Scarlett Johannson "struggled" with acne during her youth.

The 38-year-old actress admitted that she suffered from skin issues when she was in her late teens and suffered from "painful memories" when recently looking at old pictures of herself.

She told Stylist: "I struggled with acne forever. My brother actually just showed me photos of myself at a family thing when I was probably 19 or 20, and my skin quality is completely different. When I saw that photo it just, you know, it brought everything back. All those painful memories. I just struggled with my skin for such a long time. I used to wear concealer to work in the morning, even though somebody was about to put make-up on my face.

"But that was when I was younger and the messaging around acne back then was that your skin was grimy and dirty, and you’d get rid of the blemishes by washing it. It was all so negative – and also incorrect. At that point, I was using every product I was prescribed and that I saw in the media. I would go through these cycles of drying out the acne and then having all this redness and irritation. It was a non-stop cycle. Then, when I was in my mid-to-late 20s, I just couldn’t do it anymore. I started using gentle products consistently, I began moisturising, and within a week my skin was completely different."

The 'Black Widow' star has now launched skincare brand The Outset and explained that all of her friends were excited to hear about her new venture because they thought it was something she should have done years ago.

She said: "It’s funny, because when I told my friends I was starting a skincare line they were like, ‘Finally!’ So for them, it was [always on the cards for me] but I just never could have imagined entering into the start-up world. The b2b [business to business] space is a completely different industry for me, and it’s been challenging but also really rewarding."