How To Make Leather Balm

Leather loves to be nourished. Regularly treating your leather shoes with any sort of leather treatment will ensure that the leather stays soft and protected from humidity and mold. It will prevent the leather from stiffening and cracking as well. With time, the leather will acquire a nice patina. Making a good homemade leather balm to nourish the leather is a cheap and easy way to care for your moccasins.

This simple recipe allows you to make cheap and quality cream that can be used as much as desired on any kind of leather, but also on your skin.

How To Make Your Leather Balm At Home

How To Make Leather Balm


Only two ingredients are necessary:

– Beeswax
– Vegetable oil (sunflower, olive, colza… as you wish)

The oil will penetrate in the leather to nourish it, and the beeswax will act as a water repellant.

For beeswax, you can ask your local beekeeper or recycle the left over of an old candle for instance. My local beekeeper sales it to about 20 euros a kilo. You would need only 100 or 200 grams.

Beeswax To Make Leather Balm

The choice of oil does not have much influence, but never use so-called “table” oil (rapeseed, peanuts, or other), over time the oil will go rancid. For a leather balm that is stable over time, use linseed oil. Also, olive oil tends to darken the leather a little more.

The idea is to melt together ¼ of beeswax and ¾ of oil. 100 grams of beeswax will give you 400 grams of leather balm. It lasts very long! Boil water in a small pot in which you place a jar with a small amount of beeswax. It is more practical to choose a jar with a wide mouth and rather flat.

DIY Leather Balm With Beeswax

Let the beeswax melt completely.

When the beeswax is melted, visualize the level of this liquid and add three times this volume of vegetable oil. Let it warm up a little longer until all the beeswax and the oil melts together. You can use a spoon or a wooden stick to stir it up.

Let it cool down. The texture should be creamy at room temperature. If it is too hard, warm it up again and add a little more oil.

That’s all!

How to Use Your Homemade Leather Balm

To care for your moccasins, apply this leather balm with a brush, a soft cloth, or a sponge, or even your fingers. Rub it well into the leather. The leather will temporarily darken, but it will find its original color again after a few days. After the leather has absorbed the cream, wipe the excess with a soft cloth. If you want a more shinny finish, you can buff it by rubbing the leather more.

 

Now you know how to take care of your leather moccasins. I hope that you will take good care of them and make good use of them.