The twenties is the decade when you make the transition from student to grown-up, when you stop being a girl and become a woman, when you start working on your career and possibly get married.

Part of this transition is finding your own style, an image you feel comfortable with. The twenties is the decade you spend trying to do that — experimenting with different hairstyles and beauty products, trying every fashion trend and wearing crazy make-up colors.

This is the time to have fun with all that, but it’s also time to start thinking about who you are and how you want to look. Some of this may be dictated by your career choice: acceptable looks differ in different professional environments, so it’s not a bad idea to take a cue from the women you work with. Next time we can get into interview-appropriate makeup but for now, this is what you need to know.

This is the time to start getting serious about skin care. You should be learning good habits that will help your skin throughout your life, such as always wearing sunscreen, never going to bed with your make-up on and using the right cleansing products for your skin type.

In general, the twenties are when the focus of skin care should be on cleansing and prevention. You need to keep skin clean and pores unclogged in order to avoid breakouts. It is important to wash your face twice a day. Cleansers that contain salicylic or glycolic acid are a good bet because they help skin exfoliate, clearing dead cells from pores on a daily basis.

This is also a good time to become diligent with sunscreen. Chances are, whatever sun damage you have accumulated so far hasn’t shown up on your face yet, but unfortunately, it will by the time you are in your mid-thirties. To avoid any more damage, start wearing sunscreen — at least SPF 15 — every day, rain or shine, winter or summer.

Top essentials for your twenties:

Sunscreen — Save your skin now! The sun damage you suffer from in your twenties will show up in your thirties, forties and beyond.

A good cleanser — If drugstore brands aren’t keeping your skin clear, see a dermatologist to get a more potent product.

Eye cream — The skin around your eyes shows signs of aging first, so keep it well-hydrated and protected.

Concealer — A must-have for disguising under-eye circles after a long night.

Tinted moisturizer — Lighter than foundation, it will smooth out skin tone and give you a nice glow.