6 ways to check real cowhide

Real cowhide does not smell like Plastic (Simili, PU, ​​PVC…) 

Real cowhide is made from animal skin (Cow Leather, Horse Leather…) – so it must smell like leather. 

Real cowhide may or may not be fragrant, but it never smells like a plastic bag. Use this tip, when a Salesperson tells you, “It smells like plastic, because it's a new product”. Just don’t believe it.

Real leather looks like leather. 

Look closely at the surface of the skin. If you see an even surface on the leather, it could be a fake leather material, as real leather is never perfectly flat. Real cowhide may have wrinkles and slight scratches. Texture and ridges on real leather will be uneven. 

However, today's technology is very advanced. "Fake" leather looks very "real". Many factors should be considered to decide whether cowhide is real or fake. 

Real leather “Feels like” real animal leather 

Touch the leather product with your fingers. Real leather will feel soft, smooth and natural. Whatever the surface of that leather, you won't feel "bumpy" and "raw". 

Wrinkles on genuine cowhide 

To distinguish genuine cowhide, press or squeeze the leather product in any position. Then, the surface should look like "pulled" when you put a dent on it. Fake leather is generally less flexible, and the surface of the leather is mostly unaffected by your pressure. 

• Wrinkles appear when pressed = Genuine Leather 
• No Wrinkle = Fake Leather 

Real cowhide is hard to crack 

• Real cowhide is essentially the same as the leather at your elbow, this leather will not crack after many folds , break consecutively. While real cowhide won't stretch as well as live, but if the leather shows signs of cracking after you've bent it many times, it's probably not genuine leather.
• If stored and cared for in normal conditions, real cow leather will never crack or break. Genuine cowhide leather is not as flammable as simili PVC, Simili, PU resins. Fake leather has a burning smell of plastic when burned (because they have plastic made from oil). Genuine leather will hardly catch fire when you ignite the fire. In fact, real leather is highly refractory and it won't melt like plastic when burned and the smell of burning is that of burnt flesh.