Although leather may appear to be a very durable material, scratches can show up quickly and are difficult to ignore. There are companies that perform leather repairs, but these services can be expensive. Here are a few home remedies you can try first to see if you can restore the leather’s brand-new appearance. To ensure that a product won’t alter the color or texture of something you’ve never used before, test it out on a small patch of your bag first.

Soft Scratches

The use of leather conditioner or oil can usually make light scratches disappear. In order to lessen the scratch, apply a small amount of leather oil to the area and rub in a circular motion. To keep a healthy level of oil and wax in the leather, allow to completely dry before applying leather conditioner. Vaseline is another effective remedy for minor scratches. For best results, apply a small amount of this to the scratch and rub with a dry cloth. After a treatment, always wipe away excess oil and conditioner with a dry cloth.

Hard Scratches

The first thing you should do if you have a deeper scratch is clean the leather with leather cleaner, which can be purchased from numerous online retailers. If you’ve never used a leather cleaner before, you might want to start with one of the most popular brands, such as Leather Nova Conditioner and Cleaner or Chamberlain’s Leather Milk Conditioner and Cleaner. Clean the area with the leather cleaning solution and a soft cloth. After lightly dabbing the scratched area with distilled white vinegar, let it dry, and then gently rub in some colorless shoe polish until it appears to be evenly blended. Attempt applying some olive oil to the scratch if it’s still noticeable after this.