Shaving cream?  A baseball glove care solution? Here's the bogus theory.  Shaving cream is good for your mitt because it has lanolin in it.   So the well-meaning but completely wrong idea is that lanolin will help soften your glove.  It doesn't.

Lanolin is a natural product that comes from the skin output (like sweat) of sheep and other wooly animals.  It's natural purpose is to help as a water resistance for the sheep's fleece (wool).  It's sometimes called "wool wax" or "wool grease."   It helps the rain water run off their furry coat, keeping lamb's skin dry.  Great for the lamb, but useless for your baseball mitt.

Hold on...  there is more to the story.  

We're going to talk more about this in another post, but for now understand that shaving cream is alkaline.  And, it means bad news for leather, because leather pH is the opposite of alkaline.  It's acidic.   

And, it leaves a soap film on your mitt.   Soapy films are not good for any skin, including leather.

What does alkaline chemistry do to leather?  It creates a chemical reaction inside the leather that breaks down the internal fiber structure, weakening the leather.  

So, here's the takeaway:

1. Lanolin doesn't soften, it waterproofs.

2. Shaving cream, like most soaps, is alkaline.  It's actually harmful to leather.  

You want to keep your leather mitt in good shape?  Use Mitt-Spit Solutions Conditioner --- a baseball glove oil that lubricates the leather fibers, keeping the leather supple and is pH balanced to the leather.  So, it is actually good for your mitt. Go to Mitt-Spit Products to buy the correct products for your glove. You’ll see the difference quality makes.