Scarlett Johansson reveals her biggest beauty regret

Scarlett Johansson reveals her biggest beauty regret

Scarlett Johansson, who has been in the public eye for decades, apparently knows a thing or two about what it's like to have all eyes on her. But the 37-year-old admits she hasn't always felt very comfortable in her own skin in a candid interview with The Cut.

“We’re all so self-critical,” she told the publication. "And now it seems even more so because everyone is constantly looking at photos of themselves, a phenomenon that's maybe ten years old," she continued, referring to current selfie and social media culture.

“Now you can take a photo of yourself and zoom in and dissect it,” she explained. “It’s hard not to be overly critical of ourselves and others.” (See: Bethenny Frankel Just Made an Important Point About Filtered Photos on Instagram)

That same hyperfixation caused by the ability to see oneself in almost too much detail in digital images goes hand in hand with Johansson's biggest beauty regret, as she revealed to The Cut. "I wish I hadn't picked my skin so much when I was younger, I could have avoided so many scars and drama," she said in a recent interview. “It was really hard for me to overcome this compulsive need to touch my face or pick at my skin a lot.”

While it may be a natural urge to pick at a pimple or scab from time to time, a compulsive skin-picking habit can become a serious long-term struggle for some people. Dermatillomania (also known as excoriation or skin-picking disorder) is a recognized mental disorder similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder and can cause “significant distress” to those affected, according to the International OCD Foundation. It involves "repeated picking at one's skin, resulting in blemishes, scars, or lesions," Terri Bacow, Ph.D., a New York City psychologist and author of Goodbye Anxiety, previously told Shape.

Although the Black Widow star didn't specify whether or not she specifically struggled with dermatillomania, she shared what helped her quit her skin-picking habit. It took a little tough love from her older sister, she explained. “Finally, my sister told me to throw away the magnifying mirror,” Johansson remembers. “She said, ‘Nobody looks at your pores that closely and it’s a burden.’ It was the simplest advice but really true for me, especially because I can become obsessive about my skin.”

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Johansson seems to have come a long way in her ability to feel confident both in private and in public. "I don't think [being photographed in public is] ever going to be something that I'm completely comfortable with, but I've gotten better at it as I've gotten older," she shared. "I used to feel so terribly petrified on the red carpet. I felt like I was having a heart attack."

Another thing she's gotten better at over the years? “The older I get, the more forgiving I become of the way I look at myself,” she told the publication. Now she sees the “abstract” concept of beauty as something deeper than looking good in a photo or magnifying mirror. “Beauty is that elusive quality that comes from being comfortable in your own skin,” she concluded.

Most people may never find themselves in the spotlight of a white, hot red carpet like Johansson, but many can certainly relate to the urge to zoom in and fixate on perceived "flaws." Hopefully fans can take a cue from the actress and be a little kinder to themselves, even when it feels difficult.