Review: Sterling Essentials Leather Care

I’m that girl who loves cleaning tack. To me, there’s nothing better than soft, clean, supple leather. I take pride in caring for my tack, so finding the best products for them is crucial.

Sterling Essentials was born in the Pacific Northwest, where wet winters and dry summers left founder Teal in the market for effective leather care. When she found that most brands contained irritating harsh chemicals, she decided to make her own line with natural, food-grade ingredients and therapeutic-grade oils. As an owner of two extremely sensitive horses, I really appreciate that this stuff is made with the animals in mind.

The cleaner and conditioner come in 3 scents: lavender, eucalyptus, and floral citrus. They all smell like a Saje store in a bottle, which may or may not be your cup of tea. I like it, so I thought they all smelled great. Eucalyptus smelled a bit more astringent, while the lavender and floral citrus are more soothing and relaxing scents. The floral citrus is my favorite – it’s reminds me of lemon pledge with lavender.

The cleaner is a suds-free liquid in a spray bottle, and you spray it onto a cloth or sponge. I highly prefer formulas like this, vs ones where you have to dampen the sponge first – it’s easy to get too much water on the leather. It was love at first swipe with this stuff – it immediately dissolves the dirt and grime, and wipes away clean. It gives the leather a beautiful glow with absolutely no residue.

The conditioner is a balm that turns soft upon contact. It absorbs super quickly and leaves the leather soft and supple. No gross residue either! My saddle is really well taken care of so it wasn’t a huge before and after, but it did a great job of cleaning and conditioning it without stripping it of moisture or over-conditioning. The before and after for my tall boots however, was much more remarkable. I left my boots nice and dirty to test the cleaner, which got them clean in record time. A lot of cleaners just dilute the dirt and push it around, this stuff really got them clean. After using the cleaner, they shined up with polish SO easily and got way shinier than they have in years. I think it removed all the built-up dirt and polish, allowing the fresh polish to really do its job. Check out the results below!

Pros:

• Very effective
• A little goes a long way, making the process super fast
• No residue
• Smells great
• Natural and animal friendly
• Lavender cleaner and conditioner come in a mini starter set so you can try them out before buying the full sizes

Cons:

• Depending on your preferences, the scents might be overpowering

These products have earned a permanent spot in my tack cleaning arsenal. If you want a great line of natural, effective leather care, Sterling Essentials is a great pick!

Find Sterling Essentials on the web here, Instagram here, and Facebook here.

Disclosure: Sterling Essentials products were provided for this review. All opinions in this review remain truthful and my own. Links are not sponsored.