How to Shine Shoes Without Polish – 10 Easy Alternatives [2023 Guide]

Published by Ahmad Jamal on April 17, 2023

Have you ever been in a rush to go out, but your shoes aren’t shiny as usual.

You’re looking for polish but it’s missing, and there isn’t enough time to search for it, or ask a family member to fitch it for you.

Then you should know How to Shine Shoes Without Polish, fast, without needing to go back to the market and get yourself a new polish.

In this CleanersAdvisor guide, you’ll know why you need to know How to Shine Shoes Without Polish, in addition to mastering 10 ways on How to Shine Shoes Without Polish using household and natural remedies you can easily find at home.


Why Should You Master How to Shine Shoes Without Polish?

As we expressed in the introduction, sometimes time isn’t on your side at all, other times you just notice that there’s no polish.

Moreover, natural remedies can most of the time act as a better alternative, as it’s more affordable, and mostly available.

Who wouldn’t like the beauty or the smell from natural remedies that lasts forever? I would.


How to Shine Shoes Without Polish

Here are 10 other alternatives to shining shoes without polish:

1. How to Shine Shoes with Oil

2. How to Shine Shoes with Banana Peel

3. How to Shine Shoes with Petroleum Jelly

4. How to Shine Shoes with Coconut Oil

5. How to Shine Shoes with Walnut Oil

6. How to Shine Shoes with Linseed Oil and Vinegar

7. How to Shine Shoes with Beeswax

8. How to Shine Shoes with Hair Gel

9. How to Shine Shoes with Lip Balm

10. How to Shine Shoes with Toothpaste


1. How to Shine Shoes with Oil

Olive oil serves as one of the finest homemade shoe-shining alternatives.

You may think it’s best for creating a freshening salad, but it’s also used as an alternative to polish when considering shining shoes.

All you need to do is prepare warm water and a few soft pieces of clothes, and a small portion of olive oil.

First, you need to remove the dirt and dust on your shoes using warm clothes and a small piece of cloth. This is essential to make sure the oil is used for shining, not cleaning.

Then, take another clean piece of clothes and dip it in a small amount of olive oil.

Rub the clean cloth over your shoes, and make sure you’re covering tight angles that are often disregarded.

You should leave it for 5-10 minutes to make sure it’s shining as requested, if not, use another clean cloth one more time that’ll help you reach the aforementioned shine finish.

Some would advise adding a few drops of lemon juice to the olive oil for a higher shining finish.

Here’s a video demonstrating how to shine shoes without polish but with olive oil.


2. How to Shine Shoes with Banana Peel

I’ve been eating bananas on a daily basis since I was in kindergarten, never have I ever known that it can be used to shine shoes whenever polish is missing.

You won’t need a lot of preparation, just the banana peel and a soft clean piece of cloth.

Now, take the inside of the banana peel and rub it over your shoes, using different sections of the banana skin to cover different parts of the shoes.

Once you’re done, use the soft clean piece of cloth to clean afterward.

Congrats, you’re done shining your shoes with banana peel.


3. How to Shine Shoes with Petroleum Jelly

Petroleum Jelly can be found in your bathroom cabinet, near where you would store polish.

You’ll need one or two soft cloths in addition to the petroleum jelly, but most likely won’t need anything else to finalize shining your shoes.

If your shoes aren’t clean and suffer from dusty appearance, get rid of the dust and dirt before you shine it with petroleum jelly.

Using the soft cloth apply petroleum jelly all over your shoes.

In a circular motion, rub the petroleum jelly over the shoes, until you’re done.

Take another clean cloth to remove any excess petroleum jelly afterward.


4. How to Shine Shoes with Coconut Oil

Generally speaking, coconut oil and other oil types can be used to shine leather shoes, therefore, it’s viable to do the same whenever you can’t find the polish to shine your shoes with it.

Remove any debris or dirt stuck to your shoes, then dip a soft piece of cloth in the coconut oil, and gently rub it all over your shoe.

Coconut oil makes it shiny immediately, and you’ll only need to remove any excess oil left, before leaving it to dry for a couple of minutes.

How to Shine Shoes Without Polish

5. How to Shine Shoes with Walnut Oil

Walnut oil never disappoints when it comes to shining shoes perfectly in the absence of polish.

Walnut oil is also available at nearly every household, so it’s easily a good alternative under the said circumstances.

Take a large amount of walnut oil and put it on a clean piece of cloth to begin with.

Rub the shoes in circular motions to shine every section properly, and add a decent shiny finish to the shoes.

Next, use a clean soft cloth to buff the shine, before leaving it to dry with its latest shiny finish.


6. How to Shine Shoes with Linseed Oil and Vinegar

You never miss vinegar being part of every cleaning solution, but this time, it’s a great shining option for your shoes, alongside the linseed oil.

All you have to do is mix two parts of linseed oil with one part of vinegar, and add them to a soft clean cloth.

In a similarly explained circular repetitive motion, shine your shoes with this mixture, and then buff to a shine with a soft cloth.

How to Shine Shoes Without Polish

7. How to Shine Shoes with Beeswax

Beeswax can not only shine your shoes, but it can also help condition leather and keep it supple.

Therefore, you need to heat some beeswax until it’s soft, as it’s the main ingredient to a shiny finish on your shoes.

Then, apply the soft heated beeswax to the shoes with a piece of clean cloth as a final step.


8. How to Shine Shoes with Hair Gel

Hair gel is a great solution that makes your hair look stylish and a bit shiny at times, why not do the same to your shoes in the absence of polish?

Apply a small amount of hair to the shoes, and rub it to a shine with a simple clean cloth.

Make sure the shoes are clean before shining them with hair gel.

How to Shine Shoes Without Polish

9. How to Shine Shoes with Lip Balm

Similar to how we described the hair gel as an alternative to polish, lip balm can do the same job at the same comfort level.

Apply the lip balm to your shoes and rub it off with the soft cloth. It’s as simple as that.

Even the smallest amount of lip balm can be effective in providing a shiny finish to your shoes.


10. How to Shine Shoes with Toothpaste

Seems like we’re still in the same area, right? Easy-to-find at every house alternatives to polish are effective in shining your shoes at speed.

Apply some toothpaste to your shoes, and use a soft brush to cover the whole shoe surface with it.

Just make sure you’re not using a colored toothpaste as it would inflict damage to the original color of your shoes.


To Wrap Up

This concludes our guide to How to Shine Shoes Without Polish, providing you with 10 alternatives to choose from.

Whether it’s coconut oil, olive oil, toothpaste, or whatever alternative you choose, you can get your shoes shining in less than 10 minutes with this guide.

If you have any questions regarding this CleanersAdvisor guide on How to Shine Shoes Without Polish, feel free to ask us in the comments section below.

Here’s a video that would wrap things up for you: