Removing lipstick stains... from a so-soft? *cringe*

[Hannah66665]

_{Again, if this is the wrong area please let me know. From what I gather, pony restoration still falls under the customizing category?}

Anyway... as mentioned in my intro at some point during my sister's childhood she decorated her so-soft truly with lipstick.  Truly was passed down to me and today she had her first bath in what was most likely over two decades.

I wasn't at all surprised that the bath did nothing for her yellowed body and the pink stains covering her. They are around her eyes, her mouth and on her hoofs. I tried researching about whitening so-softs and removing red stains from white bodies... lipstick stains have given me trouble on several of my adopted ponies. I haven't found any helpful information for this issue, though.

Deflocking is not an option. I don't want to and it's beyond my skills.  I highly doubt the whitening creams would be a smart idea on this baby either. I'm at a loss for what to do. Can so-soft ponies be sun faded? Am I completely out of luck?

[moving to Corral - kkat]

[LuckyTwirlerina]

I would personally give it a go with a gentle makeup remover... you know, since that's what it's made for. 

If that doesn't work, oxyclean baths do wonders for so softs, especially the white ones! 

[reanna-mator]

I would personally give it a go with a gentle makeup remover... you know, since that's what it's made for. 

If that doesn't work, oxyclean baths do wonders for so softs, especially the white ones! 

If you try the makeup remover, definitely try it on an inconspicuous spot, like the inside of a hoof, first! Good luck!

[Hannah66665]

Thank you very much for the suggestions.
She has a bit of stain on her hoof that I'll try these methods on. Crossing my fingers that I have some luck!


quick edit:
reanna-mator
your signature, I just...
It's brilliant

[Bibsy]

I know it sounds drastic, but I used a cotton swab dabbed in bleach to removed permanent marker from the bottom of two of my So-Softs.  I tried it with Truly first figuring that white spots under her hooves would look better than the horrible black splotches.  And it worked!  I only dabbed a little bleach on the cotton swab at a time so there would be no drips and I had to change cotton swabs fairly often as each one got saturated with the ink coming off the pony, but eventually it was all gone.  I had such great luck with white pony, I tried it on Lofty who's hoof writing had migrated up the side  of her leg- and it worked too.  The fur is clean and it didn't take away any of her yellow color.

I would note, that I think I lucked out in that the color only seemed to be in the fur and not soaked into the plastic.  If the lipstick has gotten in there, this method probably won't work.  I'd try the other methods first (like I did), and do a small test to see if it works before trying it all over.  Good luck!!

[hathorcat]

The key as Bibsy says is whether the staining is just on the fur or has seeped into the plastic. The latter is going to be pretty impossible to get to due to the fur and glue coating. Everything that all of us are recommending, due to how sensitive so soft flocking can be, should be tested in an inconspicuous spot as reanna mentioned. You can try something like a couple of dabs of a mousse carpet shampoo; they are designed to loosen dirt from carpet bristles without damaging anything underneath. Following those instructions and "brushing" the lipstick off may be possible. But that all assumes that the stain is ON the fur and has not stained through. A brush with toothbrush, toothpaste and tepid water is also a good idea. Unfortunately a lot of the heavier chemicals will most likely eat into the glue holding the flocking on.

Good luck! I hope something works for you.

[Hannah66665]

Thank you for all the suggestions, everyone. Unfortunately, I'm sure it's probably stained the plastic... she's had the marks on her for over two decades.  Maybe even close to three. I'm not sure how old my sister was when she went happy with the lipstick.