HOW TO PREVENT HAIR SLIPPAGE

When we want to make fur-on rugs or sheepskins vest or cozy mittens, we have a very important job: keep the hair in the hide.

 ‘Hair slippage’ is the term we use to refer to hair or wool falling out of a hide or skin.

This task is most important in the handling + preservation of hides. If anything goes wrong, chances are the root cause is at this stage. After that, there's a few things to keep in mind when tanning + then once tanned, you're basically home free.

Read on.

What causes hair slippage

     1. Bacteria

 Think of hides as meat. They are both made primarily of proteins. Proteins are building blocks: they provide structure. When proteins degrade, the structure is lost.

So if bacteria gets to our hides and degrades the proteins, hair is going to fall out. There is no structure remaining for the follicles to hold onto hair.

     2. Moisture

Think of hides like your own skin. We need a healthy degree of moisture. But if we've stayed out swimming or in a warm bath for a long time, our skin gets wrinkly, puffy…different. This happens to hides as well. But being separated from their animal, being in a post-death liminal state, they don't have  the vital elements they once did. If they stay moist for too long and start sagging, hair is going to fall out. There is no vitality left in the follicle to hold onto hair.

The two causes above interplay with each other. A moist environment is a thriving condition for bacteria.

Prevent hair slippage: handling + preservation

• As soon as possible after an animal has been harvested, scrape the meat off. For sheep, this should be within a few hours. For deer in a cold season, it can be a few days. For moose in a cold season, it can be  a few weeks. But if you know you want to keep the hair, don't test it.

• As soon as the meat has been scraped off, either wash or preserve the hide.

          → Wash the hide if there is a lot of blood on the fur. This will house bacteria.

          → Preserve the hide if there's little to no blood, unless you prefer washing first.

If preserving the hide by drying it out → Keep the dried hide in a dried place so no ambient moisture degrades it. Ensure no rodents come into contact with it. if the hide gets wet, stretch and dry that part.

• if preserving with salt: let the hide drip after salting + then check out the hide after 2-3 days. Add more salt so that no area on the skin is lacking visible grains of salt (the first batch of salt will absorb into the skin - we want visible surface salt in addition to what's absorbed). Then, make sure the hide doesn't have much moisture. It should weigh a few pounds, no more than 3-5 if it's a typical deer or sheep. Wait to pack up a salted hide until it has dry hair/fur/wool.

• Store hides inside secure totes. My personal preference is to store all preserved hides in heavy duty plastic bags to create a contained moisture-free environment. not everyone wants to work with plastic and I respect that. Just make sure your hides are secure and dry - and that ambient moisture isn't reaching them.

• After hides have been preserved + you're ready to tan, you'll need to wash them. This is a vulnerable.

  • Wash with cool water instead of warm water.  Save warm water for tanned leather.

  • Begin drying a hide immediately after it's been washed. Start by letting it drip-dry on a sawhorse or fence to release moisture easily.

Prevent hair slippage: tanning

• If your hide has been handled + preserved with care, you've eliminated most of the variables that can lead to hair slipping. Specifically, you've prevented bacteria from setting in. Now you just need to be careful about moisture on an un-tanned hide.

• The basic principle is this: keep hides moving.

  • Both literally in terms of stretching the hide continuously + figuratively in terms of moving from one step in the tanning process to the next.  Don't keep a hide wet for several days + expect it to keep its hair. 

• When in doubt, dry a hide out.

  • For example: if you realize you won't finish softening as expected, let a hide dry instead of placing it in the fridge for several days.

  • Fort example: once you apply brains to a hide, immediately begin softening + drying, rather than letting a wet brain emulsion sit on a hide for a day. it won't help your hide soften, it will rot it.

• Avoid actually pulling hair out of a hide with your hands. You will likely be able to do this with fur-bearing pelts and sheep skins.  It's not a sign of rot; it's a sign of wetness. keep tanning and stop touching it!