Dancers are always trying to extend the life of their pointe shoes. It’s especially important for students who are buying their own shoes to get the most out of them, because we all know they aren’t cheap! There are several things you can do to extend the life of your pointe shoes. I would say the ideal way to go if you can afford it, would be to always have at least two pair on hand that you can switch between. The longer your shoes can rest between wearings the better they are able to air out and harden back up.
Another important thing to do is to keep them in a net bag or something where air can get to the shoes, rather than dumping them into your dance bag with sweaty ballet slippers and leotards. These bags are available at dancewear stores and online. The Ballet Boutique sells them online here. If you can wear tights I think that helps, too, although I remember liking to sometimes dance in my pointe shoes with bare feet—but if you’re trying to make them last longer that probably isn’t the smartest thing to do.
We always cut the satin off the tips of our shoes before wearing them as well. The satin tends to rip up anyway. I’m not sure it’s a good practice, but we also used shellac or floor cleaner like Mop & Glo floor cleaner and put a capful into the box of the shoe. Set them up on the toes to dry overnight, first getting any excess out of the tip of the shoe with a paper towel.
Some of my friends used to put their shoes in the oven, but I never did this and am not sure how it made them last any longer. Any other dancers have tips on extending the life of pointe shoes to share? Please leave a comment!
Sarah Conrad says
Hi Tammy!
I sometimes switch my pointe shoes every time I wear them, so that they aren’t broken in as just a right shoe or a left shoe!
Laurie LeBlanc-Rickaby says
I remember learning how to darn pointe shoes, but I only did it once or twice. I’ve heard that Crazy Glue in the toe works. But mostly we did Mop ‘n Glo and BullsEye Shellac.
ballet mom says
I am so new! liquids in the toe like mop and glo! OK I have a lot to learn.
Balletpages says
Hi Tammy,It’s actually no longer recommended to put mop and glo in the shoes because even after it dries it will re-activate when the dancer sweats and it is toxic. The same reasons they recommend not letting your pet around a floor that has recently be mopped with mop and glo…it’s poisonous. A better product, which when thoroughly dry stays dry is Jet Glue. A few drops inside the toe of the NEW pointe shoe in those spots that a dancer finds wear out early will extend the life of the shoe.Shellac, or any clear enamal spray paint will also do the trick.One other, that works extremely well on Freed’s but can be tough to find (may have to special order) is Minwax Wood Hardener. Make sure it’s not wood glue!Happy Dancing!
Tammy Stanwood says
Thanks for the info about Mop N Glo! Didn’t realized that it was toxic. The other options you gave are very good. Thanks again!
Ballet Dancer says
Jet glue can be just as bad as mop and glo. I prefer darning my pointe shoes.
Cara says
We used to spray our ballet shoes with hairspray and art lacquer (the formula they spray on to set art done with media such as pastels). It seemed to set the toes and backs quite hard for a while. Definitely extended the life of the shoes by another 25% or so.The other things we did was to darn the toe end of the shoes with a blanket stitch in concern centric circles. We used a silk embroidery cotton for this. It helped to preserve the toe and was also quite good at preventing slipping on floors that had been over polished.