How To Care For Leather Shoes: Care Rules For Natural Or Artificial Leather + Photos And Videos

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 22:26

How to keep leather shoes intact for as long as possible

Once Abraham Lincoln was asked: - Mr. Lincoln, do you clean your own shoes? - Yes. Whose shoes are you cleaning? You are not ashamed to clean your own shoes, ashamed to walk in a neglected and unkempt state. And this is exactly the impression that a person in dirty shoes makes.

Leather shoes are one of the status elements of the wardrobe. High-quality shoes speak about the financial situation of the owner, his taste, desire or unwillingness to follow fashion. Remember the sensational clip of the Leningrad group “Exhibit”? It was not in vain that the heroine attached such importance to the opportunity to "light up" in "Louboutins" (reminder: we are talking about expensive shoes by designer Christian Louboutin, a distinctive feature of which is a red sole). The very fact of owning such shoes characterizes better than any words. But on one condition: they must look brilliant. Good shoes in poor condition negate all attempts to achieve a stylish and expensive look. And there is nothing to say about not very expensive shoes. It should look like new, and then no one will question its price and relevance in your wardrobe. How can you achieve a truly brilliant result? Experts strongly advise to start caring for shoes immediately after purchase, while a fly has not yet sat on it, as they say. Because treatment is always more difficult than prevention, and much less effective.

Content

• 1 General rules for prolonging the active life of shoes

  • 1.1 How to properly care for smooth skin

  • 1.2 Purification

    • 1.2.1 Foam for cleaning shoes:
    • 1.2.2 Folk remedies for cleaning leather shoes:

  • 1.3 Nutrition of leather shoes

    • 1.3.1 Creams for nourishing the skin on boots:
    • 1.3.2 Folk remedies for natural leather nutrition:

  • 1.4 Protecting shoes from water and dirt

    • 1.4.1 Protective equipment
    • 1.4.2 Folk remedies (including for the sole)
    • 1.4.3 Cleaning white leather shoes:
    • 1.4.4 Folk recipes for care
    • 1.4.5 Cleaning colored shoes (brown, red, beige, yellow)
    • 1.4.6 There are also methods from the home pantry:

  • 1.5 Rules for the care of shoes made of different types of leather

    • 1.5.1 Pork
    • 1.5.2 Python and Crocodile
    • 1.5.3 Rawhide
    • 1.5.4 Laser cut
    • 1.5.5 Products that can be used for laser skin care
    • 1.5.6 Care rules for sports shoes and sneakers made of genuine leather
    • 1.5.7 Features of the care of winter and demi-season shoes

• 2 Caring for shoes made of artificial leather

  • 2.1 Eco leather

  • 2.2 Leatherette

    2.2.1 Synthetics

General rules for extending the active life of shoes

Shoes require constant care

1. Shoes, like the face, require daily care.
2. First of all, treat new shoes made of natural and artificial leather with a nourishing cream.
3. Start cleaning only after the shoes are dry. When doing this, use brushes and tools specially designed for the material from which it is made.
4. When putting on boots or shoes, do not wring the heels. Give yourself the trouble to bend over to get the spoon. By the way, the bends perfectly tighten the stomach.
5. Do not rush to put wet shoes on a battery or dry them with a hairdryer. Stuff them with old newspaper or paper and leave to dry slowly at room temperature. Yes, this will take longer than with a battery, but your shoes will last longer.
6. Shoes need 24 hours to dry completely, so it is advisable to have at least two pairs of seasonal shoes and wear them in turn.
7. Use shoes for their intended purpose: sandals - in dry, sunny weather, insulated boots - in frost, rubber - in rain, and do not confuse, because improper use of shoes wears them out quickly and fatally.

How to properly care for smooth skin

Shoe care

Leather can be smooth, sanded and patent leather. Smooth is leather without lint and varnish. Brushed is a fleecy leather such as suede and nubuck. Patent - glossy leather with PU top layer.

We'll talk about smooth skin care here.

Proper shoe care is based on three pillars: cleaning, nutrition, protection. The question is how, with what and with what frequency to do it.

Cleaning and caring for leather shoes

Cleansing

You need to clean it after each wear. They came home, put on shoes (if any) or stuffed them with newspapers. Then they wiped it with a damp cloth, waited until it was completely dry, treated it with a cleansing foam or soapy water (if very dirty), washed it off, wiped it dry and put it in a closed cabinet or nightstand so that your charm was less covered with dust. Soap should not be abused, use it occasionally, in case of heavy contamination.

Foam for cleaning shoes:

Reno Mat Cleansing Foam

KIWI Cleansing Foam

Twist Cleansing Foam

Folk remedies for cleaning leather shoes:

• salt stains with smudges will disappear under the influence of table vinegar (a cloth is soaked in 9% vinegar diluted with water at the rate of 1 part water to 3 parts vinegar, after which the solution is rubbed into the stain);
• Dissolve grease stains with a soda solution (1 tsp for ½ glass of water) - rub until foaming, then remove with a clean dry napkin;
• from soft skin, fat traces are best destroyed with a solution of oxalic acid;
• to remove the remnants of the old cream, you need to wipe your shoes once a week with a cloth dipped in turpentine or gasoline

Shoes can be cleaned with vinegar and baking soda

Leather shoe nutrition

Lubricate shoes with nourishing creams such as Vilo, Tarrago, Salton, Twist, two to three times a season. This should be done after the cleaned shoes are completely dry. The cream is applied to a textile napkin or a small brush and rubbed into the skin in a circular motion until it is completely absorbed, after which the shoes are left to dry. This procedure will protect the skin from drying out and coarsening, the fats contained in the cream will make it soft and elastic.

Skin nourishing creams on boots:

Cream for nourishing leather shoes

Nano Leather Wax Shoe Cream

Salton nourishing shoe polish

Twist Shoe Cream

Folk remedies for natural leather nutrition:

• Castor oil does an excellent job of caring for leather shoes. It simultaneously nourishes and protects it from the harmful effects of water. If the skin on your favorite shoes is dry and rough, rub in castor oil and it will become soft and pliable again. The most impressive result is obtained by treatment with an ointment made from 8 parts of castor oil and one part each of linseed oil and beeswax.

  1. Apply the ointment to a cotton pad.
  2. Rub the boot well.
  3. Leave for an hour until completely absorbed.
  4. Repeat the procedure one more time.
  5. If there is no wax and linseed oil, you can limit yourself to castor oil.

• Wash the shoes with warm water, dry without using heaters and soak with a product cooked from fish oil and lard (3 to 1), then cover with an ointment made from 1/3 bar of household soap and 1/3 cup of water (heat until until the soap dissolves, then cool).

  

  Prexar shoe care product

  

  Lard is a multifunctional product. Among other things, they can lubricate shoes

  

  Used to make shoe polish

Protecting shoes from water and dirt

Treat with protective dirt and water-repellent agents every three to five socks. For these purposes, you can use water-repellent sprays, waxes, and wax containing beeswax. It is applied in a circular motion using a small piece of cloth or with a brush, and then the boot is polished with a large brush or nylon toe. Polishing shoes to a mirror shine, or glassage, is considered a special chic.

How to make a glassage yourself, you can watch the video:

Protective equipment

Water-repellent shoe spray

Water-repellent shoe spray

Wax water-repellent impregnation for shoes

Wax - protects shoes from getting wet

Wax is used to protect shoes from water and dirt, to give them a shine

Folk remedies (including for the sole)

• Unsalted lard can be used as an excellent cream for leather shoes, as it will protect against water and frost;
• To polish your shoes to a shine, you should take equal parts of egg white, milk (for 1 protein 4–5 tablespoons of milk) and add a piece of sugar to this. Beat everything until foamy, moisten a sponge, apply to the skin and wait until dry. Then wipe with a woolen or cloth cloth;

• So that the leather sole does not allow water to pass through, you need to soak it up to the eyeballs with heated linseed oil. After the drying oil ceases to be absorbed, the job can be considered done. This procedure will not only protect the sole from water, but also prolong its life.

  

  Protein is added to protective shoe polish

  

  Add milk for a protective shoe polish

  

  Folk remedies for protecting shoes from water and dirt

  

  It is necessary to soak the sole with linseed oil to protect it from getting wet

Cleaning white leather shoes:

White shoes require special care

One of the basic rules for caring for white shoes says: "Flies separately, cutlets separately." Which means: white shoes are cleaned and stored separately from colored ones.

1. Select brushes, rags, creams exclusively for white leather shoes.
2. Dirt and dust are first washed off with a dry cloth, and only then washed off with a cloth soaked in water with detergent diluted in it. This will allow you to do without dark stains.
3. Powder residues are removed with a sponge dipped in warm water.
4. The boot is wiped dry, if necessary, filled with white paper to dry from the inside.
5. Transparent or white creams are applied first to a brush or cloth and only then to the surface of the shoe.
6. Finish by polishing with a piece of velvet fabric.

Folk recipes for care

White shoes can be cleaned with improvised products

• such shoes must be periodically coated with a mixture of one egg white, beaten with half a glass of milk, then it will retain its original color;
• can be wiped with a sponge, with washing powder, then rinsed with warm water;
• white leather shoes are well cleaned with toothpaste, how to do it, look at the following video:

Cleaning of colored shoes (brown, red, beige, yellow)

Caring for colored leather shoes

You can clean colored shoes in the same way as black ones - with soapy water or special foam. Then you need to apply a colorless or matching colored cream for natural skin care. Experts advise to give preference to colored products, because colorless skin fades over time.

Caring for colored leather goods

There are also methods from the home pantry:

• stains from colored leather shoes can be removed with lemon or onion juice;
• it is good to clean the brown skin with coffee grounds (wrap the squeezed out grounds in a piece of flannel and rub the dull skin, after which it should begin to shine).

Rules for the care of shoes made of different types of leather

Pork

Pigskin shoe care

Pigskin can be described as rough, porous, cheap.

He does not require special curtsies in leaving. All of the above methods can be actively used to maintain the "marketable" appearance of products from this material.

Python and crocodile

Reptile skin shoes require special care

Snakeskin Shoe Care

Features of caring for reptile skin products

Crocodile leather products

It's no secret that snakes and crocodiles are not only great horror stories for quiet inhabitants, but also food, clothes, shoes and accessories. Leather goods of these lovely creatures are expensive, soft and durable. And also capricious in terms of care.

1. Reptile skin should not be allowed to dry out. Care must be taken to ensure that such shoes are not exposed to the sun or near a heater, including the car's heater, for a long time.
2. Do not store shoes made of such materials in plastic bags, as they can "suffocate" there.
3. You can clean reptile skin shoes with a cloth soaked in water at room temperature. Then rub gently to avoid moisture accumulation under the scales.

4. For care, use only products specially designed for reptile skin treatment. An incorrectly chosen remedy can ruin the whole business and leave you without an expensive new thing.

   

   Reptile skin care product

Rawhide

It is better to take care of raw materials with folk remedies

Sounds familiar but rarely used. Nowadays, you can hardly find shoes made of raw leather, except perhaps among the indigenous peoples (Eskimos, Indians, Chukchi) or activists of the club of historical restoration. Rawhide leather is softer than tanned, more elastic, but upon contact with water changes its properties to diametrically opposite ones, becomes rough, hard and may remain so even after drying.

To soften rawhide skin, indigenous peoples advise mixing pork fat (4 parts), wax (1 part) and glycerin (2 parts) in a water bath, cool, apply on dry, cleansed skin. For glossing, you can use a 72% water solution of laundry soap. The recipe is as follows: boil soap chips in water until completely dissolved, then cool until a soft ointment is obtained. Apply after softening the skin.

Laser cut

Caring for leather goods with laser treatment

Caring for laser treated skin

You can paint and make furrows on the skin with a laser

Skin after laser treatment needs gentle care

Beauty, as you know, requires sacrifice. And in this case, the sacrificial lamb is the skin. A through or printed pattern is applied to it using a laser. The resulting view is far from the natural, but it looks peculiar and elegant. In addition, sometimes a pattern is applied that reproduces the structure and appearance of the skin of a crocodile or python. For the same money, mind you.

You should take care of shoes made of such leather according to the already described scheme: clean, soften, protect. The skin passed through the laser needs mainly cleansing and softening. It is difficult to find a specific product for leather with laser treatment, therefore, for these purposes, patent leather products are usually used, which are widely available in assortment and price.

Products that can be used for laser skin care

Suitable for the care of laser-cut shoes

Suitable for laser-treated skin

Can be applied to laser cut leather shoes

Rules for the care of sports shoes and sneakers made of genuine leather

Rules for caring for leather sneakers

The first thing to do when taking care of your leather sneakers is to remove the laces, if any. Wet sports shoes must first of all be dried by stuffing them with newspapers or inserting wooden blocks. Then sprinkle with antibacterial deodorant spray. After going through these stages, you can start with the usual processing of leather shoes - cleaning, softening, protecting. The cleaning and treatment of white sneakers can be found in the section “Cleaning of white leather shoes”.

The following video shows you how to conveniently clean your white sneakers:

A common problem with leather sneakers is the appearance of creases and deep wrinkles on the toe box (the front of the sneaker). These annoying defects, visually aging shoes, can be ironed out in the literal sense of the word.

Eliminate creases on the toe box of leather sneakers

1. Stuff your sneakers with paper or plastic bags so tightly that wrinkles are smoothed out.

   

   Experience the difference between full and empty one pair sneakers

   Moisten leather and a cotton cloth with plenty of water.

   

   You need to wet a cloth and spray on the sneaker

2. Place a cloth on the shoe and iron it with a very hot iron with steam on. Iron gently, not too zealous with force. You need to press, but not hard.

   

   Iron toe box sneaker

3. That's all, the sneakers are "younger" before our eyes. It is a pity that it is impossible to remove wrinkles from the face and hands in the same manner.

   

   Evaluate the result of smoothing wrinkles on sneakers

Features of the care of winter and demi-season shoes

Shoes need extra care in winter

And it is clear to the child that winter shoes need more careful care than summer shoes. Salt, reagents, sudden temperature changes, moisture and dirt - all this creates extreme conditions for the operation of shoes. This means that you need to take care of your boots carefully and constantly. The same applies to boots worn in rainy seasons.

1. Every evening after returning home from a hostile environment for leather boots, it should begin by rinsing off the salt and reagents. Leave it for the morning - the end of the boots. Rinse off with warm water (not hot), wipe dry. Salt stains are best removed with a 9% vinegar solution (3 parts vinegar to 1 part water).
2. If your shoes get wet for various reasons, you need to dry them. Remove the insole, stuff with newspaper and leave to dry at room temperature. If necessary, change the newspaper every 2-3 hours. If you don't get too wet, you can simply unbutton your boots and ventilate them by turning them out with the fur. Leave for a short time, for a couple of hours, so that the boots do not lose their shape.
3. After drying, the shoes must be treated first with nutritious and then protective agents according to the general scheme.
4. For winter, it is better to choose shoes with rubberized or synthetic soles. If it is made of leather, it is best to put prophylaxis (rubber pad), only in this case you can count on its long service life. If the sole remains intact, take care of it the same way as for the rest of the boot, just do not get carried away with softening. The same applies to demi-season shoes that are exposed to regular wetting.
5. In advance, before going outside in winter and in rainy times, you need to thoroughly rub castor oil into the leather covering of boots (its miraculous properties have already been described in this article). This will be an excellent prevention of getting wet and, as a result, spilling of your shoes.

Leatherette shoe care

What can I say here? There are not many artificial leather shoes, but a lot. It costs much less than the "natural" one, and it often looks no worse, and the fact that no animal was harmed during its manufacture also speaks in its favor.

Eco leather

Eco-leather - breathable and hypoallergenic material

New cotton-based material. Eco-leather is hypoallergenic, breathable, soft and elastic. Today they make everything from it that from leather, and even more. It looks much better than the good old leatherette.

Eco-leather care is almost the same as for natural.

Remove dirt, dry, saturate with protective water-repellent agents. If boots made of this material get wet, they must be dried completely at room temperature.

Stains are removed with special leather cleaners. If nothing suitable is at hand, you can use a 50% alcohol solution or ammonia. By the way, you cannot use anything like this to clean PVC-based leatherette products, but we'll talk about that later.

Imitation leather

Difficult to distinguish from leather in appearance

Artificial leather or leatherette, as we call it, looks like natural leather, but this is where their similarity ends. Leatherette does not stretch well, does not allow air to pass through, and reacts poorly to temperature changes. Its lifespan is several times shorter than that of the skin. But, there is one definite plus - the price. Leatherette shoes are much cheaper, and sometimes look just like leather, and if there is no difference, why pay more, as one famous advertisement says?

Everyone gives the answer to this question for himself. We are now interested in how to care for artificial leather shoes.

1. Remove street dirt with a damp cloth.
2. Wipe dry, let dry at room temperature. Do not wet the inside or try to scrape off grime.

3. To give leatherette shoes a “shiny” look, you need to treat them with silicone.

   

   Silicone-impregnated sponge Salton

When processing shoes made of this material, do not use products containing alcohol, acetone or fats.

Synthetics

Synthetic or pressed leather contains up to 60% of natural leather waste

First of all, let's figure out what synthetic or pressed leather is. You can often hear that he was buying shoes in full confidence that they were made of genuine leather, but it turned out to be synthetic. Why it happens? Because in appearance pressed leather is practically indistinguishable from natural. And the properties are extremely close to her. The reason is that synthetic leather contains up to 60% of natural leather waste, so it is soft, elastic, vapor and breathable.

Despite the blood relationship with natural, synthetic leather is cleaned and treated in the same way as artificial.

Coco Chanel once said: "You can get used to an ugly appearance, but never to carelessness." Even if clothes, hairstyle and nails look neat and well-groomed, and shoes are shabby and unclean, the general opinion of a person will be as if they were a slob. Shoes are just a touch to the overall picture, but the final touch, and the way you will be remembered depends on it. Therefore, take care of your shoes as carefully as your clothes and hair, and then you will always be on top.