Your investment in the finest leather shoes for formal occasions will be for naught if they start to look wrinkled and disheveled after only a few hours.
Leather shoes will naturally develop folds and creases after prolonged use, poor storage, or care. Full-grain, top-grain, genuine, and authentic leather, along with nubuck and suede, are all fair game.
Yet, is it possible to fix leather shoes that have creases? Simply put, yes. Using a low-heat iron and a good quality conditioner, you can remove creases from leather shoes.
For a quick rundown of our 8-stage procedure:
To add, if you want to make a more eco-friendly fashion choice, try ironing out the wrinkles in your leather shoes before buying a new pair. You'll need the following items to revive your leather shoes and smooth out their wrinkled appearance:
- 100% cotton, lint-free towel
- Use a low-temperature iron
- Newspapers
- The Perfect Soap for Cleaning Leather
- Lotion for leather
- Shoe tree
The use of heat to remove creases from leather shoes presents a unique challenge. Overheating leather can damage or even scorch the material, so be careful when using heat.
The Cause of Creased Leather Shoes
Everyday leather shoes will naturally show signs of wear and tear; however, the most common cause of creases in leather shoes is the repeated bending of the shoe at a single area (where the toes meet the foot), especially over a long period of time.
A mismatch in size is another common cause of wrinkled leather shoes. Leather shoes that are a perfect fit for you will have fewer wrinkles than those that are too big.
Without some sort of internal support, like newspapers or shoe trees, leather footwear can become creased or wrinkled during storage.
Since new pairs of high-quality leather shoes can be quite pricey, it is a much more practical and economical plan to simply iron out the wrinkles in your current pair.
If you take the time to remove the creases and polish your leather shoes, you can make them look like new and ready for any formal event. Alright, so let's get going.
1) Use Soap and Water to Clean Leather Shoes
Removing creases from leather footwear begins with a thorough cleaning. Sand, dirt, and dust can accumulate on your shoes, so use a cleaning brush to remove it.
The next step is to wipe down the upper of your shoe with a leather soap solution or saddle soap and a clean, lint-free cloth to remove any superficial scuffs or tough dirt.
The Pink Miracle Shoe Cleaner is great for cleaning leather and is safe for use with container saddle soap and other natural products.
We recommend Fiebing's White Saddle Soap to anyone who wants genuine saddle soap. To keep dirt and debris from embedding themselves into the leather of your shoes, use one of these solutions.
You should use a leather soap solution to gently clean both shoes, and then wipe them down with a soft, dry cloth to remove any remaining soap residue.
2 Loosen Your Shoelaces
Remove the laces from both of your shoes after cleaning them with a leather soap solution and drying them off. Folds are easier to reach this way. The time has come to put away your shoelaces.
Wrap the newspaper around your ankles and stuff it into your shoes.
One should remove the shoelaces from both shoes and stuff them with newspaper in order to lengthen the leather. This process will help your foot conform to the inside of the shoe and smooth out any wrinkles.
However, because of their hard surface and the fact that they don't always stretch out the areas where the creases are, we don't recommend using shoe trees for removing creases from leather shoes.
Make sure you only put down as many newspapers as you need to smooth out the creases. If you overstuff the shoes with newspapers, the leather will stretch and lose its shape.
4. Cover your shoes with a damp cloth.
This is the most important step, so be sure to do it right! Put a damp washcloth or lint-free cloth on your leather shoes. To protect the leather's quality, make sure the cloth is only slightly damp rather than drenched.
To avoid any potential color transfer from the cloth to the leather shoes, we advise using a white cloth for the process. Do not skip this procedure, as doing so will increase the risk of scorching and melting your leather shoes instead of smoothing out the creases.
Iron Shoes with a Low Heat Setting
Iron the crease slowly and lightly on a low heat setting after first applying a damp cloth to the creased leather. When you press a damp cloth with a hot iron, steam will rise from the fabric.
Because of the heat and steam, the leather can be pliable and stretched to get rid of wrinkles. You need to be careful, though, not to let the iron rest in one place for too long. The leather shoe's exterior should be creased by alternating between several different areas for three seconds at a time.
If you want to avoid scorching the leather, apply the iron's heat gently and sparingly. It may take several passes to remove deep creases, so keep the fabric damp to speed up the process.
Pay close attention to the places where the creasing is the most severe, and take care not to burn your fingers. Do not give up if your cloth dries out; simply re-wet it and keep going until you achieve the desired effect.
Six, Treat Leather Shoes with Conditioner
If you want to keep your leather shoes from becoming brittle as a result of the drying effects of steam and moisture, you must regularly replenish the leather with the proper oils. To keep your leather shoes from creasing or cracking further, use a leather conditioner to replenish the leather's natural oils.
First, make sure your shoes are bone dry, and then use a dry cloth to apply a leather conditioner. You can use any good leather conditioner. We'd highly recommend the KIWI Shoe Conditioning Oil if you're looking for input.
While you should work on the entire surface, you should pay special attention to the spots that have already suffered minor creases and scuffs so that you can prevent any further wear.
Seven, tie your shoelaces again
The final step in transforming your creased and dull leather shoes into shiny and new ones is to replace the laces and take a look.
Make Sufficient Shoe Space Availability #8
If you want your leather shoes to last as long as possible, you should always keep them in a dry, dark place. Place your leather shoes on shoe trees inside of a dry shoebox.
Shoe trees have the dual function of gently stretching and absorbing moisture, allowing leather shoes to retain their original shape for longer. It's not a good idea to let your leather shoes dry in the sun because doing so can cause permanent damage to the leather.
Removal of Creases from Leather Shoes: Advice
If you followed our instructions for removing creases from leather shoes, we hope you're pleased with the results. To help you out with this procedure and to stop wrinkles from forming in the first place, we have compiled a list of some of the best practices and most important tips to keep in mind.
- Properly storing your leather footwear is essential because unlike fabric shoes, leather footwear is less pliable and more prone to developing creases. So, to protect your leather shoes, stuff them in shoe trees or newspapers.
- Invest in Quality Products - When cleaning or conditioning your leather shoes, stick to products that are made from non-harmful materials. Because of its porous nature, leather readily absorbs stains, odors, and other unwanted substances.
- When ironing out creases in leather shoes, always place a damp cloth between the iron and the leather. Leather shoes are easily ruined by exposure to high temperatures, so use caution when ironing them.
