What Makes a Good Leather Conditioner? Oils, Balms, Waxes and Creams Explained
What Makes a Good Leather Conditioner?
Oils, Balms, Waxes and Creams Explained
Choosing a leather conditioner should be simple, but search online and you will find very different opinions about what you should use.
Some recommend liquid oils because they penetrate deeply into leather. Others favour creams, balms or traditional fats. You may even read that wax-containing conditioners should be avoided because they can clog the leather's pores or prevent it from “breathing”.
So which type should you actually buy?
The important thing is not whether a conditioner happens to be an oil, cream or balm. It is what the complete formulation is designed to achieve.
For most everyday smooth leather, we believe a good conditioner should do three things:
condition the leather, help maintain softness and suppleness, and provide useful surface protection without unnecessarily saturating it.
That balance is exactly why Renapur Leather Balsam combines conditioning oils with protective waxes rather than relying on either one alone.
Is deeper penetration always better?
One of the main arguments for liquid and oil-based conditioners is their ability to penetrate deeply into leather.
Oils certainly can be useful for lubricating leather fibres. In fact, our balsam itself contains conditioning oils.
But the ability to penetrate deeply is not, by itself, evidence that one conditioner is better than another.
Leather needs an appropriate amount of lubrication. It does not necessarily need to absorb as much oil as possible.
Heavy applications can also be difficult to reverse once they have soaked into the leather. Different oils behave differently over time, and excessive treatment can affect colour, feel and appearance.
So rather than asking:
“Which conditioner penetrates deepest?”
we think the better question is:
“Does this conditioner give my leather the conditioning and protection it actually needs?”
Good leather care is about maintaining leather, not saturating it.
Why combine oils with waxes?
This is where a leather balsam differs from a straightforward liquid oil.
Renapur Leather Balsam contains jojoba oil and avocado oil, which provide the conditioning part of the formulation.
It also contains beeswax and carnauba wax, which contribute protection at the surface.
The two parts have different jobs.
The oils help maintain the leather's softness and suppleness.
The waxes help protect the surface against everyday moisture, handling and wear.
That means a properly formulated balsam can condition and protect in a single treatment.
Our balsam is therefore not simply a wax polish, nor is it simply an oil.
It is a combination of the two approaches.
Condition
Jojoba oil + avocado oil
Help maintain softness and suppleness
Protect
Beeswax + carnauba wax
Help guard against everyday moisture, handling and wear
Does wax clog leather's pores or stop it “breathing”?
You may come across claims that wax-containing leather conditioners clog the leather's pores, stop it breathing and can eventually cause it to dry out or deteriorate.
There is no evidence that the presence of wax in a properly formulated leather conditioner means it will damage suitable leather or prevent it from “breathing”.
Leather does have a porous fibre structure and interacts with moisture in its environment, but that does not mean wax-containing conditioners are harmful.
The important point is that oils and waxes perform different roles, and a leather balsam can be formulated to use both effectively.
Oils help condition the leather, while waxes can provide useful protection at the surface.
That is exactly why Renapur Leather Balsam combines both.
Our balsam is concentrated and designed to be used extremely sparingly. The aim is not to seal the leather beneath a heavy coating, but to leave a fine protective finish while conditioning it at the same time.
What about oils, creams, fats and other conditioners?
There is nothing inherently wrong with a conditioner simply because it comes in another form.
Liquid and oil conditioners can provide useful lubrication, but absorption alone does not tell you whether the leather is also being protected at the surface.
Creams and lotions can be easy to spread and perfectly suitable for many applications, but formulations vary enormously. A creamy consistency does not automatically tell you how much conditioning or protection the product provides.
Traditional oils and fats, including products based around mink or neatsfoot oil, have a long history in leather care, particularly for working leather. However, different fats and oils vary in stability, can significantly darken some leathers and may oxidise over time.
This is also why household cooking oils should never be treated as an alternative to a purpose-made leather conditioner.
And at the other end of the scale, a traditional wax polish can provide excellent shine and surface protection, but a wax polish alone is not necessarily providing the conditioning that dry leather requires.
The advantage of a balsam is that it can bring those two requirements together.
What does independent testing tell us?
We do not base the protective benefits of Renapur Leather Balsam simply on what we believe the ingredients should do.
Renapur Leather Balsam has been independently tested by BLC, formerly the British Leather Confederation and now part of Eurofins as Eurofins | BLC Leather Technology Centre.
BLC tested the effect of the balsam on grain leather using a Maeser dynamic water-resistance test.
Untreated leather experienced water penetration after between 10,000 and 12,000 flexes.
After treatment with Renapur Leather Balsam, the tested leather showed no water penetration after 28,000 to 30,000 flexes.
BLC concluded that applying Renapur Leather Balsam as instructed significantly improved the water resistance of the grain leathers tested.
It was also noted in the report that the treated leather felt softer and more supple after treatment with the balsam, and no adverse effects on the leather were recorded during the testing.
For us, this illustrates exactly what a good leather conditioner should be trying to achieve: conditioning and protection working together.
So which type of leather conditioner should you choose?
There is no single conditioner that is right for every leather.
Suede, nubuck, fully aniline and some specialist leathers require different care, which is why we always recommend checking suitability and carrying out a small patch test first.
But for suitable smooth leather, we believe there is a strong case for choosing a well-formulated balsam containing both conditioning oils and protective waxes.
It gives you the conditioning benefits of oils without making maximum penetration the objective, while also providing the surface protection that a straightforward oil may not.
That is why Renapur Leather Balsam contains:
Jojoba and avocado oils to condition.
Beeswax and carnauba wax to protect.
Renapur Leather Balsam is backed by more than 20,000 customer reviews across Amazon and our own website, and millions of pots have been sold worldwide.
And because it is concentrated, only a very small amount is needed.
Ultimately, the best leather conditioner should not be judged by how much product you can get the leather to absorb.
It should be judged by how well it looks after the leather.
Discover Renapur Leather Balsam
For more information about when to condition leather, which leathers are suitable and how to apply conditioner correctly, read our Complete Guide to Leather Conditioner.
If you are specifically caring for footwear, you can also read our guide to cleaning, restoring, conditioning and protecting leather shoes and boots.
Frequently asked questions
Can you use leather conditioner on leather shoes?
Leather oils can provide useful conditioning, while a well-formulated balsam can combine the conditioning benefits of oils with the protective benefits of waxes.
That is why we believe a balsam such as Renapur Leather Balsam offers a more complete approach for suitable smooth leather, conditioning and protecting in one treatment.
Does beeswax damage leather?
No, beeswax does not damage leather when it is used as part of a properly formulated leather care product on suitable leather.
Renapur Leather Balsam has been used for more than 30 years, and we have never had a case of it damaging a leather it was intended for. In independent BLC testing, no adverse effects on the leather were recorded.
Does leather need to breathe?
Leather has a porous structure and exchanges moisture with its surroundings, but this does not mean that wax-containing leather conditioners prevent it from “breathing”.
Renapur Leather Balsam is formulated specifically for suitable smooth leather, where the waxes provide a fine protective finish while the oils condition the leather beneath.