Removing Mildew Stain from Colored Clothes

I was preparing my laundry yesterday when I saw that my new tie-dyed Dr. Pig t-shirt that I had worn only once had mildew stains all over it. So I searched online to look for solutions on how to remove mildew stains from clothes.

There are many resources available most of which advised to do several steps and repeating them all over again. But what I followed was using vinegar and hot water. Hot water will kill the mildew and so will the vinegar. I thought that's a powerful combo without the discoloring effect of bleach.

Here's what I did.

Part 1

1. I boiled a pot of water then poured it into a small basin.

2. I mixed a cup of vinegar with the water then immersed my t-shirt in it. 

3. I placed a heavy glass plate to press down the t-shirt to fully submerge it in the mixture.

4. I left it soaked for about 3 hours (mainly because I was doing other things. Others say 1 hour is enough. But I wanted to be sure also.)

5. I washed the t-shirt in the mixture by hand targeting the areas with lots of mildew. (I noticed the mixture getting dark in color. My t-shirt came-out free from mildew after this.)

Part 2

1. I rinsed the t-shirt to remove the vinegar smell.

2. Soaked the t-shirt in a detergent overnight. (Because I was sleepy and tired already. 30 minutes should do it.)

3. I washed it to make sure no stains are left, then rinsed it.

4. Dried it under the sun to make sure any mildew pore residue would be killed.

It actually is simpler than I had enumerated. Just 2 parts: Washing with hot-water-vinegar solution, then washing with detergent. This is a good option if you have asthma or are allergic to mold and mildew  like me. Most advice to scrub the fabric outside of your house, but that wasn't an option for me because of the spores that I could inhale. That's why I soaked the t-shirt without pretreating or brushing  it.

Diamond Peel During Period?

If you're wondering if it's okay to get a diamond peel treatment when you have a period, the answer is NO.

Take it from me, I speak from experience.

My fourth session for diamond peeling fell on a day during my period. I searched around if it's okay to have the treatment during one's period. Although a lot have said that one should not have it during their period, there were some who said it was okay. It had been 3 weeks since my last treatment and I had been itching to have the treatment, so I went and had it.

During the whole treatment, I realized that it was a mistake that I went that day. My tolerance for pain was low. My skin was extra sensitive. Each time the wand touched my skin, I felt serious pain. I felt worry from my facialist. (I didn't tell her I was in the middle of my period.) When I got home, I understood why. There were bruises on my face on some areas that were touched by the wand.

Why don't I recommend getting a diamond peel treatment during your period?

1. Your skin becomes extra sensitive to the pain.
2. Your blood easily clots during your period so you will get bruises easily.

However, if you still want to go for it despite my warnings, go ahead. If you don't mind the extra sensitivity or if you don't suffer from that during your period, as well as if you don't bruise easily during your period, then go ahead. But what's a few more days' wait?

Diamond Peel Effects

Initial Effects


After my first session, I felt my skin way cleaner than it used to. My skin no longer felt grainy. That night, my pores really looked tight. They looked diminished. I get this effect every time I had a session.

On the first few days after my first session, I had some tiny breakouts. However, they're not the usual big pimples that I had before. This is usually happens on the first week after a session. This gets better though on the next week.

I noticed that you will appreciate more the effects of diamond peel a week after you had your session. You get clearer skin and you don't have breakouts anymore. I guess this is why experts advise not to have a facial treatment a week before a special occasion such as a wedding. Facials should be done at least 2 weeks before.

Long Term Effects


Since I had a diamond peel treatment, I never had bad breakouts again. I never had large pimples anymore. My skin pores have minimized. And my face doesn't feel grainy anymore.

Another noticeable effect is that my eye wrinkles have diminished. Before treatment, I had these nasty lines around my eyes when I smile. But since I had the treatment, I noticed that they have greatly diminished.

The best long-term effect? My acne scars have shallowed. I have only had 8 treatments so far, but the effects are very visible.  I hope to get a picture soon so I can show you how much better my facial scars have become.

Right now I am saving up for my next 6 sessions. I availed the 7 sessions promo once more but I have only paid half of it during my last visit. I can't wait to see the effects after 14 sessions. I know it will be great!

Diamond Peel First Session

July 23, 2011

My first session of diamond peeling at Dermstrata. I have read before in another blog that unlike other facial clinics, Dermstrata gives one a thorough facial first, which was one of the reasons why I chose the spa. True enough, the whole facial took longer than the actual diamond peeling procedure. The facial was to prepare my skin for the skin peeling so the blackheads would be easier to remove and there will be less chance of infecting the skin.

My facialist was April of the Dermstrata SM Marilao Branch. How she treated my face was way beyond my expectation. She was very thorough in cleaning my face, not missing my jaw line, not like other facialists who scrub your face just to say that they did. It felt like she could see all the dirt and sebum on my face and that her sole purpose in life was to remove them. She was by far the best facialist I've met.

The facial has several steps:

1. Cleansing - She washed my face first with cotton pads wet with water, then applied a liquid facial cleanser; then, washed the cleanser off with wet cotton pads again.
2. Facial Scrub - After washing the cleanser off, she applied a facial scrub that has microbeads in it to remove dead skin cells; then washed it off with cotton pads again.
3. Steam - She applied another cream on my face and gave it a little massage. She then put moist cotton pads on my eyes and a gauze to protect my eyes from the heat of the steam. She then left with the steam aimed at my face for about 15-20 mins. The process is to open up the pores and loosen sebum.
4. Blackhead/Pimple Extraction - After the steaming, she wiped off excess moist from my face. She first scraped my face of small blackheads that were making my face feel grainy centimeter by centimeter using a pimple extractor. Back then, everytime I rub my face with my fingers, I could collect tiny blackheads and whiteheads. I also had several pimples that she pricked and extracted the sebum. The pricking wasn't bothersome as she used a very fine sterile disposable needle (I think. I mean, I couldn't see what the tools looked like as my eyes were closed the whole time.) After the extraction which took about 30 minutes because I had lots then, she showed me all the sebum she had collected. It was really gross!
5. Vacuuming - After removing the sebum, she vacuumed my face to remove stray dirt or blackhead out of my face.
6. Laser - I'm not sure what this is for, but she used a laser rod all over my face and covered my eyes with moist pads again.
7. Mask - She put a gauze and covered my face with a cream for the mask. It was a cold cream. It's for moisturization, I believe. The mask was left on my face for around 10-15 mins.
8. Diamond Peeling - After the long wait, finally it's done. She ran the microdermabrasion rod on my face centimeter by centimeter starting on my forehead to my temples, my cheeks, my chin, and my jaw line. The sensation wasn't seriously painful. It was tolerable. After this process, she showed me all the dead skin cells that have accumulated . It was gross. About 2 millimiters thick.
9. Cold Press - After the diamond peeling, she wiped my face with her hands like she was wiping dust off ot it. She then applied a cold cream and then ran the cold press on my face. This I believe was to close and tighten the pores.
10. Bonus Massage - After lying on the bed for over an hour, I felt my back tired. It was a good thing that she gave me a massage after the whole session. I felt reinvigorated after the massage.

Those are the steps in the diamond peeling process in Dermstrata.  I realized after the first session that the service was well worth my money. Yay!

Diamond Peel at Dermstrata

I have acne scars that I got from pricking them when I was in my early twenties. I had a late acne breakout. I never broke out when I was a teen. But I guess I had a serious hormonal change in my early twenties that I had acne break out, leg hair thickening, and breast cyst all within a period of 2 years.

I was never really conscious of my acne scars except when I see them in the mirror. I had wished for a way to remove them. Until I heard from a colleague that one of our colleagues has a better skin texture because of a diamond peel. Since then it would cross my mind that maybe it would be the best solution for me (I didn't like chemical peeling; it scares me.)

I never really thought of getting a diamond peel until I got promoted and received a raise because I knew it entails money. So, I searched around for a good, effective, yet affordable diamond peel. I learned that there are spas that offer diamond peeling for as low as 500, but I have read also that a lot of these actually do not use diamond crystals but regular crystals. And then I came across a blog about Dermstrata diamond peeling. I read some more and finally decided I'm going for Dermstrata diamond peeling.

Going for My Diamond Peel Treatment

I went to Dermstrata SM Marilao branch and had my first session on July 23. I learned from the blogs that Dermstrata offers discount if you avail 3, 5, or 7 sessions at a time.  Initially wanted to avail only 3 sessions just to try it out so I paid 2,700 for the 3 sessions. Each session is for 1,200, discounted to 900/session if you avail 3 at once. (Please check with the clinic for the promo and price.)

The receptionist warned me though that diamond peeling doesn't really remove deep acne scars, but it can only make it shallow. I appreciated her honesty.

Before my first session started, April, the facialist, asked me if I would like to avail of their promo of 7 sessions for 5950. That makes 850/session. At fist, I didn't like that it was the first thing she told me. I was thinking hmp, another sales offer. So I told her, okay, I'll think about it. But then I knew beforehand that to see the most results, you need around 12-14 sessions. So, since I like the service she gave me, I decided to avail the 7 sessions.

I am glad that it was April who was my facialist, she was really good. I highly recommend her. I told her I will look for her on my next session.

I will share my diamond peeling sessions on my next articles in this blog.