REAL LIFE NEWS: SPOTTY TEENAGERS LOOK YOUTHFUL FOR LONGER
by Hazed
Acne is the curse of teenagers, but new research shows that there may be a benefit to being spotty, because teens with spots may end up looking younger for longer.
King’s College London looked at 1,205 female twins and their research suggests that adolescents with spots tend to remain looking youthful for longer than their peers who have unblemished skin.
It seems that people with acne have a built-in protection against aging, which means that wrinkles and thinning skin appear later than in their spotless peers. The effect is caused by telomeres, which are caps on the end of chromosomes which prevent them from deteriorating. Telomeres shrink over time, but people with long telomeres tend to age more slowly than those with short ones. Acne sufferers have longer telomeres, so they don’t show signs of aging as fast.
So if you are a teenager suffering the horrors of spots, your distress can be somewhat alleviated by the knowledge that in the long run you’re going to look better than your friends who currently have perfect skin!
