Why does acne slow down skin aging? A dermatologist has given 3 reasons for this

dermatologist-cosmetologist at Concern Clinic, expert in the field of gerontology, PhD in medical sciences

There are at least three arguments in favor of the theory that the skin of people with acne ages slower than others.

The first argument

The first argument concerns such a concept as “telomeres”. These are the end sections of chromosomes that protect our DNA.

There is a theory that aging is regulated by telomeres, which gradually shorten during cell division. The shorter they are, the closer to programmed cell death – apoptosis.

The cell dies after 50-70 divisions. This was established by Leonard Hayflick, a professor of anatomy at the University of California, whose discovery was called the “Hayflick limit”.

The telomere theory of aging was the basis of a study conducted by scientists from King’s College London involving more than a thousand twins. A quarter of these people had acne.

The authors of the work examined the length of telomeres of the subjects and found that the twins with acne, they are longer. Consequently, their cells have a longer life cycle. Hence the assumption that people with acne age slower and live longer than those without such skin problems.

Unfortunately, one study is not enough to make a final conclusion about the relationship between telomere length and the aging process of the body in general and the skin in particular.

Scientists still have some serious work to do before we can confidently say that acne does indeed “slow down” skin aging.

The second argument

Another explanation for the theory that acne slows aging involves the topic of hormones. Acne is an androgen-dependent disease. Recall that androgens are sex hormones that are produced by the testicles in men and ovaries in women.

The occurrence and development of this disease is associated with two factors: either an increase in the level of testosterone (more precisely, its derivative – dihydrotestosterone), or with increased sensitivity of sebaceous gland receptors to androgens.

How do androgens affect the sebaceous glands? They increase sebum production, and increased sebum production is one of the main factors in the development of acne.

Now for the most interesting part. Clinical studies have shown that acne is most often suffered by people who have thick skin with hyperproduction of sebum. In this case, thick epidermis is initially less susceptible to signs of aging compared to thin.

In this sense, with representatives of the stronger sex, everything is more or less clear, because testosterone is the main male sex hormone. Therefore, acne occurs more often in men.

As for women, then here everything is a little more complicated. The fact is that there are two types of female hormonal constitution – estrogenic and androgenic. Possessors of the latter are women with broad shoulders and narrow hips. Women with estrogenic constitution often have an hourglass figure.

Women with androgenic constitution are usually stronger, more robust and more active than women with estrogenic constitution. The former are more preserved and less prone to weight gain than the latter, they are more inclined to sports and a mobile lifestyle (which, incidentally, contributes to the preservation of youth).

It is important that the representatives of these two types of hormonal constitution have different skin. After all, testosterone affects both human behavior and human organs, including the skin. Androgenic women have thicker skin and are more prone to acne.

Estrogenic type women have thin porcelain skin and never develop acne. At the same time, thick skin ages slower than thin skin, because it initially has more reserve for restoration, division of fibroblasts (connective tissue cells of the body), preservation of collagen and elastin fibers in the dermis.

In this context, we can say that androgenic-type women age more slowly than estrogenic-type women. This explains why women who experienced acne when they were young look younger than those who avoided it. They simply have different hormonal constitutions.

The third argument

Another argument in favor of the theory that the skin of people with acne ages slower may seem obvious, but it doesn’t make it any less convincing.

People with acne, especially when it comes to women, earlier than others go to beauticians, fulfill all the recommendations of doctors and more often than many are subjected to cosmetic manipulations.

Sometimes they visit cosmetologists throughout their lives. They are well aware of what they need to give their skin in order for it to maintain an attractive appearance.

It turns out that people with such a vividly expressed aesthetic problem, such as acne, make more effort to look more beautiful and younger.