Hot, sunny days require sunscreen and suntan lotion. While most people use these products to help protect their skin from the sun, others use them to enhance their skin tone.
Unfortunately, the components found in most sunscreens and suntan lotions can cause stains to fabrics. Most of these skin care products contain oils to make them moisture-resistant. They may also contain dyes to give them a certain color or to allow the skin to darken.
Initially, stains caused by these products may be invisible, but age and/or the heating of cleaning may cause them to become more apparent.
Try to let the lotion dry completely before it comes in contact with your garment. It is possible to still transfer to your clothing, but it will be less likely to damage your items.
The oil component of skin care preparations may not be easily removed in normal washing or drycleaning procedures, but appropriate stain removal techniques can be successful. For this reason, it is important to tell your cleaner if sunscreens or tanning lotions may have contacted the garment.
