Chrome Tanned Leather Allergy

[bish]

I wasn't exactly sure where to post this since this deals with a lot of different gear, but since it started with the gloves I'll post it here in general gear.

I had and interesting experience yesterday. I picked up a pair of leather gloves at Home Depot, not SA but close enough to play around with weathering. They were a pair of West Chester Grain Pigskin Leather Driver Gloves. I put them on a few times and was playing around with them a bit when I noticed that I was starting to get a rash on the back of both of my hands.

I immediately stopped putting the glove on and put some ointment on my hands to take care of the rash and it slowly been going away. However it really surprised me to see that I had gotten a rash from Leather gloves.

Then I started doing a little research and it turns out that a lot of leather is chrome-tanned and that the chromium in chrome-tanned leather can cause an allergic reaction called Contact Dermatitis in some people. I've had this issue before with a cheap class ring I bought in high school that had nickel in it and would cause a rash and blisters to form around my finger. Anyway, apparently vegetable-tanned leather doesn't cause this problem because it doesn't have metal in it.

I was wondering has anyone else had this issue, and if so have you found any places that sell vegetable-tanned work gloves that would work as Indy Gloves?

Also if Wade Egan sees this, since you work with leather have you heard of this before?

This also has me a little concerned as I was planning on ordering an Indy hat in the next couple months. I was looking at the Garrison hats as I really like the look and the price is good. I know most of the hats have leather sweatbands. I am going to e-mail him and see if it's possible to request he use vegetable tanned leather if he doesn't already for my hat, but does anyone know if any of the other hatters use vegetable tanned as opposed to chrome-tanned. I'd hate to buy a custom hat and find that it leaves a rash across my forehead

I have a non-indy leather jacket, leather shoes and belts that I've worn forever and never had an issue although the jacket has a lining and I wear socks with the shoes.

Unfortunately so much Indy stuff is leather, thankfully the whip I ordered from Dusty is veg-tanned, but I did buy a holster and strap from Todd's and while the strap didn't seem to cause an issue I'm a little nervous to get all touchy-feely with the holster.

Anyway just a very strange thing to discover

Take care,

-bish

[WConly]

Holy moly man! You could start a new 'script' concept for Indy. "Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Lepers!" I had never heard of this occuring, but if one is allergic to certain metal compounds then it makes sense. I sure can see your fear regarding a leather sweatband. Ouch! Your new hat might be a perfect fit for only a very short period of time! Keep us advised as you discover more about this. I am interested in this, as it is so unusal. W>

[Michaelson]

The subject title is a little misleading then. It's not a leather allergy, per se, but an alergy to a particular tanning process used IN the leather making process that you're allergic to. Otherwise you couldn't use anything vegetable tanned either.

No, can't say that I've ever heard of this problem before, but any kind of allergy can be triggered by a chemical. Sounds to me like yours is triggered by a metal based chemical like nickel.

Regards! Michaelson

[bish]

My apologies, I adjusted the subject line. Since chrome tanned leather is the most common form of tanning and I was posting about the allergy from a leather standpoint I didn't intend for it to be misleading.

Yes your right as I said in my first post it's the metal based chemical chromium in the chrome-tanning process that seems to cause the reaction, similar to the reaction I had with the nickel ring in High School. I was just surprised that being 38 and having worn a lot of leather items over the years that I'd not had the reaction before, but I was also hoping to minimize any future reactions as well.

Thanks,

- bish

[Michaelson]

Not being an allergist, I don't know if we ever 'outgrow' an allergy to something like that.

Sometimes the chemistry in our bodies just don't agree with other things in this world, but that said, it can change in a moment.

Next time you talk to your doctor, that's a question I'd be asking him/her.

Regards! Michaelson

[Flyderf]

Veg tanned is the only way to go.

[Wade Egan]

I will have to agree with flyderf on this one. Chrome tanned leather is very bad for your skin and the environment. The EPA no longer allows chrome tanning in the US therefore it's only done in Mexico and China now. It's hard to distinguish the types and it doesn't always say 'chrome tanned' on the label. People who have a similar allergy to nickel will have the reaction you had.

Definitely the most natural and healthiest leather available is the vegetable tanned leather or oak leaf tanned leather (premium). It's good you found the allergy and can now stay away from the cause.

W

[bish]

Great info Wade and everyone else, thanks!

- bish