Most upholstery leather is tanned using the chrome tanning method. The hides are rotated for eight hours in a drum of trivalent chrome. Then, the chrome is locked into the leather by adding bicarbonate. This “tanned” leather is now wrung out, split into sheets of varying thicknesses, and then put through a shaving machine. They go back into those drums to be dyed and are then treated with a combination of synthetic fatty type chemicals and natural fat, to make them soft.

Leather that is being used to make furniture is toggle dried. It is spread over large frames and held in place by clips (toggles). It is then softened by staking or milling, after which a series of coatings are put on the surface to protect the material, make it more attractive, and to make it feel the way luxurious leathers should feel. Some manufacturers use acrylic and urethane resins, while others use vinyl, wax, dye, or nitrocellulose. When they are done embossing, printing, and pressing, a beautiful, flexible and water resistant material is ready to adorn your furniture.

Leather is not cheap, costing anywhere from $250-$500 per hide. Because of its tiny pores, it breathes; making it cooler to sit on than vinyl. It ages beautifully. But it also scratches and stains easily, and is tricky to clean. It cannot withstand extensive heat, making it an iffy choice for massage chairs that utilize heat as part of the therapy.

Artificial leather is a material that is intended to substitute for leather in areas where leather is not suitable. Though leather, synthetic leather, and vinyl are the coverings offered in most massage chairs, the leather is the material least frequently used. It is too difficult to clean and protect, and it doesn’t hold up under the pounding of the massage rollers or the heat from the heat elements.

Pleather is made by taking the same components that are found in PVC pipes, stretching them very thin, and then applying a strong woven backing to the sheets. It is stain resistant, strong, and with the new innovations coming out every year, has shed its reputation as a poor substitute for leather. It is substantially cheaper to buy, running from $35-$100 a yard.

While some synthetic leathers are cooler than others, none breathe better than real leather. Nor do they age as gracefully. But they are affordable, can handle heat well, are very elastic (essential for handling the complex therapy programs in high end massage chairs), and also are lighter in weight. It can take ten to twenty years (or more) before the synthetics will begin to wear or crack. And this is the main reason that the high end, quality massage chairs seldom use real leather.

There are some cheaper manufacturers that will advertise their chairs as real leather in order to charge a few hundred more for them. But most of these chairs are only made with 30% real leather, with vinyl in the areas that need a stronger material (any heated area, and in areas that will be stretched and pounded by the rollers). Because the synthetics are so much improved in appearance, the untrained eye won’t see this until later, when the chair starts to fade, dry, and crack unevenly in the areas where no synthetic was used.