How to Darken Leather Shoes- Useful Tips and Tricks

Since fashion came into existence, Leather shoes have played a significant role in the style statement. If you are fond of elegant and classy shoes, you would have a pair of leather shoes in your wardrobe. Regardless of gender, everyone these days is fond of leather shoes.

How to Darken Leather Shoes
Leather shoes need special attention and proper maintenance, whether you have vintage shoes or the one you bought last month. Moreover, even when you are maintaining your shoes correctly, the natural oil of leather boots starts reducing, and you will notice that boots are worn out. Over time, leather shoes lose their shine and color.

It is heartbreaking to see your expensive leather shoes worn out, isn’t it? But now, there is good news for you; you can easily and quickly darken your leather shoes to bring the same glory and shine. Now there is no need to throw your leather shoes; just check out the method below to darken your leather shoes. It is a time to give your leather boots a new life before they end up in the trash.

Before you start using the right way to darken your leather boots, it is essential to know a perfect way, the reason being if you use the wrong method or wrong product on your leather shoes, they will eventually damage your boots. Choosing the right way is essential to save your leather shoes from hardening, shrinking and more.

Here are some steps that you must keep in mind before you start darkening your favourite leather shoes.

  • Before you darken your shoes, make sure you clean them with water and a rag. If you do not clean them, dirt present in your shoes will get trapped into the material. And ensure you don’t apply any darkening material until your shoes are dried up.
  • You must know that all darkening materials are chemicals, which can destroy your floor or carpet, so make sure you apply some newspaper or unwanted clothes under your shoes at the time of using the darkening material.
  • Most products are used to darken your leather boots, but as they have some or other chemicals, it is always better to avoid your skin contact with such chemicals. Make sure you wear nitrile gloves at the time of darkening your leather shoes.

Ways to perfectly darken your leather boots

Vegetable oil

Have you ever heard, vegetable oils can be used for your leather shoes shine and glory? If not, let me tell you that using vegetable oil is a simpler and quicker way to darken your leather shoes.

You can use olive oil, canola oil and coconut oil for darkening your leather shoes. The best part of using vegetable oil is it not only restore the shine but also helps in refreshing the leather of your shoes. It allows your shoes to last longer than usual. You must keep in mind a few things while using vegetable oil; it is vital to check whether the oil you are using is rancid or not.

Never use rancid oil, as the foul odour of the oil can get into the leather during the process. There is also an important thing to take care of while applying vegetable oil on leather shoes that you must know to use excess oil as they could leave a stain on your leather shoes. Only a small amount of oil is sufficient to darken your leather shoes and to retain their shine. You have to remove the excess oil and let them dry before you wear it.

Animal oils

Mink oil is a popular animal oil that is used for darkening leather shoes. Animal oil can quickly restore the color and glow of your boots. Such oil is much better than vegetable oil as it also helps in conditioning your leather shoes.

Animal oils
Conditioning your leather boots are essential to prevent the extraction of moisture from leather. It is essential to use a small amount of animal oil and use another coat only when the first one is dried up thoroughly. There is one problem with using excess animal oil is its oversaturation, which means it may lead to absorption of extra oil and results in staining.

Also Read: Is mink oil good for leather boots

Speciality Boot care products

All speciality boot care products are made up of animal oils, rexin, petroleum oil and more chemicals. Although using a speciality boot care product is one of the best decisions you could make to darken your leather shoes. They are the best product to leave a dark hue on your leather boots and also perfect for conditioning your favourite leather shoes.

Speciality Boot care products
All boot care products help nourish your shoes, give perfect shine, and even aid in waterproofing. If you want the darkest tone for your shoes, then nothing is better than this combination. Consistently get high-quality boor care products; they will leave your leather shoes to look supple and fresh.

The beauty of such products are, they are specially made for leather shoes, so they don’t have any adverse effects on your leather boots. They are quite expensive but worth buying if you want to restore the glow and color of your leather shoes.

Shoe Polish

You can always darken your leather shoes with perfect shoe polish. It is a cheaper and simpler method to darken your best leather boots. Using a shoe polish is a tedious task until you don’t know the right way. A sloppy way of polish will not satisfy you, and you will get the same texture as you get with a perfect polishing method.

If your boots have faded, you can easily use shoe polish and apply a double coat for the best results. Shoe polish is perfect if you want a bit darker shade of your original leather shoes’ color.

The Final Verdict

Now when you have the above methods to darken your leather shoes, you can easily retain the original shine and glory of your favourite shoes at home. Instead of buying a new one or throwing your old pair into the trash, try any methods to darken your leather shoes and enjoy the new look.

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