Zits are at least 51 years old!

"I am so relieved to find a good acne product before school started!"

Olive said that just two months ago in an online consumer product review. I don't remember using acne products often in my school years, though when I did it was because all of the little zits that dotted my friends' faces would join together on my own as a singular grand finale; a geographically altering explosion of embarrassment.

So Olive needs some relief today and I needed it in the 80s, but this newspaper clipping for Sea Breeze answered kids' prayers in 1960. I found the advertisement in a newspaper we dug out of our chimney.

In full, it reads:

"Amazing SEA BREEZE, new brand of antiseptic skin lotion. It works wonders for complexion in just 7 days! SEA BREEZE wipes away the excess oils that cause ____ blackheads, whiteheads and pimples. It helps prevent ____ and conditions pores. SEA BREEZE kills germs instantly - _____ soothes your skin - never dries it, as so many antiseptics do. Amazing results are guaranteed - money back from SEA BREEZE if not completely satisfied at the improvement after just 7 days! Get SEA BREEZE today! Big 4 1/4 oz. bottle - just 69¢ - at any drugstore." 

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According to W, Sea Breeze started as "a cosmetic skin care brand originally launched in 1906. The Original formula was initially sold as an antiseptic for minor cuts and scratches."

7 comments:

Sheila November 14, 2011 at 6:06 PM  

What else did you find in your chimney? And how often do you burn a fire in your fireplace?

Sorry, but these questions intrigue me :)

New Breed of Advertisers November 14, 2011 at 6:12 PM  

Nothing else but soot, actually. We discovered two chimneys in the upstairs bedroom walls which traveled into the attic (and originally up through the roof), probably used with pot-belly stoves to heat the second floor.

Imagine my initial confusion when I found the chimneys and not the fire places.

Sheila November 14, 2011 at 6:23 PM  

That would mystify me.

Ever watch "If Walls Could Talk?" on HGTV?

New Breed of Advertisers November 14, 2011 at 6:25 PM  

Look, I'm still reading newspapers from the 1960s. You think I've got cable? :)

Sheila November 14, 2011 at 6:38 PM  

That's a point.

Oh...and your post title: I take it you mean the word "zits" and not the phenemenon it describes?

New Breed of Advertisers November 14, 2011 at 6:41 PM  

Just being fun. The brand has been around since 1906. And zits? Probably popped up right after Adam and Eve left the garden. :)

Sheila November 14, 2011 at 6:48 PM  

Yes, but how do you say "zits" in Aramaic?

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