Shoe creams or shoe polishers are a must-have product to get the dazzling shine to your shoes. Before heading to any invitations, we often polish our shoes either with shoe polish or cream. The way makeup enhances our beauty the same way polishing the shoes magnifies its appearance.
Shoe polish or cream not only brings the extra shine to your shoes, but they help to keep the boots moisturized and elongates the lifespan of the shoes. However, most of us make the mistake of choosing the right products. I ruined a few boots of mine as I couldn’t choose the exact product for my shoes.
As I didn’t want to ruin any more shoes of mine, so I had to go through a proper exploration of shoe cream vs. shoe polish, so I thought of sharing with you all.
In this article, you will find the difference between shoe cream and polish, what are they, how to use them, and which one has a better outcome.
Follow our guide to know How Much Shoe Cream To Use
All About Shoe Cream
The shoe cream is the ultimate pick to give your shoes a matte finish and retain its moisture. A thick consistency cream adds a coating to the shoes; it polishes the shoes and adds a colorant to the leather, making the shoes look new. Shoe cream gives your shoes a matte finish rather than a lustrous effect.
The cream includes a bit of wax and colorant, which hides any score marks.
But before that, go through our epic guide about can you use shoe Cream On Nubuck Boots?
Why Should You Use Shoe Cream?
The shoe cream is a perfect option to keep the original color of the shoes intact and make your shoes look new. If you regularly use it as the cream leaves a thin layer of coat on the shoes, there is no color change. For instance, if you select a wrong shade of cream for your shoes, if you don’t like the color, you can easily take it off it as the cream doesn’t leave any tint behind.
There are several shoe creams that you can use for your shoes; among them, Kelly’s shoe cream has more than 45 variations in colors. Kelly’s shoe cream is very much rich in natural wax, which recolors and polishes shoes or boots with a texture like roughen and smooth surface.
The overall best Moneysworth and Best shoe cream work magic on soft leather shoes, mostly retaining the boots’ moisture. A blend of wax and natural oils gives your shoe a natural sparkle to it. Moneysworth and Best shoe cream are preferable as it restores the boots, making it look new and have an increased lifespan.
The shoe cream is the best option to condition and restores the color of your shoes.
Check out our separate post on how to Prevent Shoe Polish From Drying Out
Application Of Shoe Cream
You can’t just apply shoe cream randomly on your shoes.
Here are a few steps that you need to follow to get the best result of while applying shoe cream:
- Take any of your desired shoe creams; the color of the shoe cream should match your shoe color; if you can’t find the exact shade, try to use the closest color that matches your shoes.
- Take a newspaper and place your shoes on it; this will prevent any mess.
- Before using any cream or wax, always clean your shoes. Take a damp cloth or a horsehair brush gently with small strokes, remove all the dirt and rubbish from the shoes’ surface.
- Apply a thin layer of shoe cream all over the shoes in small circular strokes with a brush or cloth. Make sure not to use too much cream on the shoes; the shoes’ surface will look striped and build up in the shoes’ fold.
- Before applying the cream, you can condition the shoes using a leather conditioner to moisturize the leather.
- Once you finish applying the cream to both of the shoes, let them sit for 5 minutes for drying.
- Wipe the cream with a cloth or horsehair brush. You will notice the shoes will have a very minimal shine to it.
Follow our other guide to know can you use Leather Shoe Polish On Black Suede Shoes?
All About Shoe Polish
Polishing is a must to get the diamond-like shine on your shoe. Once you polish your shoes, you will be awestruck by its look because it will look as if they are newly purchased. What polishing does is it adds a coating of wax to the external surface of the shoes, which you can buff to get a luminous glow to your shoes.
Nothing can beat shoe polishing to hide any scratches and especially to get the extra shine to your shoes.
In a hurry? Check out my new post Does Liquid Shoe Polish Expire
Why Should You Polish Your Shoes?
Apart from shine, polishing the shoes hide any faults and makes the shoe’s surface even. Overtime leather loses its outer coat; moderately, the leather starts to peel. With the leather peeling and scuff marks will make the shoes wear and crumbly over time. To prevent all these, polishing the shoes and regularly conditioning them will add extra years to its life.
Conditioning is also a must to make your shoes soft and supple. Conditioning decreases the amount of peeling of the shoes, adds moisture in them, reduces the shoes and becomes crumbly.
There is a variety of show wax polish in the market, among which using Angelus shoe wax polish will ensure the polish lasts for a long time. It is best for restoring old leather shoes. The wax polish will make your shoes so shiny as if you have newly bought them.
Another KIWI color shines liquid polish, which has five different color shoe polish gives your shoes an instant shine in your first usage. This polish doesn’t need any buffing, which makes your work a bit easier. It also adds moisture to the shoes and brings backs the nourishment to your leather shoes.
You can choose your desired shoe polish as there are wide ranges of shoe wax polish to choose from and make your shoes look bling.
You may also like to read about how to remove shoe Polish From Dress Shoes?
Application Of Shoe Polish
To add extra years to the life of any shoe, try to polish them regularly. Learn the right way to polish shoes.
But before that, go through our epic guide on does Liquid Shoe Polish Expire Or Not?
Below are a few steps that you need to follow to get the best result while applying shoe polish:
- Take a newspaper and place your shoes on it; this will prevent any mess.
- Before using any wax polish or cream, always clean your shoes. Cleaning ensures there is no dirt trapped under the wax and makes the shoes look good after polishing. Take a damp cloth or a shoe brush (horsehair brush works excellent in this case) gently with small strokes, remove all the dirt and rubbish from the shoes’ surface.
- Apply a thin layer of shoe polish all over the shoes in small circular strokes with a brush or cloth. Make sure not to use too much polish on the shoes; the shoes’ surface will look striped and build up in the fold of the shoes, and eventually, they will crack.
- Before applying the polish, you can condition the shoes using a leather conditioner to make the leather moisturized.
- Once you are done polishing both of the shoes, let them sit for 5 minutes for drying.
- Clean the polish with a cloth or horsehair brush. You will notice the shoes will have a very gleaming shine to it.
- To get the additional shine to your shoes, sprinkle a little bit of water to your shoes and buff it with a cloth until you get the mirror shine.
If you want an intense shine to your shoes, repeat the above process more than once to get that extra gloss.
Related contents you should read about remove shoe Polish From Suede Shoes.
Difference Between A Shoe Cream And Shoe Polish
Now the main question shoe cream vs. shoe polish. What is the difference between them and which is better? Both cream and polish help the shoes get an increased life span and intensify the shoes’ look.
Wax polishing will give you shoes a nice shine forming an even, protective coat over your shoes. Polishing is an excellent thing to cover any scratches or fill pores of the leather. Specifically, if you want a mirror shine to your shoes, then wax polish them regularly.
Whereas shoe cream is used to condition your shoes, moisturize them and add a tint of color. Using shoe cream gives more of a satin finish rather than a glossy finish.
Other than these, there is no significant difference between a shoe cream and a polish.
Also, check out our separate post on how to prevent Shoe Polish From Drying Out?
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I condition or polish shoes first?
Always use a shoe conditioner before polishing your shoes. If you do the opposite, the conditioner will not penetrate your shoes, and there will be no benefit of using the conditioner. Using a horsehair brush or a cloth, apply a thin layer of leather conditioner all over your shoes. Leave it for 15-20 minutes so that the conditioner is fully absorbed into the leather.
Why is shoe polish necessary for shoes?
Apart from shine, polishing the shoes hide any faults and make the shoe’s surface even. Overtime leather loses its outer coat; moderately, the leather starts to peel. With the leather peeling and scuff marks will make the shoes wear and crumbly over time. To prevent all these, polishing the shoes and regularly conditioning them will add extra years to its life.
How often should I shine my shoes?
It depends on how frequently you wear them; on average, once a week, you should polish your shoes, whether or not you use shoe trees to retain the shape, and how frequently you brush and condition them, once in a month you should polish your shoes.
Do polishing shoes protect them?
If you polish your shoes regularly, the shoes will have increased longevity, opposition against water and dirt, and protect the shoes from scores and scratches, otherwise, the leather will become crumbly in a short time, and you need to buy a new pair of shoes.
Conclusion
There is no restriction of using only one cream or polish. For best results, you can use both cream and wax polish on your shoes. Make sure you use the cream polish first then the wax. If you apply the cream, later on, the shoes will not get the mirror shine that it was supposed to get if you use wax polish after cream.
Now that you can differentiate between cream and polish, it is up to you which one you will apply to your shoes. Make sure you follow all the polishing instructions or use the cream on your shoe step by step.
I hope this article will help you clear all your confusions regarding shoe cream and shoe polish. Do let us know your experience of how this article helped you.
