Lipstick and nail polish on fabric

Short answer: Lipstick is fat mixed with pigment and needs dish soap rather than regular laundry detergent. Nail polish sits looser in the fibers but can pull color out of the fabric if you skip testing the remover first.

Lipstick is treated as fat

Dab dish soap onto the stain with a cotton pad, then rinse with cold water. Do not rub, since that pushes the fat deeper into the fibers and spreads the pigment over a wider area than the stain first covered, making the follow up harder than it needs to be.

Nail polish needs caution

Always test nail polish remover on an inside seam first, ideally somewhere that will not show. Some dyes in the fabric dissolve under the same chemistry that dissolves the polish, so the garment loses color exactly where you meant to save it.

Paper under the stain

Place paper towel under the fabric while treating the stain. The paper draws the pigment down and away from the fibers instead of letting it spread further into the weave as you work on it, so switch the paper as it soaks through.

Wash normally afterward

Wash the garment at 40 degrees, and check the stain carefully before it goes into the dryer. Heat makes any leftover trace permanent, so a last look before drying is always worth taking the time for.

Acetone free is safest

Choose an acetone free nail polish remover for textiles when you have a choice between products. Regular acetone is harsher on dyes and fibers, and the risk of a visible mark afterward rises noticeably with that stronger kind.

Acting quickly pays off

The longer lipstick or nail polish sits on the fabric, the more the fat and pigment settle into the fibers. Treat the stain as soon as you notice it rather than waiting until wash day, when it sits deeper and resists treatment.

Two different stains

Although both come from makeup, they are chemically different. Lipstick is a fat problem while nail polish is a lacquer problem, and each needs its own approach even when they sit close together on the same garment.

Clean tools between treatments

Switch cotton pad or cloth when moving from lipstick to nail polish. Residue from one treatment can mix with the next and make it hard to tell whether the stain is actually disappearing or simply moving around.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you remove lipstick from clothes?

Dab a little dish soap onto the stain with a cotton pad, rinse cold and wash normally afterward. Do not rub, since that spreads the fat and pigment further into the fabric.