Caring for and Cleaning Lambskin Leather
A question we’re often asked by our clients is how to care for or clean lamb skin leather. Lambskin leather has a reputation for being high maintenance so below we’ve outlined our best practices for looking after your lambskin shoes, clothing and accessories.
Like it sounds lambskin leather is derived from the hide of a young sheep. The leather is distinguishable by its fine grained and smooth appearance as well as its soft texture on touch.
The lightweight nature and softened appearance of lambskin leather makes it a popular material for shoes, accessories and jackets or clothing. Its luxurious appearance also means it is used by many designer brands and labels such as Chanel.
Although lambskin leather has many desirable properties, the material is very fragile and can damage easily with improper care. Some well known issues with lambskin leather are its susceptibility to scratches, tears, stains and discolouration.
How to Care for Lambskin Leather?
Lambskin leather should never get wet or be washed, we recommend applying a silicon-free leather protector to prevent any stains or damage, particularly from rainwater. A standard waterpoofer is not ideal as you risk permanently destroying the leather. Instead use a silicon-free water protector made specifically for delicate or sensitive leathers.
Lambskin leather goods also needs to be properly stored within a dustbag usually hanging or above ground within a cool environment, away from both sunlight and moisture. A dust bag is best for storage as it allows the leather to breathe and prevents it from going musty.
General maintenance of lambskin leather is also important. We recommend regularly using a quality leather conditioner thats rich in nutrients for keeping lambskin fibres supple and preserving the character of the leather. Leather conditioners are also useful for general cleaning and helps prevent tears.
Lambskin leather tears quite easily. This is especially the case for leathers that haven’t been waterproofed, nourished and conditioned. Over time the fibres become more brittle and less flexible increasing the risk of a leather tear. A repair or “invisible patch” will often be required to mask the damage.
Cleaning Lambskin Leather
For non-permanent marks and “general cleaning” a high quality leather conditioner can be used for cleaning lambskin leather. Apply a small dab of conditioner onto a clean cloth and gently massage the cream into the leather to remove any grime or marks.
DIY lambskin leather cleaning still poses hazards as many leather conditioners are not formulated for cleaning or restoring sensitive leather fibres and can even worsen a stain or completely strip the finish of the leather.
While there are many home remedies for stains, scratches or discolouration to lambskin leather, these should never be tested on your expensive leather goods.
In our experience, cleaning lambskin leather professionally will often require a combination of chemical solvents and redyeing (recolouring) to restore the leather to its original appearance.
As such for treatment of stains or discolouration on lambskin leather, we always recommend our clients use our professional leather restoration services, particularly for their expensive or designer leather goods.
How to Clean Lambskin Leather
- Clean with a damp cotton cloth use a damp clean cotton cloth to wipe of any grime or marks. Do not apply water directly or wash the leather as this may leave a watermark.
- Apply a leather conditioner dab a high quality nourishing conditioner onto a clean cotton cloth and massage into all external and internal areas of the leather.
- Waterproof the leather lambskin leather should be waterproofed prior to wearing, apply a few coats of silicon-free water protector to the external areas of the item.
- For stains, scratches or discolouration the leather will likely require professional restoration. We suggest getting in touch with our team.
