I am wishing and praying for a character mod. I hate to play a game where my character looks awful. It puts me off the game.
There were some mods for this in previous Elder Scrolls so I am still living in hope.
If anybody knows of a mod for Skyrim for this pls let me know. thanks a lot. btw I am female and need to have an elven char because I am mage and/or rogue

I don't have the game yet (and refuse to get it until Creation Kit comes out so I can fix some things before playing) but I've seen screenshots and videos and I agree with you characters are awful! Not only do they look kinda old they actually have DIRT all over them for no reason that you can't get rid of!

But I found http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=140 (also http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=43 if you're interested in dirt removal) and looked at the screenshots and the characters there (bathed and aware of skincare) look much much better than the original so although I haven't tested it yet I'd recommend that. I'm afraid any more advanced appearance mods will require Creation Kit and/or probably new head morph meshes but it's going to be some time before those come out (but good news is Xenius is working on Skyrim now so hopefully it won't be too long!)

Idk why people are complaining so much.
Its not the modern era, most people are probably going to look a bit dirty.
Do you see bathrooms anywhere in the game? No.
Everyone uses the outdoors to take a poo and bathe (river, lake).

Bethesda did a great job, ESPECIALLY with the new character creation.

Also, smooth faces are impossible. All that wind and snow and cold isnt't too good for your skin you know. Unless you're always inside.
Stop complainig, it's Realistic and it makes sense for Skyrim.

You know what else is realistic? Facials. And soap. Last time I checked they were more real than dragons ^^

While I love the game I would also have to agree with the OP to some extent, yes Skyrim is a harsh world and would take it's toll on people however in any world and environment there are good looking people, it would be nice to see some atractive people in the game and for those who like to it would be nice if they could create good looking people.

Tolkein's LOTR was a harsh world as well, some of middle earth was terrible yet if you read the book Arwen and especially Galadriel were incredibly beautiful, I did try and create a nice looking girl for my character but ended up with a tough looking female warrior instead.

That being said the new character creation is certainly not a reason to miss out on the game, I can't understand why someone would want to use the Construction Kit before he/she plays? How do they know what to "fix" if they haven't played? If they just read this Forum and "fix" what others complain about how do they know that they would agree with what was being complained about? They may end up fixing something they would have liked!

Play the game!!! See what's out there!

Facials, and soap..

Doesn't exist. Do you see any cars? No? And you do realize it's cold and windy in Skyrim, right? Doesn't exactly make your face baby smooth.

There's only one kind of soap in the Elder Scrolls and that's Sload Soap, made from baby Sload.

I would recommend http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=26 and http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=30 mod. Makes the detail so much better (although they don't make the faces "pretty", only more realistic).

One way to get rid of the dirt on your character is to set the "dirt" slider at character creation to 'no dirt'. Problem solved, you're welcome.

Thanks for nothing - it's still hardcoded into the body texture until you replace it n_n

Also to a couple people above: who cares? I want my character to look exactly like I want her and will settle for no less. It's my almighty will as the co-writer of the story that takes place in my game. I dare ostentatiously rub it in the face of weather, dirt and anyone who protests against the slaughter and exploitation of baby Sloads ^^

My character looks quite prety and not dirty at all. Not sure what your on about to be honest unless your playing a lizard. Wait till the constructionset comes out and then head to the Skyrim Nexus and look there after a few months some of the memebers are very good modders to games and will probably put out make up and new character skins. I am just glad that Bethseda have got the female walk/run correct this time.

That'll teach me to be a [censored]. lol

I can't judge female characters because i always play as a male one, but as far as the male characters go they look great. My nord has such a savage barbarian look, makes a great warrior.