How to get vintage leather gloves soft

Only once was I lucky enough to find unused vintage leather gloves, delightfully soft and of perfect cream-white colour. Usually you're not so lucky and have to deal with used second-hand pairs that may be discoloured; and I, for my part, prefer to wash them and disinfect the inside if I buy them at a flea market. Even using a detergent specifically for leather doesn't help much, the leather comes out rather stiff after drying. Here's a collection of insights I gained through experimenting a bit.

- In general, leather gloves should be washed while wearing them and gently washing your hands with the gloves on, using a leather detergent. Rinse thoroughly. Squeeze the water out gently, if possible by rolling them to avoid crinkling. Dry on a towel that you change once it's too wet. NEVER dry on a radiator, it spoils the leather and makes it hard!
- To adjust gloves to your size, either widen them with a finger stretcher or the handle of a wooden spoon while still moist. Best thing is to put them on while still moist.
- While drying, put the gloves on several times and roll them to keep them supple and adjusted to the shape of your hands.
- If, despite all your efforts, the gloves still come out stiff and inflexible (especially funny if they go past your elbows and you can't bend them anymore...), turn them inside out and rub them thoroughly with uncoloured hand lotion or lanolin to replenish the missing grease in the leather. DO NOT use leather care grease, as it's usually yellowish and may discolour your gloves. Some gloves can also be greased gently on the outside, but you'll have to try. NEVER grease suede gloves from the outside!
- If you wear white leather gloves at a ball, don't let sweaty-handed partners touch your gloves without gloves of their own, the sweat discolours the leather (which is basically what must have happened to my extra-long pair).

And this happens if you rub a glove with Via... :D - well, this happens if your gloves come out with the rigidity of cardboard after washing and you have to treat them with hand lotion. Left one thoroughly lotioned from the inside, right one not. They became perfectly supple again, adjusted to my hands and let me bend my elbows. What more do you wish for! Well, they could be a little cleaner, the palms being really greyed (see sweaty-palmed-partner-problem above). I'll figure that out one day...