How to Remove Makeup Stains

When doing your makeup, it’s easy for makeup stains to fall on your clothes. Common makeup stains could include lipstick, liquid foundation, eye shadow, or blush. This could include powder or cream stains depending on the product. If not cared for properly, these makeup stains could ruin your clothes or fabrics. Purex® shares how to remove makeup stains from your clothes, following the easy steps below.

First, don’t panic! Our first instinct is to vigorously brush at the makeup stain which can cause it to set deeper into the fabric or can make the stain larger. Instead, carefully shake any loose makeup particles off of the shirt or dress into the sink. This will reduce the chance of staining on your bathroom rugs.

If it was a liquid-based makeup stain from lipstick or foundation, take a wet cloth and gently dab at the stain. If the stain is still wet, you may be able to remove a good portion of it without laundering it.

With any persistent makeup stains that cannot be removed with a wet cloth, use a stain remover before washing the clothing item. Spray the make-up stain and gently rub, being careful to not spread the stain out to make it bigger. Let it sit for approximately 5 minutes.

After the makeup stain sits with the stain remover, launder as usual. Make sure to follow the care tag instructions of the clothing item. Wash with Purex® liquid detergent or Purex® Pacs. Purex® detergent comes in great scents like Purex® With Crystals Fresh Spring Waters detergent or Purex® With Crystals Tahitian Breeze detergent, keeping your clothes smelling fresh.

Make sure to check the makeup stain before transferring the clothes to the dryer. If the stain is still there, do not dry as the heat from the dryer will cause the stain to set. Repeat the above steps again to help remove the makeup stain.

Some makeup stains might be harder to remove, such as lipstick stains. Lipstick consists of a wax, which provides the structure. Science fact: The waxes in a lipstick can be beeswax, ozokerite, candelilla, or carnauba wax. Wax has a high melting point, which means that lipstick stains will not wash off in cold or warm water.

When dealing with a lipstick stain, start by gently scraping off any of the wax that is sitting on top of the cloth. What remains will most likely be an oily, greasy stain that may be a little more persistent than a foundation stain. If you are not seeing complete removal with the above procedure, pour a little bit of Purex® detergent on the stain and rub. Let it sit for five minutes and then rinse that spot with the hottest water that the fabric can withstand. Please check the garment tags if you are not sure. Then launder the clothing as usual with Purex® detergent to help remove the lipstick stain.

As always, happy stain-fighting! For other cosmetic related stains, view how to remove deodorant stains and how to remove perfume and cologne stains.

Purex® offers an array of great products, all at an affordable price. Discover Purex® liquid laundry detergents, Pacs and Purex® Crystals. Purex® products will keep your clothes smelling fresh in a variety of scents while keeping them looking brand new.

We understand that life gets messy and want to make laundry as easy as possible for you. With quality & value continuing to be at the core of our product development, we continue to create highly effective laundry detergent & supplies. We tested some of the toughest stains to keep your clothing looking brand new. View our Stain Lab for our best recommendations to get life's toughest stains out of your clothing.