This DIY shoe polish is a real Fair-Leather Friend

Your shoes will love their new friend!

Once upon a time there was a lonely pair of worn-out shoes. Oh, the life they’d led! They still remembered the day they strolled the endless New York City sidewalks, the day they encountered snow for the first time, and even the day someone spilled a bottle of glitter all over them—luckily it was biodegradable! But after all their adventures, they were looking a little old and tired. 

What if all they needed was a special someone to bring them back to life? Enter Fair-Leather Friend! This homemade shoe polish would have them looking like new in no time and would care for them through thick and thin!

Developing this recipe presented some challenges: the polish had to spread easily but not be too soft, and it had to nourish and care for your leather products while also protecting them from the elements. In short, it was no small task! But after many tests—and many freshly shined pairs of boots—we finally found a shoe polish recipe that we adore. But the happiest of all are our beautiful, shiny shoes!

Breathe new life into your shoes with a Fair-Leather Friend!

How to make shoe polish

Ingredients

• 5.8 g (12.9%) white beeswax beads
• 0.6 g (1.3%) carnauba wax
• 4.8 g (10.7%) mango butter
• 29.1 g (64.4%) jojoba oil
• 4.8 g (10.7%) oxides (choose from the colours below)

Oxide for black shoe polish

• 4.8 g (10.7%) black oxide

Oxides for brown shoe polish

• 2.8 g (6.2%) brown oxide
• 2 g (4.5%) titanium dioxide

Tools

• 1 small stainless steel bowl
• Components to make a double boiler
• 1 small silicone spatula
• 1 scale, accurate to 0.1 g
• 1 ramekin
• 1 metal tin (60 ml)
• 1 mini-mixer with frothing attachment (the small wheel) (optional)

Good to know!

• We chose to use white beeswax for its hardening and protective properties. You can also use unbleached, yellow beeswax, but this may affect the colour of the final product.
• Carnauba wax hardens and adds shine to your homemade shoe polish.
• Mango butter and jojoba oil deeply nourish your leather and will make it more supple.
• Oxides help restore your shoes’ colour. You can adjust the shade of this DIY shoe polish to best match your shoes by using different oxides or altering their proportions.

Steps to follow

1. Weigh the white beeswax, carnauba wax, jojoba oil, and mango butter in a small bowl and melt on the double boiler.
2. Weigh the oxides in a ramekin.
3. When the wax, oil, and butter mixture has melted, remove it from the heat and add the pigments. Mix well with the spatula to evenly disperse the pigments. You can use the mini-mixer if necessary.
4. Continue mixing until the mixture begins to thicken. This will prevent the pigments from settling at the bottom of the container as your polish cools. 
5. Pour it into the tin and leave it to harden at room temperature or in the fridge.

Use and conservation

This homemade leather polish is formulated for shoes, but you can also use it on other leather products, like bags and belts. To use it, first clean your shoes, then apply a thin layer of the product. Allow the polish to dry for at least one hour before removing the excess with a soft cloth.

When made in optimal sanitary conditions, it will keep for at least six months.