The Bane of Stains: Lipstick

Compared to eye shadow, lipstick gets reapplied much more often. It also gets applied in more locations – not just a bathroom sink or vanity, but any place there’s a mirror. In fact, with compact mirrors or selfie cameras, someone can touch up their lipstick nearly anywhere. With a bit of skill, even a mirror is unnecessary. However, such a wide variety of application locations also means you’re more prone to losing your grip. Next thing you know, there’s a smear of your favorite color on your carpet – and it never looks as good there as it does on you.

Most types of lipstick are made with three basic components: wax, oil, and pigment. Each of those have their own challenges with carpet removal. Depending on how much contacted the fibers, it might be best to let Preferred Carpet Care guide you or even take point in removing the stain. When you call us, however, we might suggest something like the following method.

Removing a Lipstick Stain from Carpet

1. As always, start by removing the excess. If loose pieces of the stick fell onto the carpet, very carefully lift the pieces away with a paper towel or tweezers. Using a spoon or straight edge, gently scrape the spill from the outside inward to avoid spreading it.
2. Moisten a white cloth or paper towel with warm water. Make sure it’s damp and not soaking – we don’t want the lipstick to run further into the carpet, do we? Blot the stain from the outside edges inward.
3. Moisten another white cloth or paper towel with Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. Again, make sure it’s damp, not soaking. Dab and blot, dab and blot. Make sure you press down gently without rubbing or scrubbing. This will help to make sure the alcohol does not get too deep into the carpet fibers. Periodically inspect the cloth or towel to see if color is still transferring from the carpet. When no more color is transferring, proceed.
4. There are some citrus-based spot removers on the market that can help remove tape and sticker glue residue. Interestingly, they do well in removing lipstick. If you have a citrus-based spot remover handy, spray or apply some onto a clean white cloth, and hold it on top of the area for about thirty seconds. Lift the cloth and inspect it for color transference. If so, continue until the transference dissipates.
5. If the citrus remover is not working, mix a teaspoon of powdered laundry detergent with enough water to make a paste. Using a clean white cloth, apply the paste to the spot using a blotting method from the outer edges inward. This will not only help to remove the lipstick, but the citrus spot remover as well.adob

Of course, your favored application might have a secret ingredient or two to help keep your lips looking so luscious. That secret ingredient might complicate the removal process. However, you have Preferred Carpet Care on your side! No lipstick can hold up to our decades of training and skill, superior equipment, and our determination to keep your carpets spot-free. In fact, if you have any hesitation about dealing with the lipstick on your carpet, let us do it for you. Give us a call or schedule an appointment online.