How to Remove Lipstick Stains From Fabric

By eHow Fashion, Style & Personal Care Editor

Remove Lipstick Stains From Fabric

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Lipstick on your shirt or collar? Here are a few simple steps to help remove lipstick from clothing.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

White Soft Dry Cloth
Denatured Alcohol
Stain Brushes
Stain Removers
Dishwashing Liquid

Step1

Dab stain very lightly with denatured alcohol using a soft, white cloth.

Step2

Rub dishwashing detergent gently into the stain with your finger.

Step3

Try using a stain stick and leaving it on for several minutes before washing, if the mark is stubborn.

Step4

Wash fabric as usual. It would be best to air dry the garment so that the stain does not set in. This way you can take it to the dry cleaner if it does not come out.

Step5

Ask your dry cleaner for help if all else fails.

Tips & Warnings

If you are out and don't have access to alcohol, leave the stain alone until you get home. If you're desperate, try dabbing it with cold water.
Remember to dab, not rub, as rubbing can ground in the stain.
Remember if a fabric is dry clean only it is best to take it to your dry cleaner. Do not pretreat. Pretreating can make the cleaning process hard for your cleaners and hinder them from removing the stain for you.

Comments

redhen18 said

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on 7/4/2007 This is a big THANK YOU to Shelly Dore for her hint about using Lestoil to remove lipstick stains....I discovered I'd left a tube of red lipstick in a pocket of capris which went through the washer AND dryer. I thought it was hopeless, but saw Shelly's hint, got some Lestoil and tried it. HOLY COW! I used hot hot water and some scrubbing and after laundering, I honestly can't tell which pocket had the big stain. THANK YOU! I'm a believer in Lestoil (and I didn't think they made it anymore, but both of my local supermarkets had it)

Anonymous said

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on 6/30/2006 I left a tube of lipstick in my pants pocket and didn't realize. When I took the clothes out of the dryer every piece of clothing was stained. I tried several things that I'd seen posted on the net. I was told by a friend to use bubble bath and scrub it with a brush, and it worked. My clothes are as good as new.

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 I had a tube of smudge-proof lipstick that I left in a pants pocket. It went through the wash and dry cycle with the whole load of whites. I thought all the clothes were ruined. I tried dish liquid, dishwashing liquid, rubbing alcohol, hair spray, chlorine bleach, Oxy cleaner, degreaser, non-chlorine bleach and peroxide. I was about ready to give-up when I remembered I'd recently purchased a bottle of Lestoil. I hadn't seen that stuff for a real long time, but I remembered that it worked on real tough cleaning jobs. I bought it and put it on the shelf and there it sat.

I rubbed into each smudge in the whole load and put it in to wash leaving the lid up so after it agitated it could soak for a bit in case I'd missed anything. Then I let it finish washing and needed to wash it once again to get all of the cleaner removed, but all the stains are gone! My clothes are all as clean as when I purchased them! Lestoil is an unknown secret!

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 After applying your makeup -
If you're going to be wearing a pull over shirt, or something that needs to be slipped over the head, before pulling the shirt on, drape a silk scarf over your head (or something satin, as long as it's slippery and comes down over your face just past the chin). Clothes slide on easily, leaving your hair in place and keeping makeup from rubbing off onto your clothes.

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 I got smart and started applying my makeup after I got dressed. Then I would take a towel or paper towel and put it over my clothes as a bib; then if anything fell, my clothes would be protected.

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