shea butter or cocoa butter – either shea butter or cocoa butter will work to really give your leather products a nice deep conditioning. natural oil – any natural oil like sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, fractionated coconut oil or olive oil are safe and great for using on leather.
Most leather conditioners on the market often consist of a petroleum distillates. Petrol-based ingredients often dry out the leather and remove the essential oils needed for the leather to thrive and last. Petrol is often added to conditioners as a way to soften the leather, but can often cause more harm than good.
Proper dubbin contains just three ingredients, beeswax, tallow and fish oil; and this is still how our supplier makes theirs, using the best quality of all three ingredients.
Apply a dime-sized amount of designated leather conditioner (like mink oil) to a soft cloth (microfiber is best but not necessary). Avoid using DIY leather care products, like olive oil or coconut oil, which can potentially harm your item. Begin rubbing the clean leather in circular motions with the cloth.
Using a conditioner is necessary to replace the oils leather needs, and if you're in a pinch, WD-40 is the perfect solution.
Olive Oil and Vinegar
An excellent home remedy for cleaning leather car seats is a solution made of a quarter cup of olive oil and half a cup of distilled white vinegar. No water base is needed for this concoction; just pour the two ingredients into a spray bottle and mix them together by shaking the bottle thoroughly.
Dubbin is the most marvellous leather treatment balm made from almond oil, bees wax and other natural products. The clear difference between dubbin and other leather treatments or sprays in dubbin is absorbed into the leather nourishing it, this rehydrates tired footwear keeping it at its best.
Using only beeswax and lanolin from the environment, leather can be cleaned effectively. The Ha-Ra Leather Balm nourishes and waterproofs leather in one step using natural beeswax and lanolin. In just one step you can have your leather soft and pliable, no polishing required.
Neither product creates a “shine;” Leather Conditioner will create the truest “matte” appearance, while Mink Oil gives a low “luster.”
Alcohol + Vaseline
Apply a generous portion of rubbing alcohol to a cotton pad. Then, dab the pad on the leather surface until it is shiny. Afterward, apply Vaseline to the surface. You can apply a few layers if you feel that leather can absorb more.
Mix 1 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup coconut oil or EVOO, 1 tsp dish soap, and ten drops of an essential oil. This amount will do a chair of this size. Wipe on and wipe off with a clean cloth. I tried it in a spray bottle and dipped the cloth into the blend.
Vaseline can be used for softening leather. Before applying Vaseline to leather, start by dabbing a small cotton pad with rubbing alcohol over the leather surface. You'll want to dab each section of the surface until it starts to shine. Try to make the shine even across the entire surface.
Indeed, it is possible - even easy - to give your leather too much conditioner. Leather can only eat up so much conditioner before its starts to regurgitate. As conditioner absorbs through tiny pores, it can build up.
Olive oil, and every oily substance for that matter, will not “nourish” your leather, but actually accelerate its deterioration. Leather is extremely permeable, and will soak up any oils you put on it. When oil first saturates leather, it seeps to the back—to the part you can't see.
Leather, like your own skin, needs to be protected and moisturized over time. You can create a simple and inexpensive leather conditioner using natural baby soap, vinegar and water. Mix two cups of warm water, a tablespoon of natural baby soap and a splash of vinegar in a bowl.
Treating leather with coconut oil does have a few upsides: it will soften the leather and provide a thin layer of waterproof protection. Because coconut oil is a natural oil (like neatsfoot oil, olive oil, and mink oil), it will darken leather boots when applied.
However, it's also essential not to overuse dubbin as it can lead to a buildup of wax that makes the leather stiff and prone to cracking. Using too much wax can also attract dirt and dust particles that cling to the surface.
Inexpensive hair conditioners contain more wax than fancy conditioners, so they're great for moisturizing and protecting leather. Use a clean rag to gently rub small amounts of the conditioner into clean, dry leather.
Is polishing more important than conditioning? While leather polish adds a shine to the texture of the leather, it is the leather conditioner that penetrates the “skin” and ensures that the leather remains flexible, hydrated and blocks water from seeping in.
Neatsfoot oil, lanolin, almond oil, and mink oil are best for softening your leather. All of these are natural oils that moisturize leather, keeping it from drying and cracking. The fats in these natural oils will deeply moisturize the hide in leather products. Use neatsfoot oil for quick fixes.
Mix warm water and Castile soap or liquid dish washing soap together in a bucket. Use a ratio of 5 parts water to 1 part soap. Dampen a cloth with the solution and wipe down the seat surfaces. Don't saturate the leather because too much water could pool in the seat seams and seep into the cushions.
Baby oil is a pretty light lubricant (it's mineral oil with some fragrance added) but will still over-soften the leather, much like mink oil would do.