How to Remove Creases From Leather Shoes

If you are looking to buy long-lasting shoes, leather is a smart choice because it is naturally resistant to tearing, splitting, abrasions, and cracking. However, one issue you have to deal with if you opt to wear leather footwear is leather shoe creasing. Creasing typically makes leather shoes look worn and older. Happily, there are easy ways to remove creases from leather shoes. This article will discuss some easy tricks and tips to get rid of wrinkles from your leather shoes. First, though, you need to understand what causes leather shoe creasing.

See also: How to Protect White Leather Shoes

Why do leather shoe crease?

1. Walking:

Leather is a natural material so it is flexible, supple, and becomes more pliable as you wear it. When you bend your feet while walking, creasing will unavoidably occur. If your shoes do not bend or twist as you walk, you will experience a great deal of discomfort. Depending on how you walk and your feet’s shape, creases will emerge on areas where the leather is twisted the most.

2. Fit:

Ill-fitting shoes especially excessively large shoes tend to crease easily. Excessively large shoes typically have excess space between the shoes’ upper and the foot. Due to this excess space, the foot is not able to properly uphold the shoe’s shape leading to creasing.

3. Moisture:

Creasing can also be caused by prolonged exposure to excess moisture. This is because moisture causes leather shoes to shrink. Shoes made with poor quality leather tend to crease faster compared to the ones made with full-grain leather

4. Design:

Sometimes, the leather shoe design contributes to the creasing. For example, shoes crafted from a single piece of pure leather tend to crease more compared to the ones made using multiple leather pieces.

See also: How Often Should You Replace Work Shoes?

Top 3 Ways to Remove Creasing on Leather Shoes

1. Iron out the Crease

• Crumple up some old newspapers and stuff them into your leather shoes. The newspaper will help to uphold the shoe’s shape
• Get an electric iron and set its temperature regulator to approximately 270C (800F)
• Get a white towel and dampen it. Squeeze out any excess water to ensure the towel is not saturated
• Fold the towel into two and position it on the part of your shoe where the creases are
• Place the heated iron on the damp towel that is on top of your shoe. Using a gentle circular motion, iron the towel to remove all wrinkles or creases on the shoe. Once you are done with ironing, let the shoe cool down with the newspapers inside it.

Remember that excessive heat can ruin the leather so take care to ensure the iron does not come in direct contact with your shoes. You may want to repeat this process until all wrinkles are removed.

2. Use Leather Conditioner to Remove Creasing

• Get a good leather oil or conditioner and apply it to the whole shoe. Applying to the entire shoe will help preserve the shoe’s uniform look.
• Insert a shoe tree into the shoe to ensure the leather stay stretched
• Use your fingers to massage the conditioner deep into the creased parts of the shoe. This will help relax the leather and remove the creasing.

See also: How to Keep Shoes from Dry Rotting

3. Use Cedar Shoe Tree plus a Hairdryer to Remove Deep Creases

• Insert a cedar shoe tree into the shoe. This will help stretch out the wrinkles.
• Get a hairdryer and set it to low heat.
• Switch the hairdryer on and hold it approximately 5 inches away from the shoe’s surface.
• Keep the hairdryer moving to lightly heat the shoes, relax the leather and eliminate the creases.

Be careful not to hold the hairdryer in one area to prevent warping the leather.