One of the most important steps in jute rope care is proper conditioning. Raw jute rope comes rough, stiff, and fibrous, requiring an initial treatment to make it smooth, supple, and luxurious for intimate use.

At The Azure Strand, we offer jute ropes that have been treated with an initial conditioning using our Rope Wax. This plant-based blend of jojoba oil and berrywax lubricates the fibres, ensuring your rope arrives softened, flexible, and ready for use.

While regular use and additional conditioning over time will further improve its suppleness, our pre-treated ropes provide an excellent starting point for those who appreciate high-quality, well-prepared rope.

While our jute ropes arrive pre-treated, ongoing maintenance will keep them soft and supple for continued use. Conditioning involves working a small amount of oil and/or wax into the length of the rope to soften and moisturize the fibres.

Over time, regular use of your jute rope will naturally condition it, as the oils from your skin gradually soften the fibres and enhance their flexibility. However, ropes can still become dry, brittle, and begin to shed fibres, and will benefit from additional care.

Avoid conditioning your ropes with oils that spoil. Food oils such as olive or coconut oil will eventually go rancid, leaving smelly, bacteria-laden residue on your ropes. You are better off using an oil which does not spoil. Natural, plant-based options include camellia, argan, and jojoba oils. For a cheaper alternative, food-grade mineral oil can work, but it is a petroleum-derived chemical.

An ideal rope conditioning product has a balance of oils to lubricate the rope, waxiness to lock in the moisture, and a soft semi-solid consistency with a low melting point. Waxes such as beeswax, or jojoba oil (which is, despite the name, a wax, not an oil) can be combined with one of the lubricating oils to help lock in the moisture and help achieve the ideal consistency. Beeswax, however, can leave your ropes feeling sticky. Jojoba oil has properties of both oil and wax and can be used on its own, although it is quite liquid at room temperature unless combined with something else.

The Azure Strand has developed our own plant-based Rope Butter, a blend of jojoba oil and berrywax. We have found this blend to be superior to beeswax blends, and it has the added benefit of being entirely vegan. It is designed to restore moisture, protect the fibres, and keep your rope feeling luxuriously soft and supple.