RUBBER
CARE

There are two main ways of getting into rubber, you can either:

Apply a layer of silicone lube to the inside of the garment and some to your skin. There's no such thing as too much lube so apply as much as you prefer. Latex dressing aids are also available, but we find that silicone lube does an excellent job.

Alternatively, you can use Talcum-powder, applying some to the inside of the garment and to your skin. Again, there is no such thing as too much. Always use perfume-free talcum powder to avoid damaging or staining the material.

If you want to a nice even shine, treat your rubber to a good latex polish, before applying a layer of silicone lube to the outside. This layer can be topped up as preferred and latex shine spray bottles can be a great way of doing this when out and about. Prior to shining, it's important to clean your latex to achieve the best and most even shine. If you're using talc to get into it, avoid getting any on the outside of the garment as this can reduce the shine.

It’s important to keep rubber clean between uses. After wearing your latex, wash it with antibacterial soap under warm running water before hanging it up to air dry. Only use colorless soap to avoid staining the latex (particularly lighter colors). Neglecting to clean your rubber after wearing it can lead to build ups of bacteria which can cause irritation the next time you wear it. Storing unwashed rubber for a long-time can even lead to build ups of fungi which can discolor or damage the latex.

Before storing, make sure your rubber is completely clean and dried before applying some perfume-free talcum powder. This will prevent the rubber from sticking to itself (our other rubber garments) which will happen naturally over time to clean latex.

Then, hang them in a dark cupboard with no exposure to sunlight. Storing on hangers isn’t a necessity, however we try to avoid folding latex as this can introduce creases in the material which cannot be ironed out! You can store multiple pieces together in the same bag, but only items of the same color as higher intensity colors (burgundy for example) can stain lighter colors. Avoiding sunlight during storage is particularly important as UV can create a chemical reaction in the latex, leading to it becoming discolored. Even a small amount of sunlight can, overtime, discolor latex.

Avoid Sunlight as much as possible: as mentioned above, UV can interact with latex to discolor it. It will typically fade the color and make the item look duller. When heading out in our latex, we like to use SPF latex polishers to keep our garments safe.

Avoid the latex coming into contact with any metals that contain reactive metals – metals such as brass or copper can interact with latex to create stains, particularly in lighter colors. Silver, gold and stainless steel are generally fine.

Avoid any oil based products: they can damage and weaken latex, leading to an increased likelihood of tears.

Do not store with Silicone lube for longer periods– Silicone lubricant is our best friend when it comes to wearing our gear, but not for storage! Over time, silicone lube can interact with latex glue to weaken it which can lead to seams coming undone. Avoid storing our gear for a period of more than a week or so in silicone lube to prevent this from happening.