Lucy Hale Was 'Mortified' When the 'Pretty Little Liars' Crew Had to Hide Her Acne

Lucy Hale never struggled with acne as a teen, but as an adult, she started dealing with breakouts that left her feeling like she wanted "to crawl in a hole."

While the 32-year-old actress has gained a better understanding of her skin and more confidence in the last few years, she says that as one of the stars of Pretty Little Liars in her early twenties, her hard-to-control acne often left her embarrassed.

"There were tears," she told Glamour in a new interview. "There were days when I didn't want to be in front of a camera."

Hale said the show's crew had to use special lighting techniques to conceal her breakouts.

"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 — we had to specially light my skin to reflect in a different way so you wouldn't see my acne," she said. "I remember being just so embarrassed and mortified."

Hale has since become "obsessed" with skin care, which she chalks up to those years of breakouts.

"I think the reason I'm so obsessed with skin care 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."

These days, Hale gives herself and her skin more grace.

"I'm 32 now, I definitely have just in general let go of expectations," she said. "I think I'll always care to some extent, but I think I have way more compassion for myself. And if I have a breakout instead of being like, 'Oh, God, what am I doing wrong?' I'll say, 'Oh, wow, I must be stressed,' or 'I must be not having enough water.' I try to find a solution as opposed blaming myself. I've definitely lightened up a lot more."

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And she hopes that other people will learn to be more forgiving of their imperfections, while realizing that the smooth skin they see in ads or on TV or on social media are not reality.

"It's also important for all of us to realize that skin has texture. Skin has pores. Skin has zits. 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 okay to have skin that looks like skin," she said.