How to Get Lipstick Off of Leather

Eliminate lipstick safely from your leather goods to prevent permanent staining.

Lipstick on a leather couch or leather jacket is difficult to remove due to the lipstick's oil-based ingredients that smear if rubbed. Successfully eliminate it from supple leather fabric with careful cleaning. A leather cleaner is ideal for eliminating stains on the leather surface, as harsh detergents can dull the smooth finish by stripping the leather of its natural oils. Once cleaned of lipstick, the leather surface requires oiling to maintain its natural sheen.

Things You'll Need

• Leather cleaner
• 4 soft cleaning cloths
• Leather polishing solution

Instructions

1. Wet the cloth with warm water and blot the stain with a water-dampened cloth to absorb as much of the lipstick as possible.

2. Spray the leather cleaning solution directly onto the soft cleaning cloth. Blot the lipstick stain with the dampened cloth to avoid spreading the stain to unaffected areas of the leather.

3. Apply more leather cleaner to the cleaning cloth and continue to blot until the lipstick is completely absorbed into the cloth.

4. Blot the cleaned spot with a damp cleaning cloth to remove moisture from the leather surface.

5. Pour 1 teaspoon of leather polisher onto a dry cleaning cloth and gently rub the polisher into the leather in a circular motion.

References

• Mrs. Clean: Remove Lipstick Stain Removal Tips
• Mrs. Clean: Leather Stain Removal
• "Good Housekeeping The Complete Household Handbook"; Editors of Good Housekeeping; April 2007