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There are so many scams out there nowadays that you can't really be certain that anything that is sold as 'genuine' really is. And that's also true of leather.
Any leather goods being sold as 'genuine leather' or 'real leather' today, needs to be thoroughly investigated before you spend your hard-earned money on fake leather. That's because real leather fetches a bigger price tag, so if scammers can get away with selling you fake leather (which is much cheaper to make), as genuine leather, then they'll be able to line their pockets with even more profits.
So, if you're unsure about identifying leather and being able to tell if leather is genuine leather or faux leather, then you've come to the right place.
Here at The Leather Colour Doctor, we're experts on leather. So we can teach you all the simple tips and tricks to tell if leather is real or fake!
To make matters even more confusing for a moment, there are different types of real leather - that is to say leather that is made from animal hide. We'll talk about this briefly, but this section is really for the leather aficionados out there. If you're only interested in whether your leather is fake leather or genuine, then you can skip to the sections below.
In terms of real leather - leather made from animal skin - there are four main categories:
Full grain leather products are the most high end. These products are created using the top layer of animal skin, and the resulting leather often has imperfections that tell a story, if you like. Full grain leather goods are more durable, stylish, and expensive than the others.
Top grain leather products are the next rung down in the ladder. Here, the second layer of skin from the animal hide is used, and imperfections removed slightly, but still leaving enough to make it obviously leather. These are the most common luxury leather goods out there, because they're slightly easier to work with, but still have a quality finish.
Genuine leather is a category in its own right. Genuine leather uses the softer layers of skin from the animal, split leather from beneath the skin layers used in top grain or full grain products. The leather is still real, but it's not as durable and it's a lot softer and more flexible than the products above.
Finally, the last 'real leather' is bonded leather. Whilst still made from real leather, these products are made of leather shavings that are then bonded together again to create leather for a product. Products made with this leather are the cheapest and least valuable of the lot.
Any goods made using these four leathers are still real leather goods, but some have a higher quality than others.
Real leather is all of the leathers discussed above. They have noticeable blemishes, imperfections, and feels to them that make them unique, and highly sought after. When discussing real leather, though, most think that this refers to the top two categories of leather.
The bottom two categories of leather, genuine leather and bonded, are usually lumped together under the 'genuine leather' category. Yes, it is a leather item made from natural material (the skin of an animal), but it isn't of particularly high quality.
And finally, there's the faux leather, fake leather, synthetic leather category. Products made with these leathers aren't strictly speaking leather items at all. Instead, synthetic materials are used to make the products instead. This material is man made material using chemicals to create the look of real skin, without it being genuine. Texture, pattern, smell, and feel can all give this away, though, and we'll cover how to tell faux leather from real leather below.
Although the different types of leather can seem confusing at first, there are a few tests you can do to check whether you're dealing with real leather or fake leather. One of which is the fire test (where you burn a part of the leather to see if it smells like burnt hair - if it does, it's real leather, if it doesn't, it's faux leather), but as leather lovers here, we wouldn't recommend deliberately lighting leather products on fire to see if they're real or not - so it's best to stick with the other tests and checks below.
The label has more information than just care instructions - it can also tell you the type of leather you're dealing with. By checking the label of genuine products, you'll be able to find out if it's real leather or faux leather, and the proper care instructions, too. Look for 'real leather', 'genuine leather' or 'top/full grain' on the label - if it says those, then it's real. If it mentions man made material or faux leather, then it isn't real.
Next, take a closer look at the leather's surface. You can tell the difference between real leather and fake leather by looking at the surface structure. Real leather will have natural imperfections and an inconsistent pattern because it's a natural material. Even a new leather jacket made of real leather will have obvious blemishes. You can spot fake leather easily if the leather is made almost perfect with a repeating pattern. A machine made piece will always look a little too smooth, a little too perfect, so you'll easily spot fake leather.
The feel of the leather is important too. Real leather doesn't feel perfectly soft or smooth. Run your hand over the product for a few seconds, feel how soft or rough it is, and study the pores, finally. Real animal skin isn't perfect, so if it has imperfections, then it's more likely to be real leather. Real leather will feel soft and flexible, but has a noticeable grain too. Faux leather will just feel super smooth.
The smell test is another great one. Real leather smells like leather. Fake leather smells like chemicals or plastic. Because leather is made of real animal skin, there's a natural smell to the leather. Even when that leather is bonded (made of many strands of leather - the lowest grade leather there is), leather has a distinct smell that can't be replicated.
Another great test is the press/bend test. Genuine leather will wrinkle naturally over time, so you might be able to see wrinkles already if the product is older. Otherwise, you can carry out your own wrinkle test by pressing or bending the leather. This works great for products like leather jackets or a leather bag, but it can work with sofas and chairs too, if you just focus on pressing it. You can spot fake leather easily if the press/bend test doesn't leave a wrinkle on the surface of the leather.
Perfect edges are a sign that it's synthetic. When something is synthetic, it's designed to look perfect, so if the edges of the product are all uniform, then it's a good sign that it's fake. Genuine leather will have natural oddities here and there, especially along the edges, and the texture will usually be a little rougher too.
One final test you can try is the water test. This just involves pouring a small amount of water on the product. Real leather will absorb moisture, and faux or synthetic leather will usually repel it, and the water will remain on the surface. This trick works on everything from a leather jacket to a leather handbag, sofas to armchairs, so it's always good to keep in your back pocket. However, excess water damages real leather, so if you're trying to determine if it's real leather vs faux, only use a single drop of water. This will be enough to tell you what's real and what's not.
One key thing to remember, away from the natural texture, smell, and surface of real leather is the price tag. A real leather jacket will cost far more than a fake one. A real leather anything will cost far more than a fake one. So keep this in mind. If the product is advertised as real or genuine and the price doesn't reflect that, then buyer beware.
Some of the tests and checks are a lot more socially acceptable than others - so try these first. Feeling the texture and having a smell of leather jackets, for example, is much more acceptable than pouring water over it, or, for that matter, setting it on fire.
Just remember the tips and tricks in today's post and use your best judgement, and we here at The Leather Colour Doctor will be confident you'll be able to separate the real from the fake without issue.
And once you've bought a real leather product, you'll want to care for it. So be sure to check out our products so you can keep your leather products looking, smelling, and feeling like new!
