Have you noticed your leather product splitting or cracking? Genuine (not faux) leather offers a truly brilliant appearance that’s not found in other materials. Its neutral color combined with subtle grain and ultra-comfortable texture, makes it the perfect textile for jackets, belts, shoes, furniture, and other products. However, it’s also susceptible to cracking if not properly care for.
What Causes Leather To Crack?
This is a question many people ask, especially if they’ve never owned a product made of genuine leather before. To better understand this phenomenon, you must first look at the properties of leather. If you were to observe it under a microscope, you would notice the surface contains thousands upon thousands of small holes (known as pores).
These pores are responsible for withholding and releasing moisture, depending on the surrounding humidity. When leather is exposed to high-humid environments for a prolonged period of time, it will absorb the surrounding moisture. But when it’s exposed to low-humid environments for a prolonged period of time, the opposite will happen and will release moisture. If enough moisture is released from the leather, it will begin to split and crack open.
Preventing Leather From Cracking Open
Protecting your leather from damage caused by splitting and cracking is actually a lot easier than most people realize. Going back the underlying cause of this phenomenon, splitting/cracking occurs when leather is exposed to exceptionally dry environments. Therefore, conventional wisdom should lead you to believe that it can be prevented by storing your leather product(s) in an environment with a moderate climate. A good rule of thumb is to sustain a relative humidity of 40-50% in the environment in which you intend to store your leather.
Fixing Cracked Leather
So, what can you do fix leather that’s already cracked? Unfortunately, there’s no way to completely remove large cracks unless you take the product to a professional leather repair company. With that said, you can reduce the appearance of such cracks by using a leather moisturizer or conditioning product. Mink oil tends to work well at hiding cracks and other forms of damage on leather. Simply blot the damaged area with a lint-free microfiber cloth with a small amount of mink oil. Next, rub the mink oil into the leather until it’s no longer visible. This should reduce the visibility of the cracked/damaged area.