacted by a busy schedule or change in priorities, and increased responsibilities which can limit a woman’s time for skincare, makeup, or haircare routines.
Emotional/Psychological Changes
Emotional and psychological changes usually follow marriage, which may affect a woman’s prevalent physical appearance. A feeling of happiness and satisfaction after getting married can improve a woman’s attractiveness. This is further enhanced when she is in a relationship with a supportive partner.
On the other hand, a woman might start caring less about her looks as she tries to adjust to the new responsibilities of marriage. And lastly, that might be related to a loss of the desire to look good because she feels she “already got a man”.
Sociocultural Changes in Marriage
Sociocultural changes also affect a woman’s physical looks after marriage. Immediately after marriage, society’s expectations of how a married woman should dress generally change. Certain attires and dress modes may no longer appeal to society, even if they are not necessarily inappropriate.
This change in expectations can affect a woman’s attitude toward self-beauty. Her husband’s expectations can also affect her overall attitude towards how she looks after marriage.
How Marriage Can Make a Woman More Beautiful
Don’t be surprised when you see a newlywed woman glowing astonishingly. Here are some ways marriage can make a woman more physically attractive.
1. Regular sex
Couples are expected to move in together after getting married. Sex also become legal and socially acceptable to them. This means they can have sex as often as they want without anyone questioning the act.
Regular sex can enhance a woman’s beauty after marriage. It has been shown to keep the skin healthier and more supple and reduce acne or zits by balancing sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone. This is what makes a woman’s skin glow after marriage.
Oestrogen produces modulatory effects on the skin and its appendages like hair follicles, sebaceous glands, and apocrine sweat glands which help to keep the skin shinier, oily, and supple.[1]PubMed – Oestrogen functions in skin and skin appendages Progesterone also helps to keep a woman’s skin supple, enhance her hair appearance, and is responsible for the glow during pregnancy (the pregnancy glow).
Research has shown that the levels of estrogen and luteal phase progesterone rise more in sexually active women,[2]PubMed – Sexual activity, endogenous reproductive hormones and ovulation in premenopausal women which means, in addition to the peace of mind and satisfaction that marriage brings, married women are expected to have a higher level of these hormones that unmarried women who may not be having regular sexual intercourse[3]PubMed – Women Who are Married or Living as Married have Higher Salivary Estradiol and Progesterone than Unmarried Women
2. Companionship and peace of mind
Getting married to someone who is fully committed to you and wants to make you happy can bring you inner peace and satisfaction. And this can make a woman look more attractive to other people.
In addition to the effect of regular sex in increasing the body’s feel-good hormones like oxytocin and dopamine, inner peace and happiness can help optimize your body’s level of these hormones.
3. More smiles, more beauty
According to a research study done by Orbit Complete DC, 69% of people find women more attractive when they smile than when they are wearing makeup. This shows that smiling makes a woman more beautiful and attractive.
When you are happy within, it naturally translates into more smiles in your marriage. A happy marriage gives a woman true inner happiness and peace that she can’t easily hide.
4. Self-care
Between the ages of 19 and 23 years, about 40.6% of young girls begin to get deliberate with their looks. This coincides with one of the periods when they are most motivated to optimize their looks and look more attractive to members of the opposite sex.[4]Indonesia: Beauty clinic treatment age at first visit females 2019 | Statista
During this period, girls find a deeper meaning to look attractive. They realize that self-care increases their self-worth. They also want to find a man who loves how she takes care of herself. This acquired behavior to be serious about self-care usually persists into the early period of marriage, at least.
However, after marriage, several reasons can make a woman neglect her willingness to look good. We will discuss these reasons in the next section.
How Marriage Makes a Woman Less Beautiful
Of course, marriage comes with its quirks regarding a woman’s beauty or attractiveness. It brings certain changes to a woman which not only affects her physical appearance but can also affect a woman’s motivation to look good at all times as you will see below.
1. Pregnancy and birth-related body changes
Pregnancy and childbirth significantly affect a woman’s body resulting in accelerated body changes to a woman’s body from her hair, skin, and face, to other parts of her body. While hormonal changes during pregnancy can make a woman ‘glow’, the changes after childbirth might be so dramatic that you’d be surprised how much one can change within one year.
Oftentimes, it’s not just about the body changes after marriage. It is the willingness to manage this change. Many women become easily fed up trying to keep fit when they realize that just one pregnancy could take a toll on their appearance this way. It might make a woman get discouraged.
However, it is important to embrace the changes and find ways to optimize one’s current looks. You are not going to stay the same forever but you are beautiful however you are.
2. Adapting to new routines
Getting married is a new phase for everybody, such that you might experience routines you are not familiar with. The thoughts about learning to care for the home and take care of other responsibilities can come as a shock to a woman, even just immediately after the wedding day. If this is significant, this shock can drain her energy and motivation to spend time on her looks.
3. The burden of children and family
Starting a family brings new responsibilities to both partners, even though they work as a team. This means that both partners may have to learn to specialize in some aspect of the home and family. Typically, while the husband focuses on the financial and ‘breadwinning’ aspect of the home, the wife focuses on taking care of the home and family.
This new burden can make a woman have less time to take care of her body. Her attention can get divided. However, this can be overcome by assuring oneself that it is not such a ‘burden’ as one would think. The man should also do things to help his wife feel relieved from the ‘burden’ of family care and child-rearing.
4. Marriage was the only goal for beauty
If marriage is a woman’s only goal for looking beautiful, she may lose her motivation soon after she gets married.
According to a study published by the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, women dress seductively when they need attention, especially when finding a partner.[5]Why women use makeup: implication of psychological traits in makeup functions – PubMed However, this desire to get noticed may decrease after getting married, and this can affect her general appearance.
5. Loss of self-esteem
While marriage can boost a woman’s self-esteem, the converse can also possibly be true. This is particularly pronounced if she had grandiose expectations before marriage but later finds out it’s not always as straightforward as she thought. Unmet expectations can make a woman lose her self-esteem in a marriage, and this can affect how much she invests in her looks daily.
Reasons to Continue Looking Good After Getting Marriage
It is very important to continue looking beautiful even after marriage as a woman. Here are some reasons to prioritize your physical appearance long after getting married.
1. It keeps your husband continually attracted to you
Staying attractive makes your husband love you even more. He appreciates your efforts in maintaining your beauty, which can make him more invested in you.
2. It creates a psychological balance
Being able to manage your self-care with the responsibilities that come with marriage creates a psychological balance that affects other aspects of your life and family. Being able to take care of yourself and the home can affect every aspect of your home, family, and children’s development.
3. It can lead to career excellence
Having a sense of self-control is associated with a higher level of achievement and motivation to succeed, a study showed.[6]Relationship between self-esteem and achievement motivation of women in colleges of education, Kwara State | Nigerian Journal of Guidance and Counselling A woman is in a better position to succeed professionally if she can demonstrate the ability to balance her personal and family life.
4. It enhances the children’s physical and social development
When the children see that you mostly look kempt and beautiful, they feel motivated and hopeful about life, and vice-versa. This perception of their parents can affect every aspect of a child’s physical and social development.
5. It promotes your health
Self-care benefits your physical and mental health in interesting ways. Being invested in caring for your looks also translates into caring for your general health. It makes you more interested in personal and environmental hygiene which both work to improve your general health and wellbeing.
Also, being in ‘control’ of yourself can have a positive impact on your mental health, which according to WHO, is an important component of the definition of health.[7]WHO Definition of Health
How to Maintain Your Beauty After Marriage
- Skincare routine: Keeping a skincare routine can help you maintain your beauty after marriage. This typically involves daily washing and moisturizing, application of sunscreen, as well as regular skin exfoliation.
- Physical activity: Engaging in regular exercise can help maintain your muscle tone, improve circulation, keep your heart healthy, and promote a youthful look. These activities include yoga, gym workouts, walking, swimming, etc.
- Healthy diet: Healthy dieting involves eating balanced meals rich in fruits, veggies, lean protein, and healthy fats; adequate hydration to keep your skin supple and flush out toxins; and limiting intake of processed foods and junk which can impact your skin and body weight.
- Hair care: Regular hair treatments and trimming can make you look attractive always. Use natural oils like coconut or argan oil for hair nourishment. Also, avoid excessive heat styling and excessive hair chemical use.
- Grooming and self-care: These involve regular trimming of your nails, keeping your hands and feet moisturized, regular maintenance of your eyebrows and body hair, as well as good oral hygiene. These improve your general look and appearance long into the marriage.
- Stress management: Managing stress is another important way to maintain your attractiveness. Stress impacts a woman’s beauty significantly, hence, you need to take time for hobbies and activities that relax you, engage in meditation and mindfulness exercises, and aim for adequate night sleep to keep you refreshed and relaxed daily.
- Social and emotional connections: Focusing on creating a lively social environment can affect your happiness and physical appearance. Maintain good communication with your spouse, build cordial relationships with your neighbors, and love yourself deeply.
- Style upgrade: You may be aware of changes in trends since you were born. To optimize your looks, you need to wear clothes that complement your body shape and personal style, but you also need to learn more about new trends to see how they fit with your personal style, and see if you might need a style upgrade.
- Consistency: Being in control of your personal appearance today does not mean things are always going to be the same. There will be new challenges every day but as long as you stay committed and consistent, you will find interesting ways to maintain your beauty and stay attractive throughout your life.
Take home: Women need to continue caring for their body. Thanks for this.
Thanks for the feedback, Lisa
Is there a societal pressure for women to prioritize their roles as wives and mothers over their own self-care and appearance? How can we challenge these expectations and empower women to prioritize their own well-being and beauty after marriage?
Thank you for these thoughtful questions. They are really helpful in re-emphasizing women’s need for self-care and appearance after marriage.