After the month of anti-biotics, my face and chest had never looked better, my pores were open and my pimples were gone. I was finally back to my old self — pimple free. Ive never really had any issues with acne, even as a teen…well not acne that would be considered out of the norm, so when all this started to hit me after I turned 29 I was surprised and to say the least, a bit unnerved. After the month supply ran out, I went back to the dermatologist for the doctor check-up to look at my healing abscess and to see how the rest of my skin was doing. She then prescribed me all sorts of meds to handle the acne should it reoccur. This is what she gave me:

-Duac Topical Gel
-Retin A Micro
-Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash
-NeoBenz Micro Wash

So I went home assured that I was ready to keep the pimples at bay should they ever show their “face” again ha ha. Well, two weeks later, my face was breaking out, my pores were all clogged, red, and rashy, and it felt like I was going to get another friggin abcess. So rather than let all that happen, I started applying everything the doctor gave me but the Retin A micro. It just freaked out my skin and made it all go bonkers. My skin started to look like it was being run through a chemical bath. Back to the dermatologist I went, and again she gave me more doxycycline but in less potent dosage. I was beginning to understand that fighting acne was more art than science, and seemed like dermatologists like to shoot from the hip by first prescribing a cure-all such as doxycycline, and then other junk to see if it can control the acne.

I was getting somewhat desperate, because none of the stuff was helping my face and each visit to the dermatologist cost me money…Then it hit me. Why didnt i try and figure out why I had acne and what was causing it in the first place? Why didnt I use the same type of thinking that I normally do with everything and be cheap and just do it myself. So this blog post is about how I cured myself of acne and should have done it before I went to the doctors in order to save me money. Hopefully this helps you as well.

So, I sat down and started to research and just read as much as I could. Acne could be caused by genes, stress, diet, environment, etc…basically everything. Well, I knew I never had problems with it in the past, so I started to think about what may have been causing it to happen in the first place. I realized that ever since I turned 27-28, Ive been getting more and more dandruff…not bad dandruff, but flaking nontheless. So along with this dandruff, I remembered using anti-dandruff shampoos. Namely head and shoulders, pert plus, and was currently using selson blue (none of them helping but I was still hopeful). I began to research and learned that anti-dandruff shampoos like to mess with your internal hormones and like most other soaps, facewashes, shampoos, and things that lather, contain something called sodium lauryl sulfate…basically a commercial lathering agent.

I decided if I was going to troubleshoot my situation I would need to start a baseline and slowly introduce factors which may lead to the problem. I was going to cut out all types of chemical weird stuff and go “granola.” My wifes coworker also told her about using vinegar as shampoo by mixing 20% vinegar with 80% water. I researched this and found that lots of people actually do this but prefer to use apple cider vinegar instead. Along with using this new apple cider shampoo, I needed a face wash (I was using cetaphil at the time, but it seemed to do nothing at all to help my condition), and learned that this shampoo would be great as a facewash as well! Its cheap, I can make it myself, and best of all, it doesnt contain much if any chemicals.

So heres what I did…I started with a clean slate by taking the new prescription of doxycycline and getting my face as cleared up as it could be (the doxycycline kills bacterial infections on the skin which cause pimples). At the same time, I started my granola regimen with the ACV and used only that to wash my face and shampoo my hair. After 2 months of using the vinegar mixture as a facewash and as a shampoo, my pores stayed open and my acne started to go away. The only place I had pimples was around my mouth area from udner my nose and above my chin. This was a marked improvement, as before, pimples would be everywhere on my face so I knew something was working.

I couldnt understand why pimples were only appearing in that certain area till I started realizing that my pimples would flare up a few days after I shaved. I was using an electric shaver which vibrated as it cut the hairs on my face. Maybe this was causing it somehow? I swapped it out for my wifes disposable leg shaving razors and after two weeks, I had no more new pimples. Was it really my dandruff shampoo causing my face to break out? Was my shaver causing my face to break out as well? The answer after months of battling this acne was YES.

I think what happened was as I aged, my body became increasingly sensitive to the chemicals contained in the products that I had been using without a problem for so long. It wasnt like i was really doing anything different, but my body was slowly getting more sensitive and irritated by what I was using. My friend who also had an issue with this instead just took accutane and it cleared up her acne as well, but I decided to try a more natural way vs taking something as potent as that.

Anyways, washing hair with vinegar sucks, it doesnt lather, it smells like butt, and its just plain gross (although the smell is gone once its washed off). I needed to get a shampoo that I could use, and figured I should get something natural and didnt contain SLS, so I found one at walgreens for 8 bucks. I wanted to make sure it was actually the chemicals causing my acne from the shampoo, so I just got a cheap one without SLS and without the chemicals contained in the anti-dandruff shampoos. After using it for over 9 months now, I can honestly say that using shampoos without SLS has been so much better for me.

When I was using shampoos WITH SLS I didnt realize it was causing my eyes to itch and made me sneeze everytime I got out of the shower. I never realized it till I used shampoo without SLS. So after using it for a while, I knew it was my anti-dandruff shampoo that was causing my face to go bonkers because my acne never returned. Im not sure if it screwed my hormones like I learned anti-dandruff shampoos could do, or if it was just an irritant, but I dont care to find out. Im also very happy that im not suffering from any type of irritation caused by Sodium Lauryl Sulfate/Sodium Laureth Sulfate. My dandruff is still there, but I would much rather have the little unseen flakes compared to another friggin huge abscess.

So to summarize what to do if you have acne and you are trying to figure out how to get rid of it, Follow these steps below (YMMV):

1. Stop using shampoos with Sodium Laryl Sulfate or Sodium Lareth Sulfate.
2. Stop using anti-dandruff shampoos immediately (they only cause problems)
3. Stop using an electric shaver on your face (the vibration really irritates the skin and caused me pimples)
4. Stop using any prescribed acne medication or facewash (unless your dermatologist says you need it for a medical reason) no matter how gentle it says it is (I used cetaphil, and it gave me trouble – it also had SLS in it)
5. Buy Apple Cider Vinegar at a grocery store, and get an empty water bottle. Mix 20% ACV to 80% water. Use this as a shampoo and facewash for 2 months.
6. Once youve found that you dont have new acne, you may try introducing a new shampoo without SLS into the mix so you dont have to use ACV as a shampoo anymore. But keep using the ACV as a facewash (im still currently using it with better results than any other facewash ive used)
7. Test SLS-Free shampoo for a week. if you see no ill results, continue using it.

This should work for people who were in the same situation as I was, where doxycycline cured the acne, but the acne reoccured after a week or two. One might need an initial consultation with a dermatologist to get a prescription of doxycycline in order to kill the bacterial infection which is causing the acne in the first place before they can start the granola treatment above. I believe I had to stop the bacterial infection on my skin causing the acne first, in order to reset my skin back to normal before I truly found out what it was that was causing my acne.

So to summarize, create a baseline and get rid of any artificial products that could create clogged pores/alter hormones which in turn facilitates the growth of bacteria which causes acne. Once you have that baseline, slowly introduce products till you see which one is causing it. But if anything eliminate SLS from your skin products as much as possible. Im pretty sure you will see a difference like I did.

Disclaimer – As always, this information is what worked for me and may or not work for you. I make no legal claims or anything of the sort that this will cure you of your acne, and I can not be held liable for any health issues that arise out of the suggestions above.

All you need is:
-A magic eraser (mr clean, or generic brand will do…I used the target magic eraser)
-Liquid dishsoap (any cheap dishsoap will work, joy, dawn, etc.)

Magic eraser and mild dishsoap together removes soap scum from the tub, tiles, and shower doors

Just take a dry magic eraser and put a dab of dishsoap in the middle of it, rinse the shower door with water and scrub away! It doesnt take much effort, and within a few scrubs the scum will be completely removed! I did this today with my shower door that had over 2 years worth of scum on it and it removed it completely…really. No joke. I was pretty impressed as nothing I tried before worked so easily and so quickly. The shower doors look brand new, tiles look smooth and reflective, and the tub looks great!

1. First item on the list was to cut the four legs of the shelf to six feet tall.

Rack legs

2. Next I cut the shelf supports (the crossbeams) for which I needed six. These needed to be 66.5″ as the legs of the shelf would add 2.5″ to the width.

Cross Beams to support the shelving

3. After, I cut the short links which would connect the front and rear portions of the rack. I wanted my shelf depth to be 19″ so I cut these to 16.5″.

Links for front and back of rack

4. After all the cutting was done, I needed to drill the holes to where I wanted my shelving located. I drilled 4 holes, with two holes alloted for the crossbeam, and two for the links. I made three sets of the four holes on each of the legs of the rack. One set for the top, middle, and bottom shelf.

Pilot holes for screws which would hold the crossbeam and links

5. Now for the assembly. I assmbled both the front and rear of the racks first, by laying them on the floor and screwing in the crossbeams. I then attached on the front of the rack the links so I could attach the rear portion of the rack to the front portion after. I installed the casters after this was all done.

Front and rear rack faces attached with links

6. The joints of the rack look like this:

7. Next comes the shelving platform. I didnt buy any plywood or material to use for the shelving. Instead I scrounged around my wood shed and found some 1/4″ board of sorts, and some old pieces of 5/8″ plywood. I had to cut pretty creatively to utilize all the board and cover the shelf platforms.

1/4" board for the upper shelves (where lighter things will be placed)

5/8" plywood (where heavy things will be placed)

8. After finishing my rack, I noticed that I had enough space to add another shelf. I added this one above the middle shelf, and found some messed up 2 x 4′s in the wood shed. They were not in the best shape, but would work for this application. I installed these sideways as the shelf was not going to hold a lot of weight, and would allow more clearance for putting things on the middle shelf.

With extra shelf added.

The shelf took a few hours to build, but the satisfaction of making something and saving money (although with the time trade-off) is to me, definitely worth it. an added bonus are the casters which make my shelf mobile. After piling on the clutter in the garage, it was really convenient to be able to roll the shelf around and into different positions. I also realized that the casters have the extra benefit of keeping the wood off the garage floor where it might someday come into contact with water (washing the garage floor, flooding washing machines, etc.).

I did add one final touch to the shelving, in that I added an eye hook to tie some rope through which connected to the wall. Living right next to the San Andreas faultline, I wouldnt want to find my shelf and all its contents laying on my car after an earthquake. Now for the best part…when my wife pulled into the garage and saw all the clutter neatly organized onto the shelf, she was delighted…and finally realized I could build something that I always say I could for less. Score!

Anyways, we opted to get a rather light uniform carpet color (Color is almost white – which may have been a bad choice considering were thinking about having kids sometime soon) and within the first year of having it, weve stained it several times. I then decided it was time to invest in a carpet stain remover and went to Target to do some shopping. I brought home a product called “Spot Shot” and decided to give it a try (I got mine for $3.29 for a 14 oz can). Out of all the other options for carpet stain removal, I opted for this one because of two main selling points:

• The ability to remove OLD STAINS from pets, greasy foods, motor oil, red wine, blood, grape juice, show polish, cola, mud, coffee, and lipstick (I liked this one because the stains have been sitting in the carpet for a while now).
• The ability to do so without scrubbing and rubbing. You just have to blot the area after use.

I did pick up another product called Oxi Clean, but it comes in a powder form and you have to mix it with water and rub and scrub…Im too lazy for that (its a sunday!), so I went with Spot Shot as you just shake the can and shoot it (there might have been a subconscious pull for me to select this one, me being a man and all).

Here is a picture of the spots I was trying to remove. The spots dont really show in the pictures, but they were noticeable and would not come off with just plain water and a paper towel.

Before Spot Shot

After Spot Shot

The directions tell you to just spray the stuff on the stain and to not oversaturate it. I covered it pretty well with the liquid and let it sit for a few seconds. Then I used a clean LAP pad (clothlike thing they use to wipe up blood in the hospitals…my wifes sister is a nurse in the OR) to blot out the stain. To be honest, I did scrub and rub a bit to see if i could get it to work faster, but I dont think I needed to. The directions mentioned that I might need to repeat until the stain is removed, it was just barely noticeable after the first application, so I did it twice. After the second application, the stain was gone.

Overall, the product reminds me a lot of brake cleaner, just spray it on and wipe it off (it actually evaporates fast though). I even used it on one of my kitchen table chairs and it removed an old oily stain. Im pretty impressed with the way this product worked, and no longer stress too much about when we have kids, as this stain remover should do the trick with anything they get on the carpet. I guess this post turned into a Spot Shot review…

So with this done, when my wife comes back, ill show her how awesome I am and get more love points!

Having them professionally refinished was not an option for me as im terribly cheap and did not want to concede to being defeated by lowly floor tile, so I embarked on what ended up to be one of the coolest lessons learned since starting work on the house…How to refinish marble floors for less than $100 and make them look as good as new.

So heres how you do it:

What youll need

1. Get a liter of Dia-Glo Diamond Buffing Compound for Marble (available online or any professional flooring shop). I used the “M” variant for marble ($30). I got mine from keystone tools in San Francisco (http://keystonetools.com/)

2. Get a variable speed angle grinder which uses 5/8 attachments (or if you want to do this all within 2 hours, rent a floor buffing machine from home depot pro). I had one laying around in my garage, but you can always buy one at Home Depot or Lowes and then return it after. A word of caution – you do not want to get your rpms up too fast. I had a variable speed angle grinder and kept my rpms around 5,000.

3. Get a 4″ velcro loop attachment (which uses the 5/8 fitting) to use with the angle grinder ($10). Its a little disc attachment which has little hooks on it (like velcro) to grab onto velcro disc pad attachments (also bought from keystone tools)

4. Go to Home Depot Pro and go to their tool rental section. Look for a white polyester buffing pad. It will be a big circular disc. (Costs about $6). Cut a piece of the white polyester buffing pad in a circle shape to fit the angle grinder velcro loop attachment. Stick it onto the attachment and make sure it stays put (the hooks will grab onto the polyester fibers).

5. Get a shop vacuum to suck up all the water and compound mixture.

6. Tile/Stone Sealant to finish the job and keep your tiles from getting stained and prematurely dirty.

Preparation

1. Section your floor into smaller work areas. I did small 5 x 5 ft sections to make work cleaner. I used rolled up towels around the 5′ x 5′ perimeter to limit the amount of kickback spray from the spinning motion that the angle grinder generates. If you dont do this, the milky colored spray will get everywhere.

2. Wet the section of the floor with water and cover the tiles with a nice layer of water (I found more was better as it provided lubrication for the pad). Add a small handful of buffing compound and mix thoroughly (just spread it around with your hand). Make sure the water/compound mixture is milky and pretty dissolved before buffing. USE GLOVES when doing this as the buffing compound is acidic and will dry up and irritate your skin.  I didnt and it dried my hands for 3 days. Also made everything I wore smell sour even after several washes (do not wash your work clothes with your other laundry, they will end up smelling sour too).

Refinishing

3. Use the angle grinder with the nylon pad to go over your tiles one by one. Let the angle grinder do the work and just hold the sucker steady. It will take a bit of getting used to at first, but youll get the hang of it. I spent at least 30 seconds on each tile to make sure the scrapes, scuffs, scratches were buffed down and smoothed as much as possible. Keep the grinder moving in small circles to polish the tiles evenly.

4. After you have finished the sectioned area, pour clean water over the area and mix it around making it wet again. Use a shop vac and suck it all up. Then if necessary, rinse with clean water and suck that up too.

5. Move onto the next section until every tile is done.

Cleanup

6. Use a clean wet towel and wipe your floors so you can get as much of the leftover splash and residue from the buffing compound off the floors and fixtures. Then go over your tiles once again with a dry towel.

Finishing

7. Finally, after your tiles and grout lines are dry, use a stone/marble sealer (I got a jug at home depot…$30) and seal your tiles. Two coats are sufficient and your floors will look as good as new.

My floors after polishing (I didnt have a before picture, but I can assure you there wasnt even a reflection)

Not too long after, the previously arranged meeting to sell my busted HP Laserjet 2840 off of craigslist arrived and the transaction completed. An easy $50 bucks and free “come to your house and pick up the piece of trash printer thats been sitting in the living room for the past year” service was greatly appreciated (not to mention the additional space in our living room).

So yeah, thats my quick tip for 2009. Use craigslist to offer up things you dont need or really want, but are too lazy to get rid of yourself to people who may need it for parts, decor, or just for whatever needs they may have. Offer it up for free, or for really low prices, and you might have your own CTYHAPUTPOT item service for less than 5 minutes of posting work. I do have a few suggestions when selling or doing any type of transaction off of craigslist however, so below are my simple yet effective craigslist tips:

• Ive found things sell much quicker if theres a home taken photo, and things dont seem to sell very well with a stolen stock photo from the internet.
• When posting your items on craigslist, make sure to use a title which includes the model name, model number, and make of the item.
• When entering in the description for the item you are selling, be sure to outline the details of the item in terms of condition, functionality, and physical condition. More is better unless, more equates to BS.
• Be sure to detail the conditions of sale. If you only accept cash and only want people to come to your place to get the item, mention it.
• It is generally a good idea to meet at a plaza, shopping center parking lot, or well lit and somewhat busy meeting place. The buyer will feel more comfortable (in knowing you arent going to kill them in your house), and you safeguard your own health and safety as well.
• Get a feel for the potential buyer by looking at clues in the email. Extremely bad grammar, offers to use a mediator, and continuing the transaction through mail is a good indicator the potential buyer may be out looking for a scam or at least, might flake out on you.
• Dont rush into giving out your address or other contact information until you have set up a time and place for the meeting.
• After you are satisfied with your posting, copy down the title and description into a .txt file and make note of the price you are selling it for. If the ad on craigslist expires before you are able to sell the item, just copy and paste the information from the .txt file into your repost, while lowering the price in reasonable increments. This makes reposting much less time consuming and burdensome.
• Bring a friend to go with you when you meet the potential buyer. Its safer, more fun, and you can gloat to your friend that youve just made money on something that was worthless to you while cleaning up the clutter in your home!

These simple tips should make it a little easier in conducting any business on www.craiglist.org.

So all in all, today was a productive and decently profitable day, AND I got brownie points from my wife for tidying up the house and getting rid of useless computer clutter.