hair loss after tanning

[coyotezh]

Could anyone tell me why there is quite bit of hair loss each time I wash the hide AFTER tanning? Any input would be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance. John

[daveyn]

ohhhh! I thought this thread was going to be about middle aged Quebec snowbirds in Florida...I'll just move along.

[doublehaul]

Me too

Did you use sun screen ?

[Marty S]

No... at least not conclusively

Hide may be rotten, or laid around too long before fleshing/skinnng, finishing, ph could be wrong in pickle or tanning baths, or a lot of other reasons. Or you did something wrong, or laid in the sun or got too warm etc etc etc etc

[Albertadiver]

Originally Posted by daveyn

ohhhh! I thought this thread was going to be about middle aged Quebec snowbirds in Florida...I'll just move along.

Yeah me three. Then i saw it was in the trapping section and not another weird and uncomfortable account of TreeGuy greased up at the spa again.

[sns2]

I've been losing my hair for a helluva long time, but I never thought it had anything to do with tanning

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by coyotezh

Could anyone tell me why there is quite bit of hair loss each time I wash the hide AFTER tanning? Any input would be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance. John

For starters, if it's the coyote pelt that you posted pictures of I'd suggest starting with a better quality pelt, John. That one was a good one to learn/experiment with but not much more than that. Possibly the start of mange?

Weren't you using the orange plastic bottle solution? I don't recall washing anything other than ermine after using it. What do the instructions say?

[58thecat]

dam that explains my dome....too much sun and fun in the sun when I was younger

[Battle Rat]

Have you salted, resalted next day and let the hide dry hard.
Proper salting is what kills bacteria that cause hair slippage.
Also using some anti bacteial in the rehydration and tanning. A cap full of good old lysol is all it takes.

[coyotezh]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

For starters, if it's the coyote pelt that you posted pictures of I'd suggest starting with a better quality pelt, John. That one was a good one to learn/experiment with but not much more than that. Possibly the start of mange?

Weren't you using the orange plastic bottle solution? I don't recall washing anything other than ermine after using it. What do the instructions say?

Hi, Dave.. The pelt was good. I followed all the instruction on the orange bottle, however after I washed last time in dish detergent, the hair slip was quite much. I tried to read many articles online, but the main reason for my situation might be the salting process. I used my pressure washer to fleshing the hide. After that, I washed the hide in dish detergent, and then immediately salted the pelt as there is no water dripping. After two days of salting the hide was still quite wet....

What is your opinion? Is it possible to recommend a book to me? I want to know not only how to do it, but why we do it this way..

Thank you in advance!
John

[Battle Rat]

You can hang to drip dry for a couple hours.
Elevate one side of the salt table for the water to drain. You need to hang the salted hide and allow it to dry hard as a rock to set the hair.

[HunterDave]

I think your problem was with the pelt being wet too long throughout the tanning process and that caused the hair to slip. It could be too long in the salt bath too. It was probably not the best idea to flesh with a power washer and then wash it afterwards. I always start with a dry pelt that I just fleshed, whether it was just skinned or thawed out from the freezer.

Follow the instructions on the bottle to a “T”, don’t add anything to it and it should work fine.

1. Flesh......salt for 24 hours. Flesh.....salt for 24 hours. Flesh one last time.
2. Prepare a salt bath and put coyote pelt in for 6 to 8 hours.
3. Thin skin by removing any remaining membrane.
4. Wash in lukewarm water with dish detergent. (I use baby shampoo followed by a rinse in lukewarm water).
5. Hang to dry fur. (I fold hide on hide ensuring that no hide is exposed so it doesn’t dry up and put a fan on it to dry the hair)
6. Once the fur is pretty much dry, warm the formula and apply it to the hide.
7. Fold the pelt hide on hide for 12 to 16 hours.
8. Unfold and board so it dries in the right form.
9. Other than working the hide to make it more pliable, that’s pretty much the jest of it. (I don’t bother with that as you’ll never get it garment quality and most of my tanning this way is just for wall hangers).

You’re welcome to drop by the skinning shack sometime to pick up little tips/tricks.

[coyotezh]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

I think your problem was with the pelt being wet too long throughout the tanning process and that caused the hair to slip. It could be too long in the salt bath too. It was probably not the best idea to flesh with a power washer and then wash it afterwards. I always start with a dry pelt that I just fleshed, whether it was just skinned or thawed out from the freezer.

Follow the instructions on the bottle to a “T”, don’t add anything to it and it should work fine.

1. Flesh......salt for 24 hours. Flesh.....salt for 24 hours. Flesh one last time.
2. Prepare a salt bath and put coyote pelt in for 6 to 8 hours.
3. Thin skin by removing any remaining membrane.
4. Wash in lukewarm water with dish detergent. (I use baby shampoo followed by a rinse in lukewarm water).
5. Hang to dry fur. (I fold hide on hide ensuring that no hide is exposed so it doesn’t dry up and put a fan on it to dry the hair)
6. Once the fur is pretty much dry, warm the formula and apply it to the hide.
7. Fold the pelt hide on hide for 12 to 16 hours.
8. Unfold and board so it dries in the right form.
9. Other than working the hide to make it more pliable, that’s pretty much the jest of it. (I don’t bother with that as you’ll never get it garment quality and most of my tanning this way is just for wall hangers).

You’re welcome to drop by the skinning shack sometime to pick up little tips/tricks.

It's a very good advise, really appreciated

[Battle Rat]

Could also be related to fleshing with a pressure washer.
I'm not sure you could get as good a job removing all the flesh and fat as you could doing it the old tried and true method using a fleshing knife.

[dugh]

I noticed hair loss after ten years of marriage, it seemed to get worse when my three daughters got older.

[coyotezh]

Want to buy a fleshing knife. The one for sale at Cabela’s is very dull. Is it normal?

Does anyone have suggestions? Really interested in tanning. Feel better when you could make a beautiful thing out of something you harvested from nature.

A question: should a fleshing knife be dull? Or the sharper, the better?

[tomcat]

Originally Posted by coyotezh

A question: should a fleshing knife be dull? Or the sharper, the better?

A dull fleshing knife is used to push the excess meat and fat off and in my opinion safer to use than a sharp knife. But then it's all in what you get used to using.

[Battle Rat]

Originally Posted by coyotezh

Want to buy a fleshing knife. The one for sale at Cabela’s is very dull. Is it normal?

Does anyone have suggestions? Really interested in tanning. Feel better when you could make a beautiful thing out of something you harvested from nature.

A question: should a fleshing knife be dull? Or the sharper, the better?

Usually there is one sharp side and one dull side.
99% of the time you will use the dull side on coyotes.
It is more of a rolling the flesh off than a cutting action.
I've used ones made out of puck board material cut with a 45 degree bevel.
Worked OK and would not cut the hide.
The best one you could get is a Post two-handed fleshing knife from Halford's.

[South west trappin RG]

Originally Posted by Marty S

No... at least not conclusively

Hide may be rotten, or laid around too long before fleshing/skinnng, finishing, ph could be wrong in pickle or tanning baths, or a lot of other reasons. Or you did something wrong, or laid in the sun or got too warm etc etc etc etc

This exzactly, hair loss if from bacteria growth affecting hair root folicals.

[walking buffalo]

The verdict is in.

Those suffering hair loss should be salting their bacteria infested cap.

[MountainTi]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

The verdict is in.

Those suffering hair loss should be salting their bacteria infested cap.

Tried it but stings my eyes when I sweat and my forehead remained the same size

[FishOutOfWater]

Originally Posted by Battle Rat

Could also be related to fleshing with a pressure washer...

This was my first thought also. You're pushing water into the hide.
I see guys on YouTube pressure washing beavers & muskrats, but they're a lot more greasy and are aquatic animals anyway.
Try throwing the clean/wet coyote pelt in the washer on a spin cycle with some old towels. Your wife will never know.

My 2 coppers.

[FishOutOfWater]

Double tap...

[coy coyote]

Most tannery I know off or send fur or hides to recommend salting the hides to help preserve them a bit , especially while they will be sitting a while to wait to get tanned. Key ingredient in tanning is salt sometimes chrome salt.

Sent from my SM-G981W using Tapatalk

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by tomcat

A dull fleshing knife is used to push the excess meat and fat off and in my opinion safer to use than a sharp knife. But then it's all in what you get used to using.

Correct.

Coyote are among the hardest pelts to flesh properly because the hair follicles go through to the flesh side.
A sharp knife can cut those follicles releasing the hair.

Also, it's best to flesh with the lie of the hair to minimize follicle damage.
That means tail to head.
Remove only what you need to. Only meat and fat if you can.

A thicker hide is a lot more forgiving. It might be best to get good at tanning Beaver or even Deer before trying Coyote.

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by KegRiver

Correct.

Coyote are among the hardest pelts to flesh properly because the hair follicles go through to the flesh side.
A sharp knife can cut those follicles releasing the hair.

Also, it's best to flesh with the lie of the hair to minimize follicle damage.
That means tail to head.
Remove only what you need to. Only meat and fat if you can.

A thicker hide is a lot more forgiving. It might be best to get good at tanning Beaver or even Deer before trying Coyote.

X2. Damaging the hair follicles will make the guard hairs fall out.