Some Sanuks shoes are made of super comfortable and flexible hemp blend uppers lined with soft woven blankets, while some are made of Yew-Knit mesh uppers with soft canvas lining.
Although they are comfortable, to begin with, there are reasons why you might need to stretch your Sanuk shoes, from simply just breaking them in, to adjusting a pair that is too tight.
As you break your hemp Sanuk shoes in, they will mold to your feet naturally. However, if you feel that your hemp shoes are too tight, you can try to stretch them out a bit. Here’s how:
1. Wear Sanuks at home with thick socks
The most convenient method to break in Sanuks is to wear them with thick socks at home. Wear thick socks together with your brand-new pair of Sanuks to slowly stretch the material.
Doing so allows you to break them in faster without hurting your feet.
Find a pair of winter socks and wear them inside your new Sanuk shoes. Tie the shoelaces as you normally would, making sure they’re not too tight, yet not too loose.
Wear your Sanuks around the house in 5 to 10-minute intervals, taking a break in between walks. Repeat the process as necessary, walking as often as possible.
This method is a great way to slowly and gradually stretch your Sanuks shoes to ensure you loosen them just the right amount, whether they are made of hemp, cotton, or mesh.
You don’t want to overstretch them and make the shoes too loose.
2. Stuff them with socks overnight
Another way to break in your Sanuk shoes faster is to stuff them with socks, especially if your new shoes are particularly tight on the toes and need that extra bit of wiggle room.
Roll up some newspaper into a ball, or roll up a couple of pairs of socks. Push the newspaper or rolled-up socks right to the end of your Sanuks, ensuring they are squeezed in tightly enough.
Leave your Sanuk shoes to stretch overnight and remove the stuffing in the morning. If you feel that the shoes are not loose enough, you can repeat the process until they loosen.
3. Install shoe stretchers
Another alternative to sock-stuffing is to use shoe stretchers.
For those who don’t know, shoe stretchers are items that do what their name suggests: stretch shoes. Four-way shoe stretchers, like these, can widen and lengthen the entire shoe.
To break in Sanuks, install shoe stretchers when you are not wearing them. Ideally, place the shoe stretchers during storage and leave them to do their thing overnight.
The shoe stretchers emulate what both of your feet do, stretching the material of your Sanuk shoes and breaking them in faster than you would have while wearing them.
4. Apply heat while wearing your Sanuks
The heat from a blow dryer will soften the material of the shoes for stretching. While wearing thick socks, put your Sanuks on and aim the blow dryer at them for 30 seconds.
Do not concentrate the heat on just one area of the shoes. Instead, move the heat around to distribute the heat evenly. After 30 seconds, walk around with your Sanuks on to loosen them.
While some websites recommend using steam or microwave to break in shoes, we don’t recommend these methods to avoid damage on the material of Sanuk shoes.
Using the gentle heat of a blow dryer is more than enough to stretch the material of Sanuk shoes and break them in. While durable, Sanuks are made of gentle materials after all.
Sanuks are made from responsibly certified and sustainable materials, which is why they are quite expensive. The last thing you want to do is to destroy your valuable pair of sneakers.
Key takeaways
Now you know how to break into Sanuk shoes. You can wear them around the house, stuff them with socks or shoe stretchers, or apply some gentle heat from a blow dryer.
By applying the tips in this article, your brand new pair of Sanuk shoes will become more comfortable faster, although they are already comfortable if you get the correct size.