Care for your barefoot shoes made of nappa leather (smooth leather)

Nappa leather is a particularly open-pored, breathable, and very supple material. It is the outer side of the animal hide and is often referred to as fine smooth leather.

Similar to our skin, leather contains fats that keep it supple. However, with frequent use, these are lost over time. Only if the leather is sufficiently greased and supplied with nutrients does it remain soft and resilient.

Fine smooth leather behaves just like stressed skin. It needs a lot of care. When your hands are dry in winter, you apply lotion to avoid cracked areas.

To ensure you enjoy your ZAQQs for a long time, we provide you with tips on caring for your barefoot shoes made of nappa leather.

Which ZAQQ barefoot shoes are made of nappa leather?

We have a variety of barefoot shoes made from supple nappa leather. You can find the material specifications listed for each shoe.

For example, our popular lace-up shoe PIQUANT Nappa Black or our Chelsea Boot EQUITY Black are made of fine smooth leather. At the bottom, you will find more barefoot shoes made of nappa leather listed.

Cleaning the nappa leather

The first step is always the dry cleaning of nappa leather. You do this best with a soft shoe brush. If you don't have one, you can also clean your shoes with a dry cloth.

The cleaning brush from Collonil is highly recommended from our own experience:

Moisture and fat for the nappa leather

Since fine smooth leather is more sensitive to external environmental influences such as sun radiation, moisture, or abrasion, sufficient fat must be worked into the open-pored material after cleaning.

To provide the leather with optimal care, we recommend the 1909 Crème de Luxe. This rich shoe cream not only provides sufficient moisture but also refreshes the color of the leather. You can choose the 1909 Crème de Luxe colorless to have a suitable shoe cream for all color variants. However, it is also available in blue, light brown, bordeaux-mahogany, medium brown, and black.

For applying the shoe cream, use either a brush or a dry cloth. A shoe tree can help smooth out wrinkles to reach these areas optimally.

After the care cream has been applied, you should give the leather at least an hour or better yet, let the shoes rest overnight. This allows the nutrients to penetrate deeply into the leather. Place your ZAQQs in a dry spot, but definitely not in the sun or under the heater.

Due to the shoe cream, the surface of the leather appears matte. If you want to make your ZAQQs shine, you need to polish them with a soft brush. The Polishing Brush from Collonil, made from real goat hair, will serve you very well for this purpose. With it, you can give your barefoot shoes the final shine in no time. 

How often does Nappa leather need to be cared for

There is no fixed rule for this, as it naturally depends on how often you wear your barefoot shoes and the weather conditions they are exposed to.

If you are out and about with your shoes daily, you should provide them with nourishing nutrients approximately every two weeks following the instructions described above.

This keeps the Nappa leather soft, supple, and abrasion-resistant. The care cream also simultaneously refreshes the color of your ZAQQs.

Impregnating Nappa leather after care

Nappa leather is not waterproof due to its open-pore surface, only water-repellent. If you don't want to get wet feet in the rain, you should regularly impregnate your barefoot shoes.

With the Impregnation Spray “Waterstop Reloaded” you are well advised. It is perfectly suitable for all types of leather and provides excellent protection against moisture and UV radiation. But don't worry, your ZAQQs remain breathable. When used correctly, the open pores of the Nappa leather are not clogged by the impregnation spray.

For impregnation, we recommend going outside or into a well-ventilated room. Spray your ZAQQs from about 30 centimeters away completely. This ensures, firstly, that you spray the shoe evenly and, secondly, that not only the fine smooth leather but also the seams are covered with a water-protective film.

Avoid using the spray too frequently! 

As a rule of thumb, only impregnate your ZAQQs after the cleaning and care mentioned above. If you use the impregnation spray too often, the pores may clog, and the breathability of your barefoot shoes may suffer.

With these care instructions, you are well taken care of and will enjoy your barefoot shoes made of nappa leather for a long time.