This is my own mistake, and I have seen many people make the same mistakes. We have the consciousness of caring leather. It stands to reason that we are better than those how don’t care, but we are not necessarily better than those without caring.
Using mink oil as conditioner
When I wanted to learn how to care dress shoes, the first thing I really learned was to care for leather goods with mink oil. Of course, it’s not just leather shoes, bags, boots and sofas. As long as they are leather, they all use mink oil, which is especially awesome!
Columbus mink oil maybe the best seller of all, red glass bottle, very eye-catching.
Columbus is indeed a big name in this industry. Although this product is entry level, its classification and pertinence are also extremely comprehensive.
Mink oil is used to care for boots or football shoes, period.
If you frequently apply mink oil on dress shoes, two very serious and basically irreparable consequences come.
Leather is excessively softened and tarnished.
The purpose of oiling (care products in a broad sense) is to keep the leather from being dry. If it is excessive, it means that the leather fibers will be relaxed forever. The concentration of mink oil is very high, so this effect is particularly strong, which is why workboots choose it.
I can’t explain clearly the theoretical reason for losing luster, not because mink oil is sticky and dusty, which is more obvious, but because it is related to the internal structure of leather. But the phenomenon exists.
Only using shoe cream
Does the shoe cream have a conditioning effect? Yes, because there is oil or grease in the ingredients. But the most important function is colouring, which is a combination of conditioner, dye and shoe wax.
Many people apply shoe cream every time, and the dry-up wax and cream stack layer by layer.
If it is conditioner, it will be absorbed into the leather or emitted, while shoe cream, the dye can not enter the leather in large quantities, so it will completely accumulate on the leather surface. In this way, the leather is no longer breathable, your feet are uncomfortable, and the humidity inside the leather cannot be emitted. And the care products you put on later can’t even touch the leather.
Overconditioning
I never have this issue because I am a very economical person. But I’ve heard a lot about it. Care products are used once a week. The disadvantage of this is similar to that of mink oil. Over-oiling makes leather soft and age faster.
Summary
Choose the right product, use it moderately.