How to Get Nail Polish Out of Clothes Like a Pro

Nail polish comes in a huge rainbow of colors and there are plenty of people who don’t feel they’re fully dressed unless they’re wearing some. The word ‘polish’ is fitting but also doesn’t completely encapsulate what it is. Really, it’s a richly-pigmented coloring agent — and that means it can stain things if it goes anywhere other than your finger or toe nails.

Don’t fret! There’s no need to ditch your clothing if it’s stained by nail polish. Whether you’re looking for a DIY method to remove nail polish stains, solutions to suggest to your house cleaner, or you’re starting your own home cleaning company, our Pros have the details on how to get rid of those stains for good.

Why Does Nail Polish Stain Clothes?

The details matter, so let’s begin by examining why it is that nail polish can stain your clothes. It starts with the ingredients in your favorite nail polishes, which include:

• Plasticizers like dibutyl phthalate, which keep nail polish flexible and help it adhere to your nails
• Resins like formalin, which help nail polish harden and stay glossy
• Solvent extenders such as isopropyl alcohol, which keep nail polish liquid
• Pigments like iron oxides, mica, and lakes

Explaining why nail polish stains clothes could be done by a chemist, but here’s our simple breakdown. The pigments in nail polish can penetrate the fibers of clothing. Resins mean that nail polish dries quickly, and that can make it more difficult to remove — and the result can be a persistent stain.

What Can I Use to Remove Nail Polish Out of Clothing?

Some of these items might surprise you. You’ll use these items to pre-treat and clean the stain.

• Nail polish remover
• Rubbing alcohol
• Laundry detergent

Cotton swabs or an eyedropper are important because both allow for some precision when treating a stain. Simply pouring nail polish remover on a shirt, for example, might actually spread the nail polish stain instead of eliminating it.

How to Get Nail Polish Out of Jeans

Here are some steps to follow if you spill or smear nail polish on your favorite Levi’s or Gucci jeans.

Step 1: While the nail polish is still wet, remove as much of it as you can. You can absorb it with a paper towel or use a dull knife or credit card to scrape it off.

Step 2: Take a cotton swab and soak it in laundry detergent.

Step 3: Use the swab to work from the outside edge of the stain inward to the center. This is to prevent spreading the stain.

Step 4: As the swab picks up pigmentation from the nail polish, swap it out for a new one.

Step 5: Repeat as often as needed until you can no longer see nail polish on the denim.

Step 6: Rinse with lukewarm water until the water runs clear.

Once you’ve run through these simple steps, you can allow your jeans to dry or follow our guide to wash jeans without fading them.

How to Remove Nail Polish from a Cotton Shirt

There’s a similar process to remove nail polish from cotton shirts, but there’s a bit of effort required to make sure you don’t damage your shirt.

Step 1: Remove excess wet polish as outlined above. If nail polish is dry, use the edge of a dull knife to scrape it off.

Step 2: Take a Q-tip and dip it in nail polish remover. Test it on a hidden area of the shirt, such as an internal seam. If the acetone in the polish remover lifts color from your shirt, don’t use it on the stain. Instead, switch to rubbing alcohol.

Step 3: Lay the shirt on a clean, flat surface, placing several layers of white paper towel underneath the stained area. 

Step 4: Dip a cotton swab in acetone or rubbing alcohol. Working from the edge of the stain inward, rub it over the nail polish. Swap out the swab as it absorbs nail polish and move to a clean area of the towels to avoid the pigment being reabsorbed into your shirt.

Step 5: Rinse the shirt with cold water and check to see if any nail polish remains.

Step 6: If you’ve been using nail polish remover and there’s still an issue, try using rubbing alcohol instead.

Step 7: Rinse with cold water and launder as usual.

Removing Nail Polish Stain from Clothing

Here are a few extra tips to help you out if the nail polish has dried on your clothing.

Step 1: Begin by using the edge of a dull knife to scrape dried nail polish from your clothing. Be gentle, so you don’t damage the fibers.

Step 2: Use an eyedropper to apply nail polish remover to the stained area. The acetone in the nail polish remover will return it to a liquid state. (Make sure to test the fabric first, as above. Use rubbing alcohol as a substitute if necessary.)

Step 3: Use the Q-tip and paper towel method above to lift the stain from the fabric. Switch out the cotton swabs as often as needed.

Step 4: With an extra-stubborn nail polish stain, you may need to repeat the process multiple times to get rid of the nail polish completely.

With all of these methods, don’t put your clothing in the dryer unless you’re sure the stain is gone. Drying them will set the stain and make it impossible to remove.

What to Do If a Stain Persists After Treatment

Here are some things you can try if you’ve completed one of the above methods and you’re still looking at a nail polish stain.

• Repeat the eyedropper method from above to reliquify the nail polish. Sometimes a few extra passes with a cotton swab will get the job done.
• Soak the area with dish soap and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. Then, dab to remove excess polish and spray the area with hair spray, then gently rub with a clean microfiber cloth to remove the nail polish.
• Take the stained clothing to a dry cleaner. A really stubborn stain, or one on a special fabric like cashmere or velvet, may require a professional touch.

Again — and we can’t emphasize this enough — never put an item of clothing with nail polish on it into the dryer. The high heat in your dryer will set the nail polish, and in most cases, destroy your clothing to the point where it needs to be thrown away.

Check out some additional methods to remove nail polish from clothes by watching this video.

FAQ About Removing Nail Polish from Clothes

Conclusion

A vermilion or eggplant-colored nail polish stain on your favorite blouse, skirt, or jeans might freak you out but don’t panic! Instead, follow the simple steps our Pros have outlined here to treat and remove the stain using ordinary household products and cleaning supplies — and your clothes will look as good as new!