How long does dream rescue usually take to work?

I'm currently stain treating Miku's legs  (I'm on my 5th application) and I can't tell if it's working. In the videos and posts I see about dream rescue the stains started to fade pretty quickly and the staining isn't that bad so I was kinda hoping I would see more of a change by now. A lot of the posts I see are pretty old so I'm wondering if it works differently now? Has anyone used it recently?

It should start working from the first application, but sometimes it doesn’t work as well as you’d expect. Applying heat will speed things up. The cream works better if you can leave the parts in a warm area (on the dashboard of a car or on top of a heater, for example).

Also, is the cream expired? Expired cream doesn’t work effectively.

47 minutes ago, ragnamuffin said:

Also, is the cream expired? Expired cream doesn’t work effectively.

I just got it in the mail last week. The expiry is March next year I think

In my experience, unless the stain is really mild, it takes a few applications to see real progress.

I’ve never needed to heat it, but I’ve never tried either. You are supposed to keep it moist though, which is why they say to put plastic over it. 

Don't leave it on for more than 48 hours. Remove it, and reapply. 

6 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

In my experience, unless the stain is really mild, it takes a few applications to see real progress.

You can get a dark stain out in a matter of hours if you use heat. @Xiongmao can attest to that.

5 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

You can get a dark stain out in a matter of hours if you use heat. @Xiongmao can attest to that.

That goes against Volks instructions, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. 

The only caution I would have, @cfx discovered the hard way that ignoring their instructions comes with the risk of scarring the vinyl. 

I would caution against experimenting with a head, but body parts can be replaced so you have more leeway to try going outside the box. 

I'm destaining a badly stained pointing hand right now. I smeared the stains with benzoyl peroxide creme then put the hand in a ceramic pot on top of my storage heater.

The smaller stains have gone within 24 hours. The main stain is still visible but it's fading fast.

Heat speeds things up, but wrap the body part in something if you're using sunlight.

8 hours ago, Xiongmao said:

I'm destaining a badly stained pointing hand right now. I smeared the stains with benzoyl peroxide creme then put the hand in a ceramic pot on top of my storage heater.

So you're using benzoyl peroxide and not Dream Rescue?

That would explain why heat is needed, but the Volks product needs to stay moist and heat would dry it out. 

3 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

So you're using benzoyl peroxide and not Dream Rescue?

That would explain why heat is needed, but the Volks product needs to stay moist and heat would dry it out. 

Yeah just hooman acne cream.

The pointing hand is now perfect again. It turned out the worst stain just seemed to bubble to the surface and I rubbed it off.

The stuff doesn't seem to have any longer term side effects. I destained Kirika's neck a couple of years ago and it still looks good.

12 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

So you're using benzoyl peroxide and not Dream Rescue?

That would explain why heat is needed, but the Volks product needs to stay moist and heat would dry it out. 

Iirc it was @MagicalRozen who first mentioned using heat to @Xiongmao, but idk if she used Dream Rescue. I’ve also used heat to speed up destaining with Dream Rescue, but it was on White Skin, which ended up turning green (but I don’t think the heat had anything to do with that considering it was a known problem).

Generally I find anywhere from 3-8 applications necessary and keep in mind that how long you leave it on and how much light/heat it gets in that time makes a huge difference. 24 hour application on a nice warm day with full sun then 2-3 applications should be enough for lighter staining.  If it’s a heavy stain and the conditions aren’t perfect then you could be 8-10 applications.  Generally once I get up to that kind of time I feel it’s as far as I’m willing to go.  Most stains can be reduced, but not necessarily removed.

I would be careful using a heat lamp though, if you do use one. A long time ago, @rudebuster and I accidentally scorched a doll part (I think it may have been a thigh? It was a long time ago and I have a bad memory) because the lamp was a bit too close. Also, the best way to go is Dream Rescue and wrapping it up with saran wrap. No lamp needed. @rudebuster just used that method a couple days ago, to get rid of some stains, and it actually worked surprisingly well.

Be careful, though, if the package is in Japanese. Older packaging have the manufacturing date printed with instructions that it would expire a year later, and the newer packaging have the expiration date. It can be a bit hard to tell if you don't know Japanese, but I think if I remember correctly, the older packaging had the manufacturing date on the bottom while the newer packaging had the expiration date on the top. But I only have a couple packaging to go off of, so I don't know if it varied in either case.