How to Care for Leather Shoes

Leather shoes are distinguished by a high level of comfort. They let feet breathe, take care of health, look stylish and very fashionable. Such a footwear attracts all eyes, is durable and able to be used for several years. Leather boots or shoes will last much longer, if they are properly and timely cleaned of dirt, dried and polished. Let's learn how to care for leather shoes to extend their lifespan.

Women's Leather Slippers

Pegia Genuine Leather Women's Sandal DG6079 Siyah

199.99 $ 160.00 $

Pegia Women's Genuine Suede Tassel Loafer 700923 Taba

219.99 $ 176.00 $

Pegia Women's Genuine Suede Lace-Up Loafer 700959 Coconut

219.99 $ 176.00 $

Pegia Women's Genuine Suede Buckle Sandal 215548 Taba

193.32 $ 154.66 $

Pegia Women's Genuine Leather Lace-Up Moccasin 700919 Siyah

219.99 $ 176.00 $

Pegia Men's Genuine Suede Penny Loafer Moccasin 500914 Sahra

226.66 $ 181.33 $

Pegia Men's Genuine Shearling Suede Winter Boot 375060 Taba

263.32 $ 210.66 $

Pegia Men’s Leather Sabo Slippers 215031 Sahra

159.99 $ 128.00 $

Pegia Studded Leather Women’s Loafer 700921 Siyah

233.32 $ 186.66 $

Pegia Strappy Women’s Leather Sandals DG6096 Siyah

219.99 $ 176.00 $

Pegia Women’s Genuine Leather Sandals DG6114 Siyah

159.99 $ 128.00 $

Pegia Women’s Leather Slippers DG6113 Siyah

159.99 $ 128.00 $

Pegia Suede Closed Women’s Sandals DG6078 Bej

239.99 $ 192.00 $

Pegia Lace-Up Women's Shoes DG6098 Bej

189.99 $ 152.00 $

Pegia Woven Leather Women’s Slippers DG6075 Kahve

219.99 $ 176.00 $

Pegia Suede Strap Women’s Sandals DG6076 Taba

219.99 $ 176.00 $

Leather Shoes Care Products

When buying a new pair of leather shoes, it is recommended to immediately purchase care products. Experts say that the cost of cosmetics for shoes should reach 10% of the value of the product for which it is intended.

The main leather shoes care products are:

1. Shampoo and foams. They get rid of dirt, stains, maintain color.
2. Cream. Such products make shoes supple and soft, prolonging their lifespan.
3. Aerosols. They restore footwear color.
4. Polishing. These goods provide with protection from moisture.
5. Impregnation. They make shoes water-repellent and neutralize salt stains.
6. Other cosmetics. Deodorant for shoes that eliminate bad feet odor, anti-colors to prevent socks staining, softeners and many other products can be included here.

Don't forget also about the cleaning inventory, such as:

• Brushes for each color of shoe cream;
• Polishing cloths;
• Sponges or wash-ups;
• Toothbrushes for hard-to-reach places;
• Rags.

Choose only high-quality leather shoe care products to avoid spoiling the product. Try to buy soft brushes, so that shoes or boots not to be covered with scratches, as well as creams and other cosmetics that are suitable for the color scheme. Check out all the leather shoe cleaning products available on this page.

Basis of Leather Shoes Care

Autumn slush, rain, mud and melting snow have a negative effect on the conditions of genuine leather shoes. To extend the lifespan of shoes and boots, they must be cleaned after every use. It is also periodically recommended to carry out preventive measures that will preserve beauty and shine of shoes, improve their water repellency, protect from cracks and scratches, remove dirt and eliminate bad odor.

The main recommendations for leather shoes care:

1. Eliminate contaminations in time. This can be done with the help of special shoe wet wipes immediately after returning home. It is not recommended to use common ones, because they contain alcohol. Strong dirtiness can be removed with a damp, but well-wrung cloth. At first, you have to clean heels and sole, then the rest part of shoes.
2. Dry your shoes after washing. Flannel or cotton paper is perfect for this purpose.
3. Dry shoes only in a natural way. You should dry footwear only at room temperature. Remove insole from a product preliminary and push the paper inside, so that it doesn't lose its shape from moisture. By no means use a hair dryer or put your item near batteries, heaters and under direct sunlight. If you do these things, there is a risk of deformation of product, cracks and genuine leather overdrying.
4. As soon as shoes will dry, apply a small layer of cream. Try to choose cream in accordance with the color of shoes or boots. After the procedure, leave the shoes overnight to applied agent is completely absorbed, and wipe in the morning with a sponge. Repeat this procedure at least for 2 times a week.
5. Treat your shoes with a water-repellent spray. To prevent leather shoes and boots from getting wet in rainy weather and slush, it is recommended to regularly treat them with a water-repellent spray. In dry weather, this procedure should be done every month, in rainy weather for every 5-7 days. Then you have to polish shoes according to the recommendations given below.

Remember that colored genuine leather shoes darken after contact with water, but some minutes later restore its original shade. This ability indicates that the product is not a fake.

How to Care for New Shoes

Before putting on new leather boots or shoes, it is necessary to soak them with cream and then polish. After a week of using, treat them with a water-repellent spray that will protect them from moisture. Cleaning and caring should be carried out in accordance with the recommendations mentioned above.

How to Wash Leather Shoes

One of the most common question when buying leather shoes is about the possibility of washing it in washing machine. By their nature, genuine leather doesn't tolerate contact with cold water very well, so it is not recommended to perform this procedure. Instead of washing of shoes made of natural material, you can clean them with the methods described above. Leather shoes cleaning should be carried out in accordance with the general rules of shoe care. When cleaning leather shoes, it is recommended to remove the laces, and boots or shoes with zippers should be kept closed during the procedure, so as not to get stained the inner part of product.

However, if the manufacturer doesn't prohibit the shoe washing, and footwear is really too dirty (in this case, usually sport style shoes are mentioned), you can proceed to this method of cleaning. If you want to wash your sneakers or gumshoes, it is needed to remove laces, put the product in a special bag, add a suitable detergent, choose a temperature mode of 30 degrees and wash without spinning. It is recommended to dry footwear away from batteries by putting paper inside, that will let wet product not to lose its original shape.

How to Polish Leather Shoes

After some time of purchasing of shoes, genuine leather shoes may look not so attractive as before. The premature loss of the original shape in most cases is caused by incorrect use in places and weather conditions not intended for this. You can save your favorite pair of footwear by polishing.

To polish products made of natural materials, follow these steps:

1. Clean leather shoes from dirt and dust.
2. Apply them with a special shoe polish that corresponds to color. Rub polishing material in softly with the help of soft cloth. Let the cream dry and absorb. Usually it takes no more than 30 minutes.
3. As soon as shoes will become dry, polish them using a piece of velour or polishing stone, then wipe them with a dry cloth.

Remember that it is not recommended to repeat such actions too often, otherwise leather may become too oily.

How to Store Leather Shoes

It is needed to take care of leather shoes not only during the period you use them. If you want to extend their lifetime, it is also necessary to provide favorable conditions of storage. For these purposes, you should use cardboard boxes or cloth covers. It is forbidden to keep leather shoes in plastic bags, because they don't provide them with air circulation.

To storage such products, you have to choose a dry place that is far from batteries, heaters, direct sunlight and moisture access. For all the period shoes or boots are not used, it is advisable to fill them with paper or insert special forms for shoes inside. This will let you prevent the loss of the original attractive look. Before you successfully forget about the product till the beginning of the next season, you should clean its surface from dirt and apply it with a water-repellent spray.

*How to Distinguish Genuine Leather Shoes from Artificial

Unfair manufacturers for the purpose of making money can issue leather-cloth goods for the genuine leather ones. Here are main criteria by which you can determine the authenticity of a particular pair of shoes and not to get scammed by unfair brands.

1. Heat Release

Genuine leather has ability to breathe, that lets it remove moisture and provide feet with warmth in cold weather and coolness during the warm part of the year. Synthetic materials are completely devoid of such an ability, because they have low breathability.

When choosing shoes, take the desired product and hold it for some time in hands. If product is made of genuine leather, then after a certain time after contact, it will still retain warmth. Synthetic materials become warm for a very long time, product made of them may seem unnatural to the touch.

2. Smell

Genuine leather has a special pleasant aroma, while leather-cloth has sharp, sometimes even unpleasant, specific smell. But using only this method of verification as the only one is not recommended, because manufacturers have learned how to fake the smell of shoes.

3. Elasticity

Leather-cloth over time becomes covered with folds and cracks, while genuine leather not. The last material is able to take the shape of foot, restore its original shape after bending, being resistant to deformation in general. That's why genuine leather has long term of life.

4. Pore Structure

Pores let genuine leather an opportunity to be breathable. Shoes made of natural material have a chaotic distribution of pores on the surface, and for leather-cloth it is common either not to have pores at all, or to have uniform spaced ones. But this method should be used only in combination with others. In some cases, manufacturers purposeful create an uneven pattern on the surface of shoes in hope of giving out to leather-cloth for genuine leather.

5. Temperature Exposure

You have almost no chances to use such a method in the store, but you can do this at home. Unlikely to leather-cloth, genuine leather burns very badly. In order not to damage shoes, conduct a test on the sample of material that you can find in box.

To do this test, you have to bring a source of open flame for some seconds at a close distance to a peace of leather and then look at the result. If the product becomes to melt, it is made of synthetic material. If not, it was made of genuine leather.

6. Moisture Exposure

High breathability lets genuine leather to push moisture out. To check shoes for the authenticity of the material, you can drop on it some water. If shoes are made of genuine leather, you will see that water will quickly disappear from the surface of shoes. In case of buying leather-cloth footwear, you will see that drops of water remain on the product, and then gradually roll down.

7. Label

In set with leather shoes, customers are usually given a scrap of material which is used to create a particular pair of footwear. In most cases it is attached to a label. A scrap of genuine leather product will follow the shape of animal's skin, while leather-cloth's scrap will have a rhombus shape.

Hopefully, these tips won't let you choose a fake. See all women's, men's and kids' genuine leather shoes on this page.

*How to Polish Leather Shoes

Leather shoes or boots will be the best choice for those who want to become an owner of high-quality shoes which can serve for many years. If you want your shoes to serve as long as possible, you should take care of them, timely clean from dirt and rub it to shine. Clean and well-groomed footwear lets you look presentable in any weather, so it is important to keep an eye on it in time.

What You Need to Get to Polish Leather Shoes

Leather shoes polishing is a painstaking process, which should be well organized. Before you begin, make sure that you have the following items:

• Wax, cream or spray.
• Horsehair brush.
• Water. Needed to make your shoes shine.
• Cloth. Flannel will be the best solution to remove dust and dirt, and suede is suitable for polishing.
• Toothbrush.
• Vaseline.

Preparation for Leather Shoes Polishing

Before you start polish your leather shoes, it is recommended to clean it from dirt and prepare for the procedure. Here are some tips to help you prepare for this process:

1. Cleaning from dirt. For this purpose, you can use special brush, while a piece of cloth can be used to remove dust from the surface of footwear. If shoes or boots got rained on, they need to be dried by putting old newspaper and another pieces of paper inside. After drying, apply petroleum jelly on footwear.
2. Prepare shoe polish products. You can see above which ones you will be needed. Take a close look on the instructions.
3. Prepare a work surface where you will polish shoes. Cover selected place with old newspapers and papers in order not to get it stained.

As soon as the preparation for shoe polishing ends, it is time to start the polishing process. Consider the most popular types of such procedure.

Standard Way of Polishing

Here are step-by-step instruction and basic recommendations for genuine leather shoes polishing:

1. If there are shoelaces in shoes, it is better to take them out in order to process the shoe tongue.
2. Place one hand prone inside the shoe, and then take a piece of damp cloth, remove the remnants of sand and dirt. If you will not do so, your shoes may be scratched during polishing.
3. Using a brush or soft cloth, apply circular polish on the surface of product with a uniform layer, then let the shoe dry for 15 minutes.
4. Hard to reach places can be processed with a toothbrush or cotton buds.
5. To remove cream residues, use a horsehair brush and rub the entire surface of shoes with quick and energetic movements of medium pressure. Friction creates the effect of heating, making shoes or boots soaked much better.
6. To give a dazzling shine to shoes, polish it with suede fabric, which should be taken with two hands at the edges, and then plough through the surface of goods.

Water Shine

The difference from the previous method is only in the final stage, when instead of suede fabric, lukewarm water should be used, as well as a rag or cotton ball. Water is necessary to keep the cream on the shoe, and not to stick to the rag. Instead of water, you can also use medical alcohol.

So, here's what to do next:

• Polish the cream with a rag or cotton ball with the help of circular and unhurried movements. Thoroughness of action is important, not speed.
• Wait, while shoes dry, moisten the fabric and apply another layer of cream. You will see how it starts to gain shine. Repeat the procedure until you reach the desired result.

Flamy Shine

Before using this method, it is recommended to remove the old layer of cream with the help of medical alcohol. Apply a few drops of the product onto the surface of shoes, then wipe with cloth.

The next step is to prepare the cream. You have to turn over the jar with the substance, bring it to the lighter for few seconds, then extinguish the flame. This will make cream more viscous.

After making these, perform the following steps:

• Dampen a piece of cloth in water, then in a melted substance. Then process shoes or boots with circular motions, leave them to dry. Repeat the procedure until shoes start to shine.
• With the help of hair dryer or lighter, heat the surface of shoes. Don't place the heat source too close to prevent damage to the product. The melted cream will cover shoes evenly, and then shoes should be allowed to dry for 15-20 minutes.
• Apply the last layer of cream and polish footwear with suede fabric.

See all available shoe care products on this page.

*How to Make Your Leather Shoes Softer

Even the most high-quality new shoes or boots at first can slightly rub feet, so corns will be an unpleasant consequence of buying expensive goods. In such cases, it will be useful to know to stretch leather footwear at home. Of course, you can walk in these shoes at home, wearing thick woolen socks, but this process may take a long time. Here are the main ways to achieve a faster result.

1. Influence of Boiling Water

A significant advantage of genuine leather in comparison with other materials is that it is more pliable, so you can stretch shoes made of it without any problems. The easiest way to achieve the desired result will be the impact of boiling water.

You should do these things:

• Put a pair of shoes in a wash-basin, pour little amount of boiling water inside, pour out some seconds later.
• Blot the moisture, let shoes cool.
• As soon as shoes become dry, walk for a few hours at home, also wearing thick woolen socks.

If you don't want your shoes to get wet, because there is inner or outer genuine fur, then type boiling water into in plastic bags, put shoes inside for a certain time.

2. Medical Alcohol

If you want to make leather shoes 1 size larger, try stretching them with medical alcohol. General procedure is:

• With the help of a cotton sponge and medical alcohol, moisten inner and outer part of each shoe.
• Wear shoes or boots at home for a couple of hours.

The stretching process is possible because of the softening of genuine leather, and as a result, product will take the shape of feet of its owner.

3. Ice Packs

Using an ice pack will have a similar effect. Here's how to apply this method:

• Put some water in 2 plastic bags, tie the well, put them inside the shoes you want to stretch.
• Put it all in the freezer, wait until the moisture will freeze.
• As soon as water turns into ice, pull these bags out of shoes.

Remember that such a method should be used with extreme caution, because not every pair of leather shoes will withstand such a serious test.

Look through all available products for leather products care on this page.

How To Clean Leather Shoes

Timely shoes cleaning lets to extend their lifetime. However, not everyone knows how to conduct such a procedure and what shouldn't be done under any circumstances. Here are some basic tips for leather shoes cleaning.

Some Leather Shoes Cleaning Tips

It is very difficult to care for leather boots in winter, when the weather is dirty or even snowy, because hard-to-remove white salt stains can appear on such products. Ordinary dirt can be removed with the help of soapy water. But remove white salt stains much harder.

The most popular ways of cleaning genuine leather shoes are:

• Treatment with a solution of water and vinegar in proportion of 2:1;
• Shoe surface treatment with a help of medical alcohol.

Immediately after cleaning, it is recommended to apply a special cream that restores the elasticity of the material.

How Not to Clean Shoes

Here are some tips on how not to clean leather shoes or boots:

1. With the help of wet wipes. It has long been invented shoe wipes. Common wet wipes may contain harmful substances, which may reduce durability of leather products.
2. With the help of care products intended for other materials. No one can say in advance what consequences this may cause for your pair of leather boots.
3. Before shoes or boots dry out. The only exceptions are cases, when dirt can be shaken off shoes without the use of special cleaning agents.

See all available for ordering genuine leather care products on this page.