5 Things I wish I'd known about skincare before

Taking care of my skin is something that I love spending time on. Especially since I learned to embrace my natural skin and ditch foundation every day. So when it comes to skincare, there are a few things I've learnt over the years that I wish I'd known a long time ago.

I wasn't until I hit my late teens that my acne decided to show up, before that I'd had the odd spot but nothing like it is now, or at least was. It also wasn't until my late teens that I started wearing foundation, which I mainly did to cover up my breakouts. Anyway, this meant that skin care was not even on my radar at that point - I had a lot to learn.

1. You can't actually get rid of your pores with products.

Boy oh boy have I bought and tried a long list of products to banish those pesky pores. That was until I found out that it's not actually possible. As much as you can clean them and lower their visibility, the chances of you actually being able to leave your skin looking poreless with a product are just not real. So I've learnt to embrace them, they're completely normal, everyone has them even if they do blur them all out in photos. I make sure I exfoliate and cleanse with products that help keep my pores clear, but apart from that there's not much else I can do and I'm okay with that.

2. Oily skin doesn't mean you don't have to moisturise.

I KNOW I KNOW, what was I thinking. In my defence, I kinda had to learn my do's and don'ts on my own at 16. That was until I met someone that worked at a Benefit makeup counter and she introduced me to their oil-free moisturiser. I started using that and haven't looked back since. I realised that by not moisturising, I was causing my skin to dry out and produce even more oil to make up for it - Rookie mistake. Now moisturising is a top priority in my skincare routine if only I'd known before.

3. Makeup wipes ain't it.

The most common piece of advice I come across is that makeup wipes are not a good way to clean your skin. I can see why not only are they not great for the environment but they also don't really clean your skin that well either. They remove surface dirt but that's as far as they go. I tend to stay away from them unless it's an emergency.

4. Everyone's skin is different.

I have spent a lot of time reading endless articles about how someone got perfect flawless amazing skin, I have tried endless amount of products that people swear by and I have heard endless bits of advice on how it's best to take care of your skin and if there's one thing I've learnt it's that what works for one probably won't work for all. Everyone's skin is different, everyone's acne is different and that means that just because Barbara increased her water intake and managed to get flawless skin, it probably won't be the same for you.

Don't get me wrong, water is definitely a massive help, but it's not the magical ingredient all acne prone skin needs. You need to take time to get to know your skin, get to know what it needs, what it doesn't like and what is beneficial for it. I've had people tell me that if I changed my diet my skin would be better for it, I've tried that and it wasn't. I've had people tell me that maybe it's all the products I use on it, but if I don't use the products that calm my skin it breaks out.

5. Expecting flawless skin is unrealistic.

This is something that took me a long time to realise. When you open a magazine you're shown all these flawless models, with amazing skin and bodies and lives - But I realised that setting myself that standard was absolutely ridiculous and only made me hate myself. Not only are most of the photos we see heavily edited, but you can also be sure that they're on a first name basis with a very expensive dermatologist. They've probably also had a few procedures done and only eat fresh super healthy meals that their personal trainer plans for them, which is great for them but it's not a realistic goal for me.

I learned that I shouldn't be aiming to have flawless looking skin, I should be aiming to have healthy skin. Which is exactly what I've achieved lately, my acne is still here and so are my scars, blemishes and pores which are all completely normal. I look after my skin, I spend time making sure it's cleansed, I drink a lot of water and I try to have a balanced diet (I'm still working on that one) and my skin is thankful for it.

I'm sure there's a lot more to add to this list, but these are the ones I think of the most. What do you wish you'd known about skincare before? Is there something you used to do, or not do, and now you've completely changed your mind? Let me know in the comments.