15 women share the beauty lesson they wish they'd learned much, much earlier.

When it comes to beauty, some lessons can only be learned in retrospect.

Overly-plucked eyebrows, sun safety and blue eyeshadow all sit very firmly in this category.

And while it’s true that the impulsively-cut fringe will grow out and the much-loved eyeliner can be switched out for something less… ‘heavy-handed’, sometimes it’s fun to remember the beauty mishaps we’ve made along the way.

To do so, we asked 15 women to take a walk down memory lane and share the hard-earned beauty lessons they would go back and tell their younger selves.

From lessons in hair care, health and self-love, the responses had us nodding and cringing in solidarity.

Here’s what they said.

“Look after your curls,” Bianca.

Learn how to look after your curls! Put the straightener down! Embrace! The thing with my head of curls….when it’s good it’s amazing! When it’s bad…..its SCARY! It’s taken me 36 years to truly embrace my curls and give them the love and care they deserve.

I damaged my hair so badly from years of straightening. I’m also guilty of product overload! And as I’ve found out in the past few years, all the wrong products adding further damage to my curls – sulphate, parabenes, silicone – NASTY THINGS! I was ‘looking’ after my curly hair as if it were straight!

Now I’m all about hydration, hydration, hydration! The Curly Girl Method has been the game changer for me! By no means is my hair 100 per cent repaired or perfectly styled, but, I now love, embrace and care for my curls as I was always meant to!

'Put the eyeliner down,' Tanya.

Don’t cover up that early 20’s even skin tone with so much foundation and maybe go easier on the eyeliner.

"Embrace yourself," Sangiovesekid.

Find your style, it doesn’t matter what it is, love it embrace and be proud! You only need to prove yourself to you!

"Never start smoking," Liz.

Moisturise your neck as well as your face. Gosh, my neck has some wrinkles...

That and never start smoking. PS, totally proud of myself for giving up.

"Years wasted counting calories," @fussygus.

I wish I’d known there are way worse things than being fat. Soooooo many years wasted counting calories and punishing myself. In the end, I ended up fat and the happiest I’ve ever been.

"Thank your body for serving you," Alana.

Beauty advice to my younger self:

1. Drink a glass of water before any other beverage. Your skin, digestion, and energy will thank you.

2. Thank your body for serving you. For existing. For its fitness, flexibility, function.

3. If you are pointing out everything you don’t like - stop. Write it down. Then challenge yourself to flip those points and understand why you are tearing yourself down. If you understand the external pressure feeding your internal negative narrative then you can reset your brain and cultivate acceptance and affirmation within yourself.

4. Masturbation IS SELF CARE. It’s fun. It’s normal. It’s part of your sexual wellness.

5. Take pictures of yourself to remember your strength, grace, beauty, and presence years down the road.

"The grass isn't always greener," Nicky.

I thought I wanted big boobs  at 22 in 1996 so I had them done. Then at 42 I finally had them removed because I hated every single day of those 20 years I had them in and they didn’t solve any of my insecurities.

Sadly two years ago at 45, after loving my new little breast I was diagnosed with breast cancer and lost my whole breast. Moral of the story, be happy with what God gave you cause the grass isn’t always greener.

If I could go back in time, I’d tell my younger self to leave my breasts alone. Be happy with your healthy beautiful body that never let you down and worked beautifully to give you three gorgeous babies that you breast fed and gave life to.

"Don’t look in the mirror too often," Mari.

Don’t believe that you need expensive products or fancy packaging for effective results. Also just don’t look in the mirror too often. Carry an inner image of yourself looking amazing and act this way all the time

"Look after your body," Lady Marmalade.

Stay healthy and fit. Look after your body and don’t let the lure of over eating sabotage you - you can still eat amazing food in moderation.

"You’ll rock your Endo belly flare ups," Kellie Renee @thatendogoddess.

The one piece of beauty advice that i’d give to my younger self is that one day you’re going to develop Endometriosis and at times it’ll make you feel ugly, worthless, unsexy, and much less of a woman. But you’ll find someone who loves you for you, who helps teach you to love yourself again. You’ll come to realise that your body is beautiful no matter what size it is and that you’ll rock your Endo belly flare ups like the beautiful bad ass that you are!

"Sun protection," Jenny.

Hat and sunscreen. Always. From my 67 year old self to my younger self.

"Stick to the basics," Katie.

Sunscreen, no plucking eyebrows. And no cigarettes. The rest is just fluff.

"Embrace your natural face," Kirstie.

My beauty advice for my younger self, embrace your natural face and for the love of god lay off the heavy black eye liner on your inner rim, after a few wines it smudges every where and you look like a trashbag. Also wash your make up off before bed, you'll thank yourself in the morning!

"Sun damage" Brooke.

Sun damage. I wish I used sunscreen when I was younger.

"Braces are less annoying when it's someone else paying," Clare.

Should have said yes to the braces while the parents were paying

What advice would you give to your younger self? Tell us in a comment below!