Read Part One of the Ultimate Guide to Full Grain Leather Bag Care here.
Leather Conditioning
If we can give our customers only one piece of leather care advice, that will be to use your bag regularly. As nourishing as they are to human skin, body oils are also nature’s best lubricants for leather. In fact, leather products that are constantly handled, such as wallets or your bag’s top handle, seldom need a conditioning treatment.
It doesn’t mean that you can rest and leave it to Mother Nature to take care of your leather. Regular conditioning is highly recommended to prevent damage, restore the moisture lost over time and keep the leather supple and nourished. Depending on usage and your local climate, you may find yourself needing to care for your leather as little as once a year, up to once a quarter. There are many kinds of leather conditioners available that fall into different categories. For the best result, we recommend using a conditioning oil/cream rich in naturally derived emollients and waxes that can penetrate deep and restore the fibers’ flexibility.
To prepare your leather for conditioning, give it a thorough cleaning to remove any dirt and remnant oils that would otherwise clog the pores. Wait til it is fully dry. Apply some of your favorite leather conditioner to a soft cloth and rub evenly over the entire surface in circular motions. Let it set for two hours at least (better overnight). Buff dry with another clean cloth. You can repeat one or more times if you feel your leather is particularly rough and thirsty. Be sure to apply only a thin layer of conditioner each time as excess oil cannot be absorbed well and may encourages mold growth on your leather.
Waterproofing Leather
There is some misconception about waterproofed leather. From what we have learned in the previous post, leather in its natural form is highly porous. So the closest it can get to being waterproof is to be able to resist water penetration to a certain degree. Leather naturally has some level of water resistance built in. The beautiful oil tanned leather used on our bags is treated with natural oils and waxes after tanning, which greatly bolster the leather’s natural defense against liquid absorption. So don’t worry too much if your leather gets a little wet, simply blot it up with a dry cloth immediately.
What should be avoided is excessive/recurrent moisture. When the leather gets wet, without proper treatment what happens is that some natural oils get stripped off when water evaporates, causing it to stiffen. It is exactly the same your skin experiences when you wash your face without applying moisturizer afterwards. Water can fade the dyes too, leaving water stains behind. Last but not least, moisture trapped inside the fibers can rot, damaging the leather eventually. Even with waxed leather, over time and with repeated use, the protective coating wears away (when water droplets no longer bead and drip off) and the leather needs to be re-waxed to restore its level of water-resistance.
You have many options when it comes to leather protectants. The most common ones are liquid water repellents to spray on and wax-based creams to rub in. What we actually recommend is to use a conditioning product that is infused with natural beeswax and oils, which should provide sufficient protection to your leather without impairing its ability to breathe. Generally, begin with clean leather, apply the protectant in thin coats, allow it to fully absorb and air dry and then, wipe off any leftover residue. Be sure to read the directions on the the product’s packaging. If the environment is particularly humid, your bag may need some extra waterproofing.
