Henry Beguelin - Hair-on bag - Need suggestions on how to inmprove look on damage hair-on.

>>> Customer has suggested shaving part of it to make it look like it was part of the bags design.

I think this is more of a re-designing issue to camouflage out the damages.
Shaving is one option, dyeing to the shaved out design to match the color of the hair may be an option as well.

>>> The customer has placed the bag on something which has caused part of the bag that has horse hair on it to lose its hair.

There are no signs of stains and I believe it could most likely caused by the larvae of moths that chew away from the base of the hair. Mothproofing it with Mothproof-5.4 may prevent such future damages worthwhile considering.

Roger Koh
Leather Care Consultant
[email protected]
[email protected]

For your further readings:

Attachment 4034
Leather Doctor® Kit-H4 is an innovative leather-safe (pH 3 - 5) system designed for keeping hair-on hide at their highest level of appearance, enhancing their softness and strength and prevents premature ageing. The tell tale sign of hide starving for fat and oil is the creases, wrinkles and fold lines during shipping or storage that fail to make the rug lay flat. As the hides are almost returning to rawhide with lack of fat and oil it becomes noisy as the fiber becomes stick together. The reverse suede side, which we do not see, is vital in producing a pleasing appearance and need to be relaxed and soften up. Rejuvenating the suede side is accomplished by Hydrator-3.3 first to relax and separate the stick together fiber prior to fat and oil replenishing. Fatliquor-5.0 with its fat plumps the suede and the oil lubricate for softness without darkening effect. A well-rejuvenated hide will lie as flat without curls to the edges is a job well done. Cleaning to the suede side is performed with Clean-3.8 follows with Rinse-3.0 using a suede Brush-3 / Eraser-5 and towel extract. The hair side is clean with Clean-5.5 follows with Rinse-4.0 towel extracts and groom with suede Brush-3. Protector-S+ imparts is silky-feel rub-resistant to lubricates the hair from abrasion wear when the hair is rubbed and a non-stick properties to shield the hair from silky soiling as a preventive care. Moreover, it diffuses a classic leather scent to charm. Note that the mentioned product suffix number denotes its pH value in this leather-safe holistic care system for hair-on-hide.

Instruction:

Hair-on Hide (Hair Side Cleaning & Conditioning):

1st phase – Dry Soil Removal:
1 - Vacuum off foreign soiling with help of suede Brush-3.

2nd phase – Wet Soil Removal:
1 - Apply Clean-5.5, brush along the lay of hair in one direction and towel extract until it shows clean.
2 - Spray Rinse-4.0 and towel extract to a squeaky-clean.
3 - Let natural drying and dry towel wipe of wick-up soiling.

3rd phase – Hydrating:
Hydrating from the hair side is inevitable when the suede side is closed and only logical entry to the leather up such as handbags, furniture and furnishing. Hydrating is the preconditioner for effective fatliquoring and working together rejuvenate the leather for suppleness with softness and strength. The strength of the hair depends on the health of the leather and when leather becomes too dry the hair easily falls out with friction rubs. Hydrating is to relax the skin of stiffness from diminishing fatliquor. Fatliquor diminishes as the skin ages, accelerated when expose to direct heat and evaporates as VOC (volatile organic compound). Stiffness is common from a water damage situation too, when fatliquor leaches out, and when it becomes dry again the fibrils becomes stick together. Hydrating is to precondition the skin for an effective fat and oil replenishing; it helps to relax and separate the stick together fibrils and opens up the inter-fibrillary spaces for effective colloidal water movement within the leather structure. It facilitates to wick-up foreign contamination to be towel extracted when damp and erased when crispy dry. It plumps the leather to ease away the unnatural creases and wrinkles. It stabilizes the pH integrity of the skin and charges the skin protein fiber ionic positive below its iso-electric point (pI) to hydrogen bond with the ionic negative fatliquor more effectively. It is recommended therefore to hydrate the skin to an optimum level, with moistures oozing out when gently pressed between thumb and fingers. Prolong dwell time will maximize the effects with the help of covering with clear plastic to prevent evaporation.
1 - The hair is comb back to reveal the skin or leather and Hydrator-3.3 is spray direct into it to wet out and saturate the skin.
2 - Effective dwell time to relax the skin may take up to 72hrs with evaporation control depending on severity of dryness.

4th phase – Fatliquoring:
Fatliquor-5.0 an emulsion of fat and oil originally introduces to the skin to impart it desirous suppleness continues to diminish through evaporation as the skin ages, accelerated when exposed to heat. It diminishes through leaching as well in a non leather-safe solution, manifest as stiffness when the skin becomes dry again. Replenishing is done with “fatliquor-in-a-bottle” as a spray-on instead of the original immersion method. Fatliquor, the lifeblood of leathers derived from fats, oils and water. Looks like fresh milk, when applies penetrates the leather and hydrogen bond with the skin protein fiber. The fat plumps the skin with fullness, the oil lubricates the individual fibrils and the encasing water breaks free leaving the inter-fibrillary spaces void for transpiration. Effective fatliquoring will leave a non-greasy or non-oily surface when dry. Besides softening the skin with flatness, fatliquor enhances its rip tensile strength greatly. It relaxes coarse breaks, creases and wrinkles and prevents cracking. It helps to keep the skin at its optimum physical performance and prevent premature ageing. The attachment of hair on the skin depends much on the health and strength of the skin to hold it.
1 - The hair is comb back to reveal the skin or leather and Fatliquor-5.0- is sprayed direct into it to wet out and saturate the skin.
2 - More is applied when the water contents evaporates leaving behind the fat and oil.
3 - The hair is clean with Hydrator-3.3 by spraying and wiping it off with a terry towel.

5th phase – Mothproofing (optional):
MothProof-5.4 works by being absorbed into the skin and will slowly release vapors repelling insects causing damages.
1 - Shake well, groom and spray deep into the skin with help of a comb.
2 - Let natural dry, groom with a comb or slick brush for a bloom.

6th phase – Non-Stick, Rub-Resistant Protection:
1 - Shake well, mist spray Protector-S+ evenly and brush-in with towel to pick up soiling at the same time.
2 - When dry thereafter groom with suede Brush-3 for best appearance and it is ready for use.

Attachment 4035
Leather Doctor® MothProof-5.4 is design for hair-on hide, woolskin, sheepskin, shearling, and feather. This is a pH 5.4 aqueous leather and wool-safe mothproofing agent. It works by being absorbed into the skin and will slowly release vapors repelling insects causing damages.

Instruction:
1 Identify, inspect, dry soil removal prior to application.
2 Thoroughly cleaned prior to application.
3 Apply only on “wet-able” leathers.
4 Shake well, groom and spray deep into the cleaned skin with help of a slick brush.
5 Let dry naturally, when dry, groom with a slick brush for a bloom.

Attachment 4036

Leather Doctor® Kit-A7.cl, aniline leather dye refinishing kit is designed for dyestuff and topcoat refinishing from the simple sunlight fading to the severely sweat damages from body oil and grease. Most severely penetrated, prolonged and neglected stains show a darkening effect with a sticky feel have its topcoat and dyestuff probably deteriorated by the sweat. When the stain feels sticky, it is a sign of leather denaturing and reverting to rawhide from breaking of bonds with the tanning agent. When sign of color is transfer to a white towel, it indicates that the dyestuff has also break bonds with the protein fiber. When leather is stiff or shows signs of whitish residue migrating, it shows that the fatliquor is breaking bonds as well with the protein fiber. The main component of the leather protein fiber is amphoteric while the other constituents are not; shifting of the pH mainly caused from sweat to alkalinity affects the pH imbalance. To revert from denaturing into rawhide prior to topcoat refinishing, contaminated alkaline soiling is removed with Degreaser-2.2, a waterbased (pH 2.2) multifunctional degreaser that emulsifies greasy contamination besides controlling dye bleeding and charging the protein fiber ionic positive for strengthening the attraction between the ionic negative tanning agent, dyestuff and fatliquor. Deflocculated and suspended soiling is towel extracted, thereafter rinse and pH balanced with Acidifier-2.0 to prevent the leather from reverting to rawhide. When leather feels sticky or slimy it is a sign of leather denaturing, a squeaky feel when wet is a sign of a healthy leather. Hydrator-3.3 relaxes stiff leathers and removes surface tension free from surface blotchiness prior to fat and oil replenishing. Fat and oil is replenished with Fatliquor-5.0 to rejuvenate the leather for the desired suppleness when dry. Custom redyeing commences prior to topcoat refinishing. Protector-B+ imparts a non-stick rub-resistant protection with a buttery-feel that shield against sticky soiling and reduce friction noises. Note that the mentioned product suffix number denotes its pH value in this holistic leather-safe aniline leathers dyestuff and topcoat refinishing system. Please email [email protected] for custom matching services or choice of color: Antique-Brown, Black, Yellow, Orange, Red, Red-Brown, Rubine, Blue or Dark-Brown. And choice of topcoat luster: Gloss or Satin