Ivan DeBlois Combe, 88; Developed Clearasil Cream

Ivan DeBlois Combe, who capitalized on adolescent worries about pimply faces by developing Clearasil, the popular brand of acne cream, has died at 88.

Combe, who died in Greenwich, Conn., Tuesday following a stroke, made a fortune zeroing in on people’s flaws and discomforts--from graying hair and smelly feet to vaginal itch and the embarrassing facial eruptions teenagers call zits.

After developing and later selling Clearasil, his company acquired Grecian Formula 16, the men’s hair color product, and Lanacane, the itch cream. In the 1970s and ‘80s, he introduced Odor-Eaters foot care products, Vagisil feminine care products and Just for Men, another product for coloring gray hair.

Combe began working on Clearasil in 1949 after talking to teenagers and pharmacists about the need for an acne cream that worked. He asked a chemist to create a formula that would dry up pimples and help disguise them with a flesh-colored cream.

Combe named the cream “Clearasil” to capitalize on every teenager’s dream of having clear skin.

He needed more than a catchy brand name, however, to help his product find its market. Pimples were a rather taboo subject, and store owners were reluctant to stock another acne product when so many others had fizzled.

Combe, who was peddling Clearasil himself, offered to give the stores free tubes in exchange for a promise to order more if the product sold. He also met with scores of newspaper and magazine editors to discuss acne. He eventually launched a nationwide advertising campaign, the “Clearasil Face of the Month,” that featured large pictures of teens with facial blemishes.

Perhaps his savviest move was advertising on a teenage dance show called “American Bandstand” in 1957.

Dick Clark, the rock ‘n’ roll show’s host from 1952 to 1989, remembers reading dozens of different Clearasil ads in the early years of the show.

“We became sort of synonymous--Dick Clark, Bandstand and Clearasil--we were tied together,” Clark said Friday.

Sales skyrocketed as Clearasil tapped into a huge market of acne-plagued teenagers.

In 1960, Vick Chemical bought the Clearasil business from Combe Inc. Procter & Gamble bought Clearasil in 1985. Today, there are 25 Clearasil products on the market, including the traditional acne cream.

Combe was born in Fremont, Iowa. He was raised in Greenville, Ill., and graduated from Northwestern University in 1933. He held a series of sales jobs before opening his own marketing business in 1949. After finding success with his first product, a laxative called Espotabs, he set his sights on a remedy for acne.

Combe is survived by his wife, Mary Elizabeth, three children and seven grandchildren.