We had the chance to sit down with Sean (mentioned in our earlier post – see “Tokyo Denim Scene Tour – Blue In Green’s Gordon Heffner“) and after sharing his stories wandering the denim district, Ameyoko, Ueno, he handed me a really interesting and unique gift (thanks again!): Sugar Cane Vintage Wash & Premium Care Detergent.
My Japanese is a little rusty (a.k.a. non-existent) and we were short on time for Sean to translate, so I did a bit of digging to find out more details. By way of Gordon Heffner of Blue In Green and Japanese e-tailer Rakuten, we found out that it is an alternative cleaning aid based on a special combination of amino acids. Long story short – the “Vintage Wash” takes care of the cleaning aspect while the “Premium Care” solution sees to the post-cleaning treatment.
Unfortunately, we were unable to nail down a retailer selling the product (will keep searching and update), but if you do get your hands on a package, here’s the step-by-step:
- Draw 8 gallons (or 30 liters) of cold/luke-warm water into bath tub (not hot water, otherwise you risk severe indigo loss)
- Combine with “Vintage Wash” detergent package
- Submerge for 20 minutes and lightly hand wash
- Rinse with clean water so no detergent residue remains
- Draw fresh bathtub of “Premium Care” solution to warm water (40C or 104F) of 0.8-1.3 gallons (3-5 liters)
- Soak for 15 minutes
- Hang dry denim (without rinsing off “Premium Care” solution)
- Avoid hanging in direct sunlight and hang in shade
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Stay Raw!
-Nick
@heddels
