Feather Care

FEATHER WASHING

Feathers are not as fragile as many of you think. You can wash and clean feathers with hand soap or even dish soap if they are very greasy. Wash them in one direction starting from the quill of the feathers all the way to the tip of the feather. Do not wash the opposite way or you will risk breaking the barbs off the feathers. Sometimes we soak our feathers for a few hours if the feathers are clumpy or greasy in dish soap before washing them off. Make sure to rinse the feather well until all the soaps are gone before drying them.

FEATHER DRYING

Drying feathers are easy. You can dry feathers using hair dryer, which we recommend if you are not drying in a huge volume. Just like your hair, you can use any setting you desire on a feather based on your preference. Again, try to dry feathers in the same direction you wash them as you do not want to risk breaking the feather.

You can also air-dry feathers as long as the feathers are 100% clean and has no residue in them. If there are residue left, feather will dry clumpy, and you might have to wash them again which is fine. Is a learning process for all of us.

Dry feathers in laundry dryer are an option too if you have many feathers to dry. Large ostrich feathers and feather boa are good candidates for drying in a dryer. Small plumage can be put into pillowcase and tie it close to make sure they stay in the pillowcase while drying. You can add dryer sheets with your feathers to decrease static and increase fluffiness while drying.

FEATHER STEAMING

It is a common practice for us to steam feathers to encourage the feathers to puff up and reach its ‘best look’. We use a professional hair steamer from Jiffy to steam our feather in the warehouse. For our customers, we suggest them using a at home handheld iron steamer or boiling water from a kettle to achieve the same affect. If both options are not available, one can spray the feathers with some water and dry them using hair dryer on high heat to achieve the same result.

FEATHER CURLING / STRAIGHTENING

Feathers are like hair in many ways. You can curl and straighten them using a flat iron. The barb of a feather is very soft, so it doesn’t take long to manipulate them with a heat iron. 300 °F is a good temperature to work with on the feathers.