I like the idea of the black make up face cloths
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Maybe not to leave for guests, as they might throw them away, but for travelling I have found a product called Face Halo to be terrific for removing makeup. A guest left one at my place so I tried it and it works really well.
I was referring to hand towel soiled with mascara. It’s something minor. I would not charge for such small damage. Something that minor, I would let it go.
Sadly we had both neatly stacked black makeup cloths and face wipes within reach, but our guest went for all the new bath towels instead 
I think it’s actually hair dye or this person wore a TON of black mascara and eyeliner lol
Possibly because that is exactly what is?
In terms of the hospitality industry, bed linens and towels are consumables. They do not last forever and guests will stain them with every available body fluid and with every available item/product/food stuff in the property, theirs and yours.
The solution is simple. You budget for “damages” the same way a retailer budgets for “shrinkage” or a bar budgets for “wastage”. In addition, the outlay replacing them is often tax deductible, ours certainly is in Spain and was (ok, a number of years ago!) in the UK.
I’m taking it you meant “at” check in.
If a host did that to me I’d demand to see a price list.
OK fella, I need to know what my liabilities are here.
So how much for a pillow case?
How much for a hand towel?
Do I get a discount if I stain a sheet and a pillow case?
From that point onwards, they’d better hope that I had a fantastic time, because their review point was starting from a seriously compromised position.
Anyway, irrespective of petty, penny pinching rules, I don’t think we’ve had to bin anything due to staining. Maybe we’ve just been lucky, or maybe it’s simply because we do as most experienced hosts do, treat the stain with the appropriate measure, wash, then move on.
Had a few wine glasses and the odd piece of flatware broken, but hey, that’s just the cost of doing business…
JF
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We wouldn’t say anything if it was a pillowcase or a towel (this has happened before, no biggie), but if I have to spend hours getting 4 new large bath towels (cost: approx $60) stain free is it worth it? For a weekend stay… such a pain.
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How on earth could you spend “hours” cleaning four towels?
JF
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Following @jaquo advice. Soak for hours in oxi, clean with detergent and bleach… repeat until we get the stains faded out.
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Yeah, but you really don’t have to sit watching it soak. A watched towel never cleans…
JF
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Oh for sure- it’s just too much extra work for our cleaning service (it’s for a stand alone rental not in our immediate area) and honestly not sure it’s worth all the extra hassle. We have backups but guess now we’ll need more backups for our backups since she potentially ruined all 4.
This is why I love having a nearby Costco. Four new fluffy much complimented towels are $8 each and periodically have a special price. When they do I buy another pair. Since I’ve been closed I probably have 8 in my back up supply. LOL.
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Okay. Have to share my experience with “stain charges” as an Airbnb guest in Honolulu. In a House Rule of 20+ laminated pages (no joke), a full page detailed stains of every kind, on any surface, with corresponding charges - and humorous lapses of English usage, spelling, etc:
- Make Up stain on face cloth $10
- Dirty trowel (my fav) $25
(with a description of extraordinary vs. normal dirt) - Stain on carpet. $50
- Make Up staining on sheet. $35
- Suntan oil stain sheet $35
Etc., etc.
Equally funny, but twice as annoying: all counter-top appliances were unplugged and stored on the tippy top cabinets, requiring climbing on cushioned dining chair to reach them ( stain on chair $25!) (scratch wood floor $20!)
Finally, we were stuck inside half of our stay because of a hurricane (“please to carry inside: chairs, tables, plants (dirt on carpet $25!) and beach equipment from balcony”)…
As a result, any mention of extra charges…
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Brilliant! That must have had you chuckling 
JF
My wife and I finally got the mascara/makeup problem under control. We would thoroughly inspect all of the towels/washcloths/sheets/pillowcase/etc. any spots or stains found, I would take the item into the master bathroom where we have a full-pressure hand shower (no pressure regulator or volume restrictor). I would just spray cold water at maximum pressure on the spot and move the spray in a small circular motion until the spot is nearly invisible. The tiny but powerful water jets from the hand shower would usually break up the stains in only a few seconds. After spraying, we just wash the item normally in cold water.
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What a brilliant tip.
I don’t know if I have as much pressure in my shower as you but I certainly have a pressure nozzle for outdoors and may be getting a pressure washer this summer. It’s funny how much dirt I realized can be removed with high pressure (like my indoor rugs which get hosed every spring) but never thought of using the same method for guest linens.
The black makeup towels seemed like a great idea to me, but they’re quickly damaged when they’re used by a guest who applies the acne treatment that contains a bleaching agent. Once they’re marked with faded spots, I can’t put them out for guests. The bleached spots are permanent.
After trying a batch of the black makeup towels and losing them to bleached spots all in the first round of use, I’m back to all white towels.
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Just wait until you get towels with stains from hair dye…
I think it might have actually been hair dye when I inspected myself (our cleaners made us aware of the issue) 
Currently soaking in oxi-clean and not going anywhere yet