Women with acne look younger for longer, apparently
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Let’s make things clear for a second - no one would wish acne upon their worst enemy. Far from just a teenage vice, more and more adults are suffering from it - in 2015, a study of 92 private dermatology clinics found a 200% rise in the number of adults seeking specialist treatment.
But surprisingly, a recent study has discovered that acne could also hold the key to anti-ageing.
A study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology has found that women with acne are actually more likely to live longer than those with clear skin, and look better as they age, too.
[Photo: Pexels]
Scientists from King’s College London looked at the white blood cells of 1,205 female twins - a quarter of whom said they suffered from acne - and found that those with acne had greater protection against the effects of ageing built into their cells.
Or to explain this in a little more detail, spottier women have longer telomeres; protective caps on the ends of their chromosomes which are best pictured like the plastic tips on shoe laces to stop them fraying.
These prevent chromosomes from deteriorating, and since they shrink with time, the longer yours are the later that things like wrinkles and thinning skin will show.
[Photo: Pexels]
So - women with acne don’t age more slowly as a direct result of the acne, but because they usually have longer telomeres, as a gene linked to acne is also linked to telomere length.
“Our findings suggest 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,” lead researcher Dr Simone Ribero from King’s College London told the BBC.
Co-author Dr Veronique Bataille also said: “Longer telomeres are likely to be one factor explaining the protection against premature skin ageing in individuals who previously suffered from acne.”
What do you think about this study? Tweet us at @YahooStyleUK.
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