Editing Appearance
Your personal appearance in Second Life matters more than you think — here's why and how to change it
Editing Your Avatar's Appearance
One of Second Life's most celebrated features is the depth of its avatar customization. Your starter avatar is just a blank canvas — in this chapter, you'll learn how to reshape your body, change your skin, style your hair, and add tattoos to create a look that feels genuinely yours.
Opening the Appearance Editor
To begin editing your avatar:
Right-click your avatar and select Edit Appearance, or
Go to Avatar > Customize Avatar in the top menu, or
Click the Avatar button in your toolbar and choose Appearance.
The Appearance Editor panel will open on the left side of your screen. Your viewer will also enter a special mode where your avatar is shown in good lighting against a neutral background — perfect for making adjustments.
Tip: Changes in the Appearance Editor are applied live, so you can see the effect of every slider adjustment in real time before saving.
Understanding Avatar Types
Before diving into customization, it's important to know that Second Life has two main avatar body systems:
Classic (System) Avatars — the original Second Life body, fully editable through the built-in Appearance Editor. Every new account starts with one of these.
Mesh Bodies — third-party replacement bodies made by creators like Maitreya, Belleza, Legacy, and others. These look significantly more realistic and detailed but require purchasing separately and learning a different customization workflow.
This chapter focuses on the Classic Avatar system, which is free, always available, and the right place to start learning. Mesh bodies are covered later in the handbook once you're more familiar with the basics.
Body Shape
The Shape layer controls your avatar's physical proportions — everything from height and weight to the size of individual facial features.
Accessing Shape Settings
In the Appearance Editor, click Shape. You'll see a series of tabs:
Body
Height, body thickness, muscle, fat distribution
Head
Head size, face shape, forehead
Eyes
Eye size, spacing, depth, and angle
Ears
Ear size, shape, and position
Nose
Nose width, length, tip shape
Mouth
Lip fullness, mouth width, jaw
Chin
Chin depth, jaw angle, underbite
Torso
Neck, shoulders, chest, breast, waist
Legs
Hip width, leg length, butt size, foot size
Using the Sliders
Each feature is controlled by a slider ranging from 0 to 100. Drag left or right to adjust. There's no wrong combination — experimentation is encouraged.
Important: Your Shape is stored as a worn item in your inventory. To save changes, click Save at the top or Save As... at the bottom of the Appearance Editor. If you wear a different shape later, your current one won't be lost — it stays in your inventory.
Eyebrows
Eyebrow shape is controlled partly through the Shape > Head sliders (for basic position and arch) and partly through the Skin layer (for color and texture). However there is an item called Eyebrow shaper (also Hairbase, Baldie, Brow shaper or System hair) that has some specific controls to look for:
Eyebrow Size
Makes brows thicker or thinner
Eyebrow Arc
Adjusts the arch height
Eyebrow Height
Moves brows up or down on the forehead
Eyebrow Density
Controls how full or sparse the brows look
Tip: Many residents find that default system eyebrows look dated. A popular workaround is to use eyebrow tattoo layers — flat graphic overlays placed on the skin that give a much more polished and realistic result. These are widely available for free on the Second Life Marketplace.
Skin
The Skin layer defines your avatar's base appearance: skin tone, facial features painted onto the texture (such as eyebrows, lips, shading, and detail), and overall complexion.
Changing Your Skin
In the Appearance Editor, click Skin.
You'll see your currently worn skin. To change it, you need to wear a different skin from your inventory.
Close the Appearance Editor, open your Inventory (
Ctrl + I), and find a skin in your Clothing or Body Parts folder.Right-click the skin and select Wear.
Finding Skins
Your starter avatar comes with a basic system skin.
Free skins are widely available on the Second Life Marketplace and at in-world stores.
Search for "system skin free" or "classic avatar skin" to find options compatible with your body type.
Note: Skins made for Mesh Bodies are not compatible with Classic Avatars, and vice versa. Always check the product description before downloading or purchasing.
Tattoos
In Second Life, tattoos are not permanent body modifications — they're a dedicated wearable layer applied on top of your skin. This means you can put them on and take them off freely, just like clothing.
Note: The icons shown here are for illustrative purposes only; their visual appearance may differ significantly depending on the viewer or the specific skin applied.
How Tattoo Layers Work
The Classic Avatar has multiple wearable layers stacked in this order (from bottom to top):
Skin
Tattoo
Underwear
Undershirt
Shirt
Skirt
Pants
Jacket
Gloves
Socks
Shoes
Also called footshaper and shoebase, Shoes functions somewhat like a tattoo, as it offers texture and color options; furthermore, it can drastically alter the shape of the classic avatar feet—hence its name, footshaper—and even their height. This last feature makes it useful with modern rigged mesh shoes, as it acts as a shoebase, correcting the body's height and preventing it from sinking or floating above the floor. Since each shoe design is different, good designers usually include the appropriate shoebases for each model.
Tattoos sit directly above the skin layer, so they show through semi-transparent or open clothing.
Wearing a Tattoo
Find a tattoo in your Inventory (they're usually stored in the Clothing folder).
Right-click and select Wear or Add (use Add to layer it over an existing tattoo rather than replace it).
To remove a tattoo, right-click it in your Inventory and select Detach or Remove.
Where to Find Tattoos
The Second Life Marketplace has thousands of free and paid tattoo options — full body suits, sleeve designs, minimal accents, and everything in between. Search "tattoo system avatar" to find compatible options.
Hair
Hair in Second Life comes in two distinct types, and understanding the difference will save you a lot of confusion:
System Hair
System Hair (also called Hairbase, Bald, Eyebrow shaper, Brow shaper, etc) is essential part of the Classic Avatar and can be edited directly through the Appearance Editor. It offers sliders for:
Hair color (including highlights and roots)
Length and volume
Waviness and texture style
Bangs and front styling
System hair is always available and free to adjust, but it has a relatively limited, dated look compared to modern alternatives.
Prim / Mesh Hair
Prim hair (and its more modern equivalent, mesh hair) is a wearable accessory made by in-world creators. It looks dramatically more realistic and stylish than system hair, and it's what the vast majority of residents use.
To wear mesh hair:
Find a hair item in your Inventory (usually in the Objects or Hair folder).
Right-click and select Wear or Add.
The hair will attach to your avatar's head. Most mesh hair includes a HUD (Heads-Up Display) — a small control panel that lets you change the hair's color, style, or fit.
Tip: When first wearing mesh hair, it may not sit perfectly on your head. Use Edit (right-click the hair > Edit) to reposition it using the move and rotate tools. This takes a little practice but becomes second nature quickly.
Key Aspects of Rigged Hair:
Unrigged vs. Rigged: Unrigged hair can be resized and moved, which is useful for bangs or accessories, but it could not fit perfectly to your avatar's head. If the hair is Rigged, it means that fits to specific mesh head brands (like LeLutka or Catwa). It cannot be resized, repositioned, or moved by the user.
Movement: Unlike older "flexi" hair, rigged hair moves with your avatar's animations.
Fitting Issues: Because it cannot be adjusted, it must be designed for your specific head shape or size. It often requires trying on demos to ensure it fits perfectly without showing the scalp.
Attachment Points: While usually attached to the skull, if it fits poorly, users cannot simply move it, though, in some cases, changing the attachment point or adjusting shape sliders (like head stretch) can help.
Where to Find Hair
Many creators offer free demo versions of their hair so you can try before buying.
Search the Marketplace for "mesh hair free" or visit popular in-world hair stores like Truth, Magika, or L'Etre & Doux for a wide range of styles.
The Freebie Galaxy and Palomma Plaza are well-known in-world locations offering high-quality freebies, including hair.
Saving and Managing Your Look
Once you're happy with your appearance, make sure to save your work:
Save Shape changes using the Save button in the Appearance Editor.
Create an Outfit to save your entire current look (body, skin, hair, and all) as a named set you can return to later:
Go to Avatar > Outfits (or the Outfits tab in your Appearance panel).
Click Save As and give your outfit a name.
You can switch between saved outfits instantly from this panel.
Building a library of saved outfits is one of the great joys of Second Life — many residents accumulate dozens over time. Look at the chapter "The Outfits Library" for a complete guide.
Quick Reference
Open Appearance Editor
Right-click avatar > Edit Appearance
Body shape sliders
Appearance Editor > Shape
Eyebrow adjustments
Shape > Head tab + Skin layer
Change skin
Wear a skin from Inventory
Add a tattoo
Inventory > Right-click > Add
System hair
Appearance Editor > Hair tab
Mesh hair
Wear from Inventory; adjust with HUD
Save your look
Avatar > Outfits > Save As
What's Next? With your body, skin, hair, and tattoos sorted, it's time to get dressed. The next chapter covers dressing your avi with clothing and accessories — how the layering system works, where to find great items, and how to build a wardrobe that expresses who you are in Second Life.
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