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Most people can't guess my age unless they grew up with me or otherwise know me. They also ask me how I take care of my skin. My answer may surprise you.
The main thing is understanding the method of skincare more than understanding the product you use. Equal to that is the fact that no one (well...hardly anyone) drinks enough water. I was raised during a time that people put CocaCola in baby bottles sometimes (I'll never figure that one out). Doing nothing else but drinking three liters per day of water, every day, day in--day out, will make an amazing difference in the appearance of your skin.
That's all the lady in the above picture did. The the final shot is just four weeks after she started this habit.
Starting young is a good idea as well. I know you don't have a desire to look 10 years younger if you are 21, but your skin will appreciate you later, and it will be healthy now, and that's what we want. Don't be daunted, though, if you didn't start in your early years. Healthy changes always make a positive, and sometimes dramatic, difference.
Good skin care is important as well, and what you use is important--ingredients especially. Most high-end skin care products still contain carginogens, parabens, pthalates,...unfortunately, even "doctor recommended/developed" brands. If you die of cancer or have other physical problems because of the ingredients in your products, pretty skin won't mean much (and some of those brands do have great results). I want to be healthier in the process, though. You don't need to sacrifice good health for great results. This part is a matter of consumer beware. Check the ingredients carefully before choosing to use a product. If you see paraben, or pthalate as part of a word, steer clear.
I'm not the greatest expert though; If you see an ingredient you don't recognize, Google it. Take the time also to check the things that look good, but may not be. I just heard of a lady who had to have major work done with the eye doctor because green tea fibers embedded into the skin on the inside of her eyelid. Just because it's good for one purpose doesn't mean it's great for another. (As an aside: Green tea is great, but the FIBERS next to your eye will not benefit your eyes at all.) If you don't think you can remember all that until you get to your computer, take a picture of the ingredient label with your phone, or Google the ingredients of a particular item before making the trip to purchase it.
To care for your skin, you first need to use a good/safe cleanser, (if and when you use a mask or exfoliator, do that second), then a toner, then any treatments--eye creams, vitamin C treatments,..., moisturize, and in the morning us a light foundation (that actually acts as a shield and helps your skin stay cleaner). For toner, which I would like to feature, I use Sei Bella Clarifying Facial Toner.
It's a Melaleuca product with completely safe ingredients. They also have Affinia Facial Cleanser Plus Toner (the toner is right in the cleanser). If you use treatments, like a vitamin C treatment or specialized moisturizer, toner will adjust the PH of your skin so that you can receive the maximum benefit from the treatments. I used to think toners were just for deeper cleaning, but I was wrong. If you think back to your science days and those little litmus strips we used to check PH, that's the kind of thing I'm to which I am referring. Your skin can be clean and the PH can be off. If that's the case, you will not receive the benefit you need from your remaining products. I would say this little thing is the most undervalued part of skin care there is.
So...be safe (make certain the ingredients in your products are safe), start young or start now, do all the steps to take care of your skin morning and evening, and drink lots of water. Have a blast with it; it's really a lot of fun as well.