Lipstick stain remover quick picks
Cleaning expert favorite: Dawn Platinum Liquid Dish Soap
For on-the-go use: Kiss-Off Stain Remover
Natural stain remover: Raslok Aloe Vera Gel
When it comes to doing laundry and fabric care, not all stains are equal — certain stains are just harder to remove than others. It’s also true, unfortunately, that not all stain removers are equal either, and there’s no universal formula that works on all stain types.
Lipstick is one of the trickiest stains to remove from clothing and other fabrics. The highly pigmented makeup, says Kim Romine, a scientist for Tide, “is similar to a solid grease that acts like a glue to bind lots of colored pigments together.”
To find out how to best remove lipstick stains, I interviewed Romine, as well as fabric care experts Alison Freer, a costume designer and the author of “How to Get Dressed,” and Alicia Sokolowski, president and co-CEO at AspenClean. After compiling their go-to lipstick stain removers and some of my own favorites, I narrowed it down to 10 products and tried them out myself. I stained a white dinner napkin with red lipstick and applied each stain remover according to the manufacturer and/or expert instructions.
View this interactive content on CNN.comExpert-favorite lipstick stain remover
Dawn Platinum dish soap is the best product I've tried for removing lipstick stains. It removed all traces of the red lipstick after treating and washing the stained fabric. Using it is as simple as applying it to the stain and laundering the garment. "Dab a small amount of dish soap onto the makeup stain," Sokolowski says. "Rub the fabric together but gently, or use a microfiber cloth, to work the soap into the stain then rinse with cold water." And because dish soap is something almost everyone has at home, it makes a convenient — and very effective! — stain remover.
Commercial lipstick stain removers
Of the commercial stain removal products I've tried, De-Solv-It did the best job breaking down and eliminating the deep red lipstick. The easy-to-apply formula can be sprayed directly on stains before laundering the item as usual. I found it highly effective at removing stains without requiring a lot of work. You should first wet the stain with water, apply the product and agitate the fabric, then launder as usual.
This solid stick stain remover comes in a tube, making it excellent for use when traveling. You can stash it in a bag, desk drawer, glove compartment or any other place where you might need a quality stain remover in a pinch. I found it did a good job at removing the dark red lipstick from the fabric, leaving only faint traces of red behind after washing the swatch. The Kiss-Off Stain Remover can also treat stains from oil paint, grease, makeup, blood, coffee, red wine and grass. It's super easy to use: Simply wet the stain, apply Kiss-Off and rinse with water.
OxiClean Max Force was another solid performer among the commercial stain removal products I tried. While it left more traces of red lipstick than De-Solv-It and Kiss-Off, it did a good job of breaking down the highly pigmented stain. To use it, pump foam directly onto the stain and allow it to soak into the fabric for five to 30 minutes, then wash as usual.
Rubbing alcohol is a go-to stain remover for all kinds of makeup messes. "The answer to waxy makeup stains like lipstick is isopropyl alcohol," Freer says. "It acts as a degreaser, which is what you need to break down the sticky residue. Always rinse out whatever alcohol-based solvent you’ve used with cool water and launder or hand-wash as soon as possible to avoid leaving a ring." I found that rubbing alcohol did a good job at removing the red lipstick stain, but a second application, followed by another spin in the washer, was needed to fully eliminate it.
Natural lipstick stain removers
In addition to commercial stain removers, there are several common household ingredients that experts recommend for treating lipstick stains and smudges. “Our favorite ones are natural dish soap and water, coconut oil, aloe vera gel or white vinegar,” Sokolowski says.
In my experience, the natural products didn’t work nearly as well as commercial stain removers and Dawn dish soap. But if you’re set on a natural lipstick stain remover, I can recommend two products with reservations.
Among the natural stain removers I've tested, aloe vera gel proved to be the most effective at breaking down and eliminating red lipstick on fabric. However, significant staining remained, even after laundering, so a second application was needed. "Apply just a small amount of aloe vera gel to the stain," Sokolowski says, "let it sit for a while, then rinse with cold water and launder."
To use coconut oil to remove lipstick stains Sokolowski says to "apply a small amount of coconut oil to the stained area. Gently rub the fabric together, or use a microfiber cloth, then put your item in your washing machine." I found that it did a serviceable job at reducing the appearance of red lipstick stains, but like the aloe vera gel, I had to apply it twice and give it another round in the washer to actually eliminate the stain.