Why Treating Leather Is Important

 

“Is treating leather necessary?”
 

That’s a question people ask all the time, but what they really want to know is what happens if they don’t treat their leather.

That’s an important question, and by the end of this article, you’ll know the answer.

Treating Leather: The Beginning
 

Before your leather belonged to you, it was the skin of an animal. And that creature naturally created oils that kept the skin soft and supple while it was alive. It wasn’t a conscious choice, but the original owner treated your leather on a regular basis.

However, when the animal was done living, its skin was turned into a hide that could no longer supply its own oils.

 

When Treatment Stops
 

Left untreated, any oil left in your leather will dissipate until the once supple fibers shrink and become brittle and hard. That’s bad.

When there’s no one regularly treating leather, not only does it make your leather feel horrible, it sets it up for unrepairable damage.

Instead of bending when the leather is flexed, stiff fibers will crack and break.

Unfortunately, once leather fibers crack and break, there is no way to repair the damage. You can immediately begin conditioning the leather item again, but treating leather that’s damaged only stops future damage from occurring.

Regularly treating leather from the moment that you first invest in it stops the above process and allows the leather fibers to remain healthy, soft, and supple.

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What About Coated Leathers?

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Coated leathers are typically split grain leather—meaning that the hide used to make your leather item was split into layers. This process makes the hide go further, but since it creates a thinner leather, a coating is added for more thickness and strength.

That coating doesn’t give the same protection as treating leather does.