Sakura nawa rope paste for jute/hemp treatment

ROPE TREATMENTS
All the ropes I supply are fully treated and ready to use - so why would you want to add another treatment?

For bamboo rope: I would not recommend using any additional oils or rope pastes.

For hemp rope: the difference that pastes and oils make to hemp is marginal, but you can safely use them on your rope if you wish.

For jute rope: this can naturally become fairly dry, so adding a paste or oil is beneficial.

Ropes naturally become softer with time: some people like to let their rope condition by picking up the body oil present in their hands and the skin of the people they tie; others like to use oil or wax to give an extra silky feel from day one.

Treating rope with an oil or paste serves three functions:
1. It stops the rope from getting too dry, which can make it brittle
2. It reduces friction, preserving the life of a rope
3. It improves the feel of the rope against the hands and skin

Using a rope paste or oil does, however, mean that you are not able to wash your rope without washing at a temperature high enough to remove the oil/paste - this is because, in any scenario, mixing oils with water is bad idea.

I generally don’t recommend washing rope; however, if this is something you want to be able to do, please bear in mind that if you do so after using any oil or paste, the temperature you will need to use may weaken the rope.

(NB: some people actually boil rope to get rid of oils used in the treatment process: I very strongly recommend against this).

Everyone has their favourite rope treatment, and it mostly is just down to personal preference. Whilst there are two rope treatments I recommend and two I would definitely avoid, there are many options out there, so do experiment. The two I prefer and therefore offer are shea butter (as sakura nawa rope paste) and jojoba oil.

SAKURA NAWA
https://rebornropes.etsy.com/uk/listing/1619270050/sakura-nawa-rope-paste-for-treating-jute
I first learnt of shea butter as a rope treatment at the recommendation of Ren Yugami, and quickly became a firm fan. Shea butter is extracted from the kernels found within the shea tree seed, which grows in East and West tropical Africa. It has long been used in cosmetics as a luxurious body cream ingredient. The addition of a small, precise amount of sakura essence give a subtle scent. This leaves your rope feeling incredible, and has the added benefit of being kind to your skin.

Each pot contains enough paste to treat 16 ropes (you really do only need a tiny amount for each rope).

WARNING: The shea butter I source guarantees that it has been made and shipped less than nine months from being harvested. Not all shea butter is created equal - some suppliers leave it sitting in the warehouse for years before shipping and it can go rancid.

My own personal sakura nawa paste, created from shea from this supplier three years ago, has not yet discoloured. However, it is a natural product and eventually will start to go off. When that happens, you will need to replace the rope set that you have treated with it. Note that the environment in which you keep your ropes and paste will have an impact on how long this takes - therefore I can not offer any guarantee as to how long that will be.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE: Take a small amount of the paste on your finger and rub between your hands so that they have an even covering. Gently pull the rope through your hands, first in one direction and then the other, adding more paste to your hands as needed. Each rope needs no more than 1-2g of paste. Leave the rope to hang in a warm room so that the paste soaks into the rope.

I scent my shea butter with sakura extract (cherry blossom) which gives it a subtle, beautiful perfume. If you would like to use my sakura rope paste you can find a link to it here:

JOJOBA OIL ABOUT:
Jojoba oil is extracted from the seeds of the jojoba bush (Simmondsia chinensis), native to desert regions of northern America. It is actually more of a wax (54%) than an oil, is liquid at room temperature, yet solidifies if combined with another room temperature liquid. It is generally solid in cold temperatures. It is very resistant to high temperatures and because it contains few triglycerides, it lasts far longer than alternative oils such as almond and safflower.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Because jojoba oil combines the properties of both a wax and an oil, it makes the rope feel great, whilst protecting against friction and drying out. It does feel less ‘natural’ than shea butter and can make the rope feel a little waxy (although far less so than something like beeswax pastes). However, jojobas huge advantage over shea butter is that it does not go off with time.

BUYING AND USING JOJOBA OIL
I used to sell small containers of jojoba oil, but they leaked so often in the post that now I offer the option of treating your rope prior to posting. If you would prefer to treat your own, you can pick up jojoba oil at a reasonable price from your local health food shop or online. Pour some into your hands and rub it in, then run the ropes through your hands in both directions. Use sparingly, it takes very little.

If you would like your ropes pre-treated with jojoba, please use the following link and select the same number of treatments as the number of jute/hemp ropes you are buying:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/680696471/vegan-rope-treatment-oil-for-jute-jojoba

JOJOBA OIL OR SAKURA NAWA?
It really is personal preference. I feel jojoba provides the best protection for ropes, whilst sakura nawa feels best to the touch. This has to be balanced against the fact that shea butter will eventually go off; at which point you will need to replace any rope treated with it.

ROPE TREATMENTS I WOULD AVOID:
Mineral oil: I work hard to source the very best yarns, ensuring that they have the minimum amount of JBO in whilst still maintaining the stability it provides. This minimise the risk of them triggering allergies, and means that they don’t have the petrol odour of industrial ropes. Adding mineral oil, which is made from crude oil, introduces an allergen risk. Whilst it is rare, this reaction can be extremely serious.

Although mineral oil is currently classified as non-comedogenic (non-pore clogging ), when applied to the skin, it can trap sweat and dead skin cell.

Beeswax: I used a beeswax paste myself for a number of years: however I now try to avoid non-vegan products. As well as the ethical concerns involved, there are two other issues with beeswax. Firstly, many people recommend applying beeswax paste and then placing rope in the oven on a low temperature to let the wax soak in. Heating the rope fibres this way can cause invisible damage and make rope more liable to breaking. Secondly, beeswax treatments seem to make rope attract dirt far more and cause dust to stick to the ropes. If too much wax is used, the rope feels sticky and claggy.