The Proper Way to Care For Leather Boots

Leather boots don't come cheap so you need to take care of them so that they'll continue to look good and feel good on your feet every time you want to wear them. Boots can really take a lot of punishment from the pavement to the dance floor, outdoor concerts to everyday life. You need to take care of your leather boots so they will look as good as they did the first time you wore them.

As leather ages it develops its own patina - this is one of the major benefits to buying leather products. Because leather is an organic material, it will shape and stretch to your body's contours very closely giving you that perfect fit. Unfortunately, leather can begin to look as dull and tired as your skin if you don't take care of it, so you need to take care of it!

You need to give your leather boots every bit of TLC that they need in order to look their best. Keeping your boots clean and polished regularly goes a long way toward keeping them looking great. Polishing will help to protect your leather boots from scuffing and can help to weatherproof the leather itself to protect it from the elements, improving the overall look and feel of your boots over time.

For added water-resistant protection, you should purchase a tin of dubbin to use on your boots to give them an extra layer of weatherproofing care. Dubbin is what is known as a leather "feed" that is made from natural oils, wax and tallow that professionals use to waterproof, condition and soften leather products.

There is no pigment in dubbin as there is in shoe polish, so you will still need to purchase the appropriate color of shoe polish to buff your boots with if you need to restore the color and beauty of the leather itself, and use the dubbin as an added protective layer. If you use this combination of dubbin and shoe polish with your boots on a regular basis, you will help your leather to stay healthy - and your feet will stay dry and protected even in heavy rain storms.

Another element that can damage leather is direct heat, so be sure to never ever dry out wet boots with a hairdryer or other type of direct heat source. Direct heat can cause the surface of the leather to shrink away from the inner hide, causing permanent damage and cracking on the outer surface.

On the other hand, extreme cold temperatures are equally damaging and can cause the leather to become brittle and maybe even crack, so it is essential to protect your leather boots from any type of extreme element or temperature changes.