Beefcake in Acne Commercials. Really.

You could call my high school years "The Clearasil" years.  I carried around a little tube of the sticky white glue-like stuff or the sulfer-smelling brown stuff. One whiff today will bring back a flood of memories.

Also insecurity.

Turns out that acne is practically universal during adolescence, but at the time we thought it was a rare anomaly.  We had no idea that everyone else was secretly carrying around a little tube of Clearasil.

Also guilt.

We all thought you brought the scourge on yourself by not washing your face enough or eating too much junk food.

Nope -- nothing about your eating or washing habits can prevent it.



Media didn't help.  Commercials always yelled that acne made you hideous, thus ruining your social life forever.

Like you'd really give this guy a pass due to his small blemish.

A and B are equally likely to draw teenage attention.  B may look a little better, but only because he's smiling.

"You want to hang out?  Forget it! Those small red marks on your chin are too disgusting!"

More after the break