National Clothesline

For anyone who accepts suede and leather garments for cleaning, skin conditions constitute an area of knowledge you must acquire.Skin conditions originate while the animal is still in possession of its skin. They originate in the wild where the skin of the animal is damaged, bruised or wounded in some way during the animal’s life. Because they occur in nature, we will refer to them as natural conditions of the skin.

Scars

Scars are one of the most common skin conditions. Scars result from wounds to the skin which heal and form scar tissue. Some wounds may be caused by insect bites such as ticks, lice or grubs. These result in small oval-shaped scars.

Other wounds can be caused by barbed wire. These leave elongated jagged scars. Still other wounds are scratches caused by thorns and briars. These result in long, narrow scars after the scratches heal. Scars will also result from burns caused by a branding iron.

It is important to know that this scar tissue does not permit suedeing. The result is a bare or bald spot surrounded by suede nap. Furthermore, scar tissue does not accept dyes as does the rest of the skin.

Therefore, dyes that are applied remain on the surface of the scar tissue. They are not color fast and are lost during wearing and cleaning by acceptable cleaning procedures. This leaves the bald scar tissue colorless and highly visible after cleaning.

The fact that this will happen should be explained to the customer and a release obtained before they leave their scarred garment for cleaning. This will avoid misunderstanding and unnecessary claims later.

Belly wrinkles

Belly wrinkles are another common skin condition. Belly wrinkles are stretch marks that are caused when the skin is stretched beyond its ability to stretch, causing internal tears.

This skin condition is the same as stretch marks in human skin. In both cases it is most commonly found in the abdominal skin area of females of the species and is the result of the skin being overstretched in the process of bearing young.

Of course stretch marks can occur for other reasons. For example, physical exercise without a proper warm-up can cause the skin to overstretch.

Belly wrinkles or stretch marks are usually found in sheepskin, deerskin and similar soft, lightweight skins. Belly wrinkles will be found on many panels of skin used on sheepskin garments.

This is not surprising when you consider that the majority of animals that are permitted to mature are female, each will carry young, and a good part of the animal skin is belly skin.

Belly wrinkles are a form of a scar. However, while the skin in the area of the stretch marks will accept suedeing, will contain a nap, and will accept dyes, the stretch marks are quite visible and noticeable.

The belly wrinkles are readily visible on both the sueded side of the skin and the grain side of the skin. They become more pronounced after cleaning. They commonly occur in rows of several wrinkles approximately one inch apart and can be mistaken for wear wrinkles by the customer. You must point them out to the customer, explain what they are and obtain a release before the customer leaves the store. This will avoid misunderstandings and unnecessary claims.

Frank Lucenta is president of Royaltone Co., Inc., a firm that manufacturers the products he developed to make it possible for any cleaner to safely AND profitably dryclean, wetclean and finish any suede, leather, fur and trimmed cloth garment. He also wrote related instruction books that document the process, entitled “Handling Leather and Suede” and “Cleaning and Finishing Leather and Suede.” He also teaches small groups of plant owners and managers how to identify, accept, spot, dryclean and wetclean, press and recolor suedes, leathers, and furs using his Royaltone procedures and products. The next Royaltone Leather training sessions are scheduled for Feb 6-7 and April 3-4 at the Royaltone Suedemate Leather Cleaning Center in Tulsa, OK. For more information on training sessions or on spotting charts in either English or Korean, call (800) 331-5506, (918) 622-6677, fax (918) 665-6017, or e-mail frank@royaltone.com. Information is also available on the Royaltone web site, www.royaltone.com.