Is leather absorbent

All leather must allow the movement of moisture back and forth (transpiration) otherwise it is not leather.

The degree of absorbency will be affected by the amount and type of finishing products that have been used on the leather during the retanning process.

Moisture is crucial to keeping leather in good condition and water based products are good for keeping the balance correct.

Aniline style leathers are more absorbent than Pigment Coated Leather but all leather finishes still have to allow moisture to get to the leather and are designed to allow this to happen.

Absorbency can be tested by putting a few drops of water onto the surface of the leather. If the water soaks in and leaves a dark mark it is likely to be an aniline style leather, if it beads on the surface the leather has some type of finish on the surface.

The rate of absorbency is a good indicator to technicians of the type of leather they are dealing with and is one of the 5 step process that is used during leather identification.