You should never let anyone else’s opinions on your appearance affect you. But for many, if someone has something negative to say about the way you look, it is hard not to take it to heart. However, you should never let someone else thoughts change your own.

You can look, dress and be whatever and whoever you are without the thoughts of others having any effect. However, what you think of you is important. Over 60% of girls aged 12-18, and many women older than that, suffer from severe body insecurities. By severe, this means anything from a misplaced mole, to having scarring over half of your body. Each person is different and different things affect them on different levels, but there are things you can do to help your self-confidence. By looking after yourself on the outside, you gain a better relationship with your body, and allow yourself time to work through your issues.

For many, wearing makeup isn’t a necessity, and for some it is. And the same can be said of wearing certain clothing or having a particular haircut. If you look good, you feel good. And those emotions can be hard to come by.

The first, and simplest way, to look after yourself is to start eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly. It will clear up any bad skin, can make your hair healthier and thicker, and will help you to shed any excess weight you don’t want. Exercise also encourages endorphins and oxytocin to circulate your body, making you feel naturally happy. Getting the right vitamins in your body is a huge deal. Vitamin D is so important, in fact, a lack of vitamin D can result in a type of depression known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

You should always make sure that you’re getting the right amount of sleep at night. The average adult needs between eight and ten hours of sleep every night, and forcing your body to stay awake late into the early hours will not help you in any way. A regular sleep cycle will clear your mind and energize your body.

A great way of building that positive relationship between you and your body is to pamper yourself a little bit every day. A regular skin care routine doesn’t just cleanse your skin, which, incidentally, improves your complexion and can prevent wrinkles and skin cancer, but it forces you to care about yourself. We’re not saying that you don’t already, but a daily routine like this makes you look after yourself even on the days where you really don’t feel 100%. The ritualistic movements of this routine will help you to calm your mind and to get to know your body positively.

And then sometimes the thing you dislike the most about yourself and makes you so self-conscious isn’t something that can be fixed through exercise or pamper sessions. And sometimes you can’t form that positive association no matter how hard you try. This can be a range of things from scaring to significant differences in breast size. It could be a leftover from surgery, an attack, or just something you are born with. But it can often bring up painful memories, insecurities, and anxiety. And where every woman has one breast bigger than the other, having an A cup and a D cup would make any woman self-conscious and lopsided. The option here would be breast augmentation so that you can feel comfortable in your own skin. But any cosmetic surgery you decide to undertake should be well researched and understood.