The Secret Upside of Acne

If you battled acne growing up, you probably never thought you’d one day find a silver lining to zits. Well good news, Past You. A recent study found that if you suffered from acne in the past, you may be rewarded with protection against aging later in life.

According to lead author of the study, Dr Simone Ribero, researchers have known this for a while “For many years dermatologists have identified that the skin of acne sufferers appears to age more slowly than in those who have not experienced any acne in their lifetime. Whilst this has been observed in clinical settings, the cause of this was previously unclear.”

Now, the cause is clear: it comes down to your telomeres, repetitive nucleotide sequences found at the end of chromosomes that break down and shrink as cells age. Previous research has linked telomere length with biological ageing. “Our findings suggest that the cause could be linked to the length of telomeres which appears to be different in acne sufferers and means their cells may be protected against ageing,” Dr. Ribero went on to explain.

No, it probably won’t make up for all the zit cream and Stridex pads of your youth…but it’s something. (And in the meantime, there’s always microdermabrasion to treat acne scarring and minimize signs of aging all in one shot.)