In this post, I’m going to give you the most important advice to keep your faux leather tote bag looking amazing over the years, and this means that it will not start cracking or peeling as most faux leather objects are going to with time!
Indeed, this is the most terrible thing that happens to faux leather with time, it starts cracking and soon it will even start peeling and losing its shine and good looks!
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How to prevent faux leather tote bag from peeling and cracking?

The first thing you need to understand is that peeling and cracking will occur if you choose a low-quality faux leather tote bag!
That’s why I always advise my readers to only look for the best quality faux leather fabrics in their items and objects, especially those that are subject to “daily torture” like a tote bags for example.
And by daily torture, I mean being exposed to sharp objects, being exposed to UV rays, the ones from sunlight, and having too much humidity, these are the things that will deteriorate your faux leather tote bag very quickly.
Then, what to do?
As suggested before, you need to first select the best quality bag for you, in other words, choose one which has a good faux leather fabric, one which is double layered, cotton backed and correctly cured.
How to check for all this when you are a novice?
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Indeed, it can be a little difficult and sometimes even overwhelming to know what kind of tote bag to choose, but I’m going to help you with this by giving you this very simple advice:
Always buy your faux leather tote bag from known brands, if it’s unknown, avoid it as much as possible.
It’s because known brands care about their reputation and their names, they don’t want people to start giving them bad ratings and bad reviews, that’s why they will always put the best quality materials and fabrics in making their bags.
Let’s talk now about how to keep your faux leather tote bag from peeling and cracking.
It’s not very difficult; you just need to avoid these things:
- Keys
- Alcohol
- Water and other liquids
- Sunlight
I think that the idea of keys being dangerous for your faux leather tote bag may be a little obvious, but if you don’t know about it a lot, I highly recommend that you invest in a smaller bag where you are going to put your keys, especially car keys since they are pointy and a little rough on the surface.
And when it comes to alcohol, you should avoid exposing any faux leather object to alcohol as much as possible because it can damage the molecular structure of faux leather very rapidly.
Water and other liquids can be dangerous as well when it comes to your faux leather tote back, but if you spell some on it and you don’t clean it very quickly, it can accelerate the peeling and cracking process.
And of course, using your tote bag every single day, especially if you live in a sunny area is going to cause peeling and cracking prematurely as well, I highly recommend that you avoid doing this.
Let’s talk now about how to prevent all this from ever happening to you:
Use a good leather conditioner.
Every time you spell some water or other liquids on your bag or you are exposing it to sunlight for a long time, use a good leather conditioner to give it shine, strength, and prevent it from cracking and peeling, and this is by far one of the best advice you can take when it comes to keeping your faux leather tote bag amazingly looking and as new all the time.
Meymey says
Where should i put my leather bags to prevent it from cracking and peeling? Should i keep it inside the closet or just hang it? Thanks for the response! God bless!
Jean-Marc Chateigner says
Hello Meymey,
Put your leather items in the closet, in a tightly sealed plastic bag, away from direct light or heat exposure and you should apply baby oil or a good vinyl conditioner once every six months, this is the ideal storage for any faux leather item.
Katy says
Hi, I was wondering if you had any suggestions on how to fix faux leather when it does start peeling and cracking? I have a purse that I absolutely love but on the bottom, and in some of the folds it’s starting to deteriorate. Any help would be greatly appriciated, thanks.
Jean-Marc Chateigner says
There is what we call a repair kit, the one by Restoration Leather is the best I’ve tried when I was in the US, they’re pretty difficult to work with, but I suggest you try some practice test on the sides of your objects, where it’s not visible, and to stop faux leather deterioration, try to use a good faux leather/vinyl conditioner, the one I recommend in this website is the best.
Karen says
What do you recommend for the shoulder straps. I love my bag and don’t want the straps from peeling off.
Jean-Marc Chateigner says
The same thing I recommend for every faux leather surface, a good vinyl conditioner, every three months.