I regularly wear scarves as headbands, and noticed that there are several scarves I own with makeup on the middle part (where my forehead meets the central fold of the scarf). The labels say "Dry Clean Only," but I'm a little hesitant to drop them off at the drycleaners. Is there another way, or is that the safest way?
makeup on scarf
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^That's what I'd do, too. I use a dry-cleaner that was recommended to me by the store.....some girls here handwash their scarves, and although I'm a hand-wash kinda girl, I dry-clean my Hermes.
I handwash them without a problem. If you go up to the reference section, there should be a thread about Hermes scarves. I think the first post should have a link to an old thread that discusses washing them. Some scarfies swear by handwashing because unless the dry cleaner is familiar with Hermes scarves, most will press the hems flat instead of leaving them plump. Also, sometimes the dry cleaning process can fade the dyes with time. One tip about handwashing is don't soak the scarf in the detergent too long, that too will cause the dye to fade faster. Some people use a color magnet. I haven't found a need for this except for some of the vintage scarves that contain reds and dark greens. Those 2 dyes on the older scarves are notorious for running. But, so far I haven't had a problem with handwashing.
Personally I only dry clean my H scarves...coz I'm a klutz with washing them. I tried washing once an old H scarf and left it in the water too long, the colors ran and needless to say, bye bye old scarf. Now I only dare dry cleazn them with a reputable drycleaner, and I always tell them to leave the hems alone. They should be nice and plump 
^^fopduck, nothing wrong with what you did, but what happened is that you happened to wash the sizing away. The sizing is what makes the scarf stiff and slightly stain resistant.
What sort of cleaner do you recommend for keeping the scarves looking their best? I washed one in a cashmere cleaner (White+Warren) and it did take the stains out but the scarf is now very soft. I don't trust my dry cleaners to not press the hems. Thanks!
It's something that's just unavoidable. Even if you never wash your scarf, it will get softer as the sizing wears off from use.
Sometimes I wash my scarves just to get that sizing out since I like my scarves a little less stiff. I did that with my Pavements scarf and it turned out nice and soft and supple......draped beautifully! Some of the older scarves seem to have more sizing in them and these are the ones that get immediately hand-washed and then ironed!!!