Should i wash jeans before wearing

The good news? We don't have to wash denim as often as we think. According to a plethora of denim experts, although we should wash a new pair of jeans , we shouldn't wash our jeans after every wear.

In fact, there are tons of alternative ways to freshen up your jeans between wears, including steaming or hanging them in the bathroom while you shower. But for the most part, our denim is tougher than we give it credit for.

The Laundress instructed Refinery 29 to definitely wash them. According to Apartment Therapy , your new duds could be laced with toxic chemicals. Formaldehyde is routinely sprayed on new jeans to prevent mildew and give new jeans a "pressed" affect. While the chemicals are approved for this use in the U. Every denim maker seems to have a different opinion on water temperature. Your best bet? The warmer the water the higher the shrinkage. After the first soak, wash the jeans whenever needed with either hand-washing or machine-washing.

If you want high contrasts, postpone machine-washing as long as possible. If you plan to never wash a pair of unsanforized jeans, buy a size that fits. Sanforization is a fabric finishing process that eliminates shrinkage. However, I would still recommend a pre-wear soak for sanforized raw denim jeans hand-washing without detergent. But remember that this may give you less pronounced contrasts in the fade.

Like with unsanforized denim, high contrasts comes when you postpone machine-washing as long as possible and wear the jeans as much as possible. Just remember that the consequence is less durable denim. When you have to wash, do it by hand and remember to add vinegar every time you wash!

In this particular case, you can skip the pre-wear soak, even though the jeans are raw, to avoid any colour loss. Finally, when your jeans eventually start to fade—and they will—you can make the denim black again with domestic dyes like this one from Dylon.

Industrially-abraded jeans are the ones that are already faded when you buy them. Garment finishing covers a host of treatment techniques that emulate what happens when you wear and wash your jeans yourself. And if they have rips on them when you buy them you should expect the rips to grow. Denimhunters is a knowledge portal for denim enthusiasts and newcomers. Start your hunt here! This article was written by Thomas Stege Bojer, the founder and owner of Denimhunters.

Thomas launched the site in and built it into a voice for the denim industry and community. Thanks for providing such an awesome amount of information.

I signed up for the wait list to enroll in your classes. This is right up my alley. And have been drooling over the BDD Japanese line. I would like to know more about the trade offs of denim longevity. You say that not washing or doing the pre wear wash decreases the longevity of the denim.

What causes this? How drastic are the differences? Thanks for the post. Off to read the rest lol. Hi Ryan, Thanks for the comment and your interest in what I do. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Sign me up for the newsletter! Looking for quality jeans and other well-made essentials? Fill your sink or a bucket with lukewarm water. Then let them soak for minutes. Drain the water and rinse the jeans thoroughly. Alternatively, you can also flat dry the jeans. Pro Tip for Retailers When Selling Raw Denim Jeans Having a worn-in and washed pair of your most popular raw denim styles on display help the customer visualise how he can expect the jeans to evolve.

To stretch out in the waist, put on the jeans when still damp and walk around a bit. To stretch the length, fold the legs, step on the hems and pull upwards slowly in a controlled manner. Facebook Instagram LinkedIn.

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