Care of your Hayden Harnett

[skydive nikki]

Thanks Again, Stormy! What do you think of the Coach leather cleanser and conditioner? I bought some when I first got into HH because thats what they had recommended. I need to clean the Lagoon, Eucalyptus, and Cobalt Havanas. Should I buy something else and if so should it be Wilson's leather products?

[Minnifer]

Stormy - thanks for the list of possible culprits. I know the seller bought it from ebay originally so I don't think she has the whole history, but I'm going to reach out to her to see what she knows...

Originally Posted by jennirane

Just thought I'd add to the KP Corc issue, mine got sticky all over after Pittsburgh (much higher humidity). It's now squeaky and my skin sticks to it. Not like grape jelly sticky, but like bare thighs on those vinyl car seat covers your grandparents used sticky. In south Texas heat. I'm just assuming it'll go away now that it's back here in the desert... haven't used it yet though.

Jenn - that's exactly the stickiness! Funny, even before you wrote this, I was wondering if it's humidity related b/c it's been pretty rainy and humid here in NYC... I haven't used my BP this summer but I may pull it out and see how it feels in this weather...

[jennirane]

Hmmm... then maybe just a wipe-down with a shammy? Maybe it's just not "breathing" like it needs to? I got my KP during the winter, when it's bone-dry out here. Actually, it's bone-dry except for the 4 weeks of "monsoons" we have during August... I can use my new Sonia or my Trophy then. But that doesn't help you gals living in humid conditions.

[Stormy Heart]

Originally Posted by skydive nikki

Thanks Again, Stormy! What do you think of the Coach leather cleanser and conditioner? I bought some when I first got into HH because thats what they had recommended. I need to clean the Lagoon, Eucalyptus, and Cobalt Havanas. Should I buy something else and if so should it be Wilson's leather products?

Go with Lexol cleanser and Lexol or TLC conditioner!

[minimamak]

Has anyone else had trouble with Blueberry rub-off on shoulders hands etc.? (And yes, I was freshly moisturized, but I've never had this happen with another bag before.) I'm afraid all the gorgeous color is going to rub-off, is there any way to protect or prevent?

[Stormy Heart]

Originally Posted by minimamak

Has anyone else had trouble with Blueberry rub-off on shoulders hands etc.? (And yes, I was freshly moisturized, but I've never had this happen with another bag before.) I'm afraid all the gorgeous color is going to rub-off, is there any way to protect or prevent?

Knowing blue to be notoriously unstable dye, I have posted on this topic previously
Your bag may not have been completely dry after WAIT did you say MOISTURIZED ? What did you use Minimam ? You may have released color; did you see any blue on the cloth when you treated it ?
It could help to use a protector spray after conditioning a bag, to make a little barrier.
In general, bright blue bags should be rubbed down dry when new, to eliminate any crocking right away. Excess blue color dries and settles on the surface as a fine powder that you might not see until you turn Violet, or worse, a blackish , or even green, depending on the colors mixed with blue in the dye process. This loose dye powder can make your bag feel dry even if you can't see the crocking.( like talc on skin ) A common mistake is to use conditioner because it feels dryish and that is exactly the opposite of what you need to do first.
*Use lots of soft white cloths and rub briskly.

[Stormy Heart]

attention Jen:
Please get your KP outta the closet and check her skin for us. Thank you ! (*sorry about Sister Clavel)

[cinnybuns]

I think Minimam ment she moisturized her body and maybe that caused the color transfer.

When I was trying to protect my blueberry with LMB "Handles Only" I too saw blue dye rub off on the lil felt applicator. I guess i'll dig out some old tees and start buffing away. Thanks Stormy as always

Originally Posted by Stormy Heart

Knowing blue to be notoriously unstable dye, I have posted on this topic previously Your bag may not have been completely dry after WAIT did you say MOISTURIZED ? What did you use Minimam ? You may have released color; did you see any blue on the cloth when you treated it ? It could help to use a protector spray after conditioning a bag, to make a little barrier. In general, bright blue bags should be rubbed down dry when new, to eliminate any crocking right away. Excess blue color dries and settles on the surface as a fine powder that you might not see until you turn Violet, or worse, a blackish , or even green, depending on the colors mixed with blue in the dye process. This loose dye powder can make your bag feel dry even if you can't see the crocking.( like talc on skin ) A common mistake is to use conditioner because it feels dryish and that is exactly the opposite of what you need to do first. *Use lots of soft white cloths and rub briskly.

[skydive nikki]

Ok, One last question. Should I buy the Lexol NF or the PH spray for the Lagoon, cobalt and Eucalyptus Havanas?

[BattahZ]

Hi Folks!! I'm new to the forum, and to HH, so this is my first post and first question :)

I recently got a black Kira hobo from the big bang sale, and I love it. However, every time I carry it on my arm and have sunscreen on, it leaves black smudges all over my arms. And recently I noticed that if I'm wearing a lot of sunscreen and sweat a bit, I get blue-tinged smudges all over the bag wherever I touch it and get sunscreen on it. They seem to buff out ok, but I had to buff pretty vigorously to remove them. I called HH and they told me they can exchange the bag if I want, but they couldn't think of a reason for that (except that sometimes dye can rub off of new bags), so I'm not sure a new bag would be any better. I've tried different sunscreen brands and that doesn't seem to make a difference.

For now, the finish still looks ok after buffing, but I'm a bit worried that the bag will get more damaged over time (since I can't stop wearing sunscreen). Plus the dark smudges on my arms can get embarrassing. Is there something I can do, besides treating with Kiwi spray (which I did already and it didn't seem to help)? Or is it best to take them up on their offer of exchanging it?

Thanks!

[paelaf]

Welcome BattachZ! Sorry to hear about your kira. That's pretty disappointing that they would act as though this is new to them. I know other ladies have been having the same problem with their black bags. Looking forward to hearing advice for this problem. I'm sure it would be the same sitch w/ a different bag.

[minimamak]

Stormy: Thank you so much for the advice. The moisturizer was yes, on me, and it appeared to be quite dry, but similar to Battahz's complaints, anywhere the bag touched that I had put lotion or sunscreen on, blue dye would rub off onto me. It freaked my kids out and we had to leave Target bc I was covered in blue "bruises". I didn't have any rub-off onto white cloth when I buffed it and have not applied anything else to the bag. I will try a protector spray and see if it helps. Thanks so much for your advice!!!

BattahZ: The spray-on sunscreen seems to make the rub-off worse with my blue bag and leaves a tacky texture that can be buffed away with some work. The Neutrogena "Dry" Lotion (can't remember exact product name) type sunscreen seems to be the best but you have to wait until you're totally dry and -- god forbid -- you start to sweat, this seems to "reactivate" the sunscreen and the tacky-transfer problems with the leather-dye. Good luck staying dye-free and sunburn-free too!

All that said, I adore my BB bag and would not trade it for anything, but I just want it to stay beautiful and not have to make any more hasty departures from Target!!!

[minimamak]

Neutrogena Dry Touch. And I know this seems crazy, but the lower the SPF, the less I seem to have rub-off problems.

[BattahZ]

Thanks paelaf and minimamak! I'll have to check out Dry Touch again - I stopped using it a couple of years ago because it seemed to be really hard to wash off and I was worried about breakouts, but maybe I'll try it again. It seems the more wet or greasy a sunscreen is, the more color I get on me from my bag (or the more marks on my bag I get). Lower SPF being better is interesting; that may mean there's something in the actual spf that breaks down dyes? Sunscreen always makes my nail polish go dull and feel rough, too, so I've always suspected there's something in it that's a bit harsh. I can't use lower SPFs though, so will have to try to figure this out!

I'm out of town now, but I'm going to try calling HH again when I get back. Maybe someone different at customer service will have an idea of what to do, or if I should just exchange the bag. Now reading about crocking, I'm wondering if all that color rub-off is dye that's rising to the surface. I'll give it a good rub-down when I get home, too - don't want to do it now with hotel towels!

[jennirane]

Originally Posted by Stormy Heart

attention Jen: Please get your KP outta the closet and check her skin for us. Thank you ! (*sorry about Sister Clavel)

Hi Stormy, Minnifer...
Just took it out to check; it's still pretty "tacky" but is sticking to itself more than to my skin (which is dry today, but we're expecting some rain later in the afternoon.) I'm going to hang it up and wipe it down with a shammy and let it air a bit. I don't know enough about patents... is there a vinyl coating on the leather? It just doesn't seem to be breathing. Or maybe when it got damp-ish in Pittsburgh, picked up a patina of sweat, etc. that can maybe be buffed off?

Minnifer is yours doing anything different? This may just be a characteristic of the bag no one's mentioned before (and I hadn't noticed because we're so dry in the winter).

PS Stormy, it was GREAT seeing her again in the flesh, so to speak! I've "lost" a lot of my childhood (both memories and actual relics) and it just brought a bunch of it back. Thanks