Lucy Hale Reveals She Used Special Lights To Hide Acne In 'Pretty Little Liars'

Karen Lucille Hale, simply known as Lucy Hale, is an American actress, singer, and television personality notable for her appearances as Becca Sommers in "Bionic Woman and Rose Baker in "Privileged."

She rose to prominence as Aria Montgomery on the Freeform series Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017), for which she garnered several awards.

Behind the scenes of "Pretty Little Liars," Hale had to make some moves to ensure she looked perfect for the camera. The actress, at the time, was battling acne and needed some special effects whenever she came on set.

Now, Hale has opened up about her ordeal in a new interview with Glamour.

The actress recalled sobbing throughout her early career due to the breakouts she had on her face. When speaking with Glamour for the publication's Acne Diaries series, she admitted that she didn't always "want to be in front of a camera."

"I remember vividly one day we were filming 'Pretty Little Liars' — and the show's called 'Pretty Little Liars,' so they wanted us to look a certain way," Hale told Glamour. "We had to specially light my skin to reflect in a different way so you wouldn't see my acne. I remember being just so embarrassed and mortified."

Hale confessed that she could have approached her issues with acne in a different manner during its early days.

"I think the reason I'm so obsessed with skincare and beauty is because I struggled with my skin — you just want to crawl in a hole," she said. "It feels very isolating, and it can feel so heavy and so difficult. Looking back, I wish I could have had more grace and compassion with myself, but when you're in it, it's excruciating."

Having battled acne for many years, the actress has learned how to coexist with the breakouts, revealing that she deals with acne by treating her specific skin type, reducing her beauty products, and switching up her belief about her facial blight.

"I think I've just accepted that I'll deal with breakouts my whole life," Hale said. "It's also important for all of us to realize that skin has texture. Skin has pores. Skin has zits."

She continued: "We don't see that as much anymore because we're all on our phones, and we're seeing all these filters and gorgeous people, and so it's hard for us to remember that it's OK to have skin that looks like skin."

Hale is not the only celebrity who has been vocal about their battles with acne. Bella Thorne, Adwoa Aboah, and Justin Bieber have all spoken about their skin issues via their social media accounts and posted pictures of breakouts they had in the past or were currently facing.

Thorne spoke about feeling self-conscious about her face, which often triggered negative emotions about herself. However, she rightly cited that it was normal to have acne as no one was left out of having breakouts from time to time.

Aboah shared the same view with Thorne, saying it was exhausting having to switch between a clean, clear skin to a pimple-ridden breakout. She then indicated that she was done with self-hate and was putting her face out there for the world to see.

Hale was cast in the "Life Sentence" comedy-drama series on The CW in 2018. She played the role of Stella Abbott, a lady who learned that her fatal cancer had disappeared. The show was only aired for one season. The actress also featured in three films in the same year: "Truth or Dare," "Dude," and "The Unicorn."

Subsequently, she got cast in the lead role of Katy Keene, based on the Archie Comics character of the same name, the following year.

In 2020, Hale portrayed Melanie Cole in the supernatural horror thriller "Fantasy Island" and starred in the romantic comedy-drama "The Hating Game" in 2021. The actress is slated to feature in a couple of upcoming projects, including "Borrego."