Researchers find that acne sufferers may actually have the healthiest skin

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If you spent your adolescent years stressing about pimples and acne, there's a good chance you'll get the last laugh.

Researchers at King's College London found that the skin of a person who suffered from acne as a young adult is better equipped to protect itself as it ages.

Scientists conducted a study of skin biopsies from 1,205 female twins, wherein a quarter self-reported that they had grown up with acne. As they, the protective caps on on the ends of their chromosomes in white blood cells — called "telomeres" — were longer and more durable in those afflicted by acne than in those with clear skin.

A good way of thinking about telomeres, The Telegraph says, is to compare them to the plastic caps on the ends of shoelaces which prevent them from fraying. Essentially, like shoelace tips, what telomeres do is help keep the chromosome from breaking during cell division.

That means that those who have or had acne have healthier telomeres to keep their chromosomes, and therefore their skin healthy.

"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," lead researcher Dr. Simone Ribero said. "Whilst this has been observed in clinical settings, the cause of this was previously unclear."

Additionally, researchers found that that one of the gene pathways that helped to facilitate the length of the telomeres — called p53 — regulates what's called apopstosis, or, a sort of cell suicide. That means that the white blood cells of acne sufferers may be able to stay healthy for longer than those without acne.

That implications of that last part requires more research, but for acne sufferers everywhere, this is a revelation. If only everyone knew this as a teenager growing up...

Alyssa Pereira is a staff writer for SFGATE. Follow her here on Twitter.