Leather Care Guide
Genuine leather is not a material that wears out — it is a material that changes. Cared for properly, a full-grain leather wallet or phone case looks better after five years than it did on the first day. Here is everything we tell our own customers.
The three rules
Keep it dry, keep it fed, keep it out of direct heat. Almost every leather problem comes from breaking one of these three. Water dries leather out by pulling its oils away, a starved hide cracks at the fold, and radiators, car dashboards and hair dryers cook the fibres stiff.
Everyday cleaning
Wipe the surface with a soft, dry cloth once a week. For dirt that stays, use a cloth slightly dampened with water — barely damp, never wet — and let the piece air dry away from heat. Do not use detergent, alcohol, wet wipes, glass cleaner or baby wipes: they strip the finish and leave pale patches.
Conditioning: two to three times a year
Leather is skin, and like skin it dries out. Two or three times a year, apply a colourless leather balm or conditioner with a soft cloth in thin circular motions, leave it for fifteen minutes, then buff off the excess. Less is more: a thick coat sits on the surface, attracts dust and darkens the leather unevenly. Always test on a hidden area first, because conditioner darkens light tan leather slightly.
If it gets wet
Blot the water off with a dry cloth — do not rub. Let the piece dry slowly at room temperature, away from radiators and sunlight, ideally stuffed loosely with paper so it keeps its shape. When it is fully dry it will feel stiffer than usual; that is the moment to condition it, which brings the suppleness back. Never use a hair dryer: fast drying is what makes leather crack.
Scratches and marks
On full-grain leather, most light scratches are not damage — they are surface marks in the top layer. Rub gently with a clean fingertip; the warmth and natural oils usually blend them back in within a minute. Deeper scratches fade with conditioning. Do not try to sand or cut a scratch out.
Stains
Act fast. Blot liquid immediately, never wipe it across the surface. For an oil or grease mark, sprinkle cornstarch or talc on it, leave it overnight to draw the oil out, then brush it off softly. Ink is the one stain that rarely comes out completely at home; for a piece you care about, take it to a leather specialist rather than experimenting with solvents.
Patina: the colour change is not a fault
Vegetable-tanned and full-grain leather darkens over time as it absorbs light and the oils from your hands. Edges and high-contact areas go first. This is patina, and it is the reason people buy real leather: after a year, no two pieces look the same, and yours carries the record of how you used it. Leather that never changes colour is almost always coated or synthetic.
Storage
Store leather somewhere dry and airy, out of direct sunlight. Use the dust bag it came in, or a cotton bag — never a sealed plastic bag, which traps moisture and causes mould. For bags, stuff them loosely with paper or a soft cloth to hold their shape; hanging a heavy bag by its strap for months stretches the strap and deforms the top.
Phone cases and watch bands: the specific ones
Leather phone cases pick up hand oils faster than anything else you own, so they patina quickly and evenly — that is normal. Wipe the inside occasionally, where dust collects around the camera cut-out. Leather watch bands take sweat, which is salty and dries the leather out; wipe the underside dry after a hot day and loosen the band before storing so the fold does not set into a crack.
What to avoid, in one list
Washing machines and water immersion. Direct heat and hair dryers. Alcohol, acetone, detergent, wet wipes. Silicone- or wax-heavy shoe polish on soft leather goods. Sealed plastic storage. Overloading a wallet until the stitching strains. Leaving a piece in a hot car.
When to get it repaired
A popped stitch, a loose snap or a worn edge is worth repairing rather than replacing — it is one of the advantages of hand-stitched leather. If something we made needs attention, write to info@leatherproducts.store and we will tell you whether it is something you can fix at home or whether to send it back to the workshop.