"Sorry, Mum. Turns out you were the expert all along."

At 22, there are plenty of nuggets of wisdom I’m sure my mother has passed onto me that sit idly in the back of my subconscious. They are waiting, naturally, for someone else to come along, re-affirm what she had said all along, and spur me into action.

This was no more apparent than last night, when I told my mum how enthused I was by my own hair. If this sounds like a vain proclamation… well, that’s probably because it was.

I proceeded to tell her that I had read an insightful Instagram story a few weeks back (how’s that for an oxymoron?) from beauty expert Zoe Foster-Blake (yes Mum, the author of that book; yes Mum, wife of Hamish) about how you should be washing your hair properly.

Wash it twice, I read, and then condition. That’s how to get the most out of your hair. So I relayed that information to mum. How helpful! Great advice.

But instead of being hit with an onslaught of back-patting and thoughtful analysis about how I was always so generous with my advice and inclusive with my guidance (my sense of vanity isn’t just limited to my hair), I was faced with with a raised eyebrow  and some conclusively rolled eyes.

Sorry, Mum.

"I have told you that for 22 years, do you not remember?" she replied.

Huh. Well, now I do.

And so I've proceeded to compile the best advice my mother, and other mothers, provided... that we always ignored until someone else said it too.

Wash your hair properly

See above. Ahem.

Taking photos of yourself is totally narcissistic

The close cousin of stop-checking-yourself-out-in-every-reflection-you-catch, it turns out mum was well-versed in how self-obsessed social media would make us even before it boomed.

During the MySpace era where every second photo on my profile was a selfie taken on self-timer to look like I really didn't take the photo, Mum was on my case. Too many photos of yourself on social media is, and I quote, "painful".

That one was re-affirmed by nothing other than age, and a little bit of wisdom.

Nothing good ever happens after 2am

This one comes from my lovely colleague Rachel.

"My mum always used to tell me nothing good ever happens after 2 am. I didn't believe it coming from her, but when Ted on How I Met Your Mother said it? Sold."

Go to bed early

From my 24-year-old sister: "Go to bed early. I never did, until I started playing a lot of sport and my soccer coach said if I wanted to play well, I should probably start sleeping more. I did. Probably should've listened."

Don't dye your hair from a packet

This, I reluctantly admit, was one of the greatest crimes of my youth.

I present to you the ignored advice:

It was... it was meant to be blonde.

Moving along.

Make your bed

"Naturally, my mum always told me to make my bed. I never made my bed until Gretchen Rubin, a happiness expert,  told me to." - Monique.

Don't eat late at night

"My mum told me that I shouldn't eat late at night because I wouldn't sleep well, so obviously in my teenage years I became a late-night eater. I then developed heartburn at night and my doctor told me to stop eating at least two hours before bed. So I did." - Jo.

Service your car

Who knew cars had to visit the mechanic every six months to ensure everything works? Me, I did. Guess who never got my car serviced? Me, I did.

You can imagine my surprise when I actually did service my car and received a lovely $1400 bill.

Alas, that car visited the mechanic much more frequently after that. (Post continues after gallery.)

Maybe exercise sometimes?

"Whenever I was stressed as a teenager my mum would be like, 'Do some exercise' and I'd be like, 'Yuck, mum NO'. She LOVES yoga and I'd always be like, ew why? Anyway, I've been going once a week for more than three years now and, um, it's my favourite activity." - Jo.

Breathe...

"Breathing exercises to help me relax now, and my mum is the oracle on these. It wasn’t until I started yoga and went to see some kind of performance coach that it clicked." - Kate.

Moisturise

"My mum always puts on moisturiser, and said you should wear it even if you have oily skin, but for years I ignored her and went without in hope it would dry out my pimples. Then, when I read a magazine article that explained wearing moisturiser is a must for problem skin I started putting it on. Sorry Mum!" - Jess.

Undoubtedly, there are so many more nuggets of Mum wisdom we're still ignoring...