# Are there people that don't have acne? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 26, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-that-dont-have-acne/705697 "2014-11-26T18:00:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qwertol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Qwertol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertol)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-that-dont-have-acne/705697/1 "2014-11-26T18:00:17Z")
Are there adult people that never had acne? And I don’t mean they didn’t have is severe, I mean literally like they never had a zit on their body? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-that-dont-have-acne/705697/2 "2014-11-26T18:24:16Z")
> [@Qwertol](#): > > Are there adult people that never had acne? > > And I don’t mean they didn’t have is severe, I mean literally like they never had a zit on their body? I can’t say I’ve never gad a zit, but at 44yo, I’d be surprised if I’ve had more than ten in my whole life. I can say I’ve never had a cold sore. I’ve got some freaky skin. For instance, I can’t develop callous on my hands. If I’m doing something that would normally cause a callous, they just peel instead. I remember when I was a teen I tried to pick up playing the guitar, I had to give it up soon after because the damn tips of my fingers wouldn’t form callouses. They would just peel and bleed after extended play. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-that-dont-have-acne/705697/3 "2014-11-26T18:32:17Z")
I get an occasional zit, but probably not more than 3 or four on my face a year, and that has been true all of my life. It wasn’t worse when I was a teenager. If anything, I had clearer skin as a teen than I do now-- pregnancy made my skin really oily, and when I was nursing, I got zits on my body, but not on my face. I have never done anything but wash my skin with soap and water, and put sunscreen on during the hottest part of summer days. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-that-dont-have-acne/705697/4 "2014-11-26T18:41:06Z")
I don’t get zits now. I don’t recall having them as a teenager. I’ve had cold sores before, but I think they’re different from acne. Cold sores are a form of the herpes virus. ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-that-dont-have-acne/705697/5 "2014-11-26T19:55:39Z")
People with a perfect complexion were sent here from another galaxy to fill the roles of movie, TV, and magazine stars. Without them, who would we idolize? ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-that-dont-have-acne/705697/6 "2014-11-26T20:07:35Z")
Don’t think I ever had any pimples on my face. Certainly never had full-blown acne. ---
**Author:** ![Qwertol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Qwertol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertol)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-that-dont-have-acne/705697/7 "2014-11-26T22:50:03Z")
> [@PurpleClogs](#): > > People with a perfect complexion were sent here from another galaxy to fill the roles of movie, TV, and magazine stars. Without them, who would we idolize? Actors often have acne, it’s especially visible now since HD got widespread. Not to mention there are a lot of celebrities with highly visible acne scars… ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-that-dont-have-acne/705697/8 "2014-11-26T23:03:12Z")
Some graphs on page two by age and stuff: > **[brmedj00070-0013.pdf](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1598727/pdf/brmedj00070-0013.pdf)** It looks like if you make it to 85+ - you are in good shape. Of course this doesn’t answer your question if they have never had acne. I’m not sure how one defines acne, but if we use your definition of never having had a zit on their body - I’m pretty sure the answer is no. Well maybe babies that die in infancy - or people that have some genetic defect that gives them a weird type of skin. I think zits can be caused in different manners - and I don’t think even with extremely good hygiene you can prevent 100% of them. You might not even see them - I occasional get pimples in non facial places - usually I don’t know why. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-that-dont-have-acne/705697/9 "2014-11-26T23:16:01Z")
> [@Qwertol](#): > > Actors often have acne, it’s especially visible now since HD got widespread. Not to mention there are a lot of celebrities with highly visible acne scars… You often see celebrities on TV doing commercials for acne treatments. ---
**Author:** ![BaldDudePeekskill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@BaldDudePeekskill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaldDudePeekskill)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-people-that-dont-have-acne/705697/10 "2014-11-28T18:39:18Z")
Nope. Maybe one or two pimple every three years, if that. My brother, the same. Our sister, suffered mild acne as a teenager and even at 55 has frequent flare ups…but not cystic acne, thankfully.