Guide: How do denim heads wash jeans?

Have you fallen down the rabbit hole? Have you decided to stop machine washing your gorgeous, expensive, Japanese handmade selvedge jeans? Then there are a few things you should know before you start hand washing.

This method is best if you've decided to wash your jeans as little as possible. You might be aiming for high contrast fades, and have decided to get 180 "wears" before the first wash. In that case, hand washing is the way to go. For a true denim head, this isn't a chore, but a ritual:

1. Preparation: Turn inside out and close

First and foremost: Always turn your jeans inside out. This protects the indigo-dyed exterior from unnecessary friction and mechanical wear. Make sure all buttons on the fly are closed. This helps the jeans maintain their shape throughout the soak, and it makes for slightly less mess in the bathroom afterwards.

2. The Bath: Cold and Calm

Fill a bathtub or a large basin with lukewarm to cold water (max 25°C).

• Detergent: Skip it! The point here is to be gentle. We're rinsing out particles, but we're not adding any chemicals. Let the jeans air out for a bit before washing to get rid of some bacteria with the sunlight.

• Soak: Lay the jeans flat in the water. You can use a couple of shampoo bottles or similar as weights to keep them submerged if they float. Let them soak for approximately 30–60 minutes.

3. Rinsing: Gentle Handling

Carefully lift the jeans out of the water. If they are very dirty, you can repeat the process with new, clean water. Important: Never wring out raw denim jeans! If you wring them, you will create permanent creases that will ruin your natural fades.

4. Drying: Patience is a Virtue

This is the most important step to avoid irregularities in the indigo color.

• Roll it up: Lay the wet jeans flat on a large towel, and roll them up like a sleeping bag to squeeze out excess water.

• Hang them up: Turn the jeans back right side out and hang them up by the belt loops or lay them flat on a drying rack.

• Never tumble dry: The tumble dryer is the number one denim killer. It will shrink the jeans unpredictably and "steal" the indigo color in a way that looks artificial.

5. Breaking In: Stiff as a Board

When the jeans are dry, they will feel extremely stiff – almost like cardboard. This is completely normal. Put them on and wear them for about an hour; your body heat and movements will soften the fibers again. Now they are ready for another round of fading.