Real vs. Faux Sheepskin Rugs: A Comprehensive Guide

When shopping for home decor, it’s often tempting to go for the more affordable option. We totally agree that sometimes cost saving is better (which is why our sheepskin rugs are so affordably priced!), but there are definitely drawbacks for going for a less authentic and cheaper option.

Today we’re going to weigh up the benefits of real sheepskin rugs against faux sheepskin to help you make a more informed purchase decision.

Real Sheepskin Rugs

What is a real sheepskin rug?

A genuine sheepskin rug is a sheepskin pelt with the fleece still attached to it. 

It may have been dyed meaning that it no longer has its natural wool colour (which may be a shade of white, cream, brown, grey or even black), and may be brightly coloured to suit your home’s colour scheme. This does not mean it is faux sheepskin though, it is still considered real sheepskin.

There are several different types of real sheepskin rugs which may depend on the breed or heritage of the sheep. For example, Icelandic sheepskins will often have thicker, coarser and longer wool, whereas Australian (sometimes known as Merino) sheepskins are shorter and softer. At Jacobs & Dalton, our sheepskins come from either British sheep which have a soft and silky smooth pelt, or we have Tibetan sheepskins which have a less dense and curlier wool that is super light and airy.

Real sheepskin rugs also go through a tannery process that faux sheepskins do not. This tanning is done to preserve the sheepskin and transform it into leather, but it also has the added benefits of removing dirt and bacteria as well as making it more durable and resistant to general wear and tear.

Faux Sheepskin Rugs

Faux sheepskin rugs are usually made using synthetic materials such as polyester or acrylic. On first glance, it can be easy enough to assume that a faux sheepskin rug is genuine. A closer look, however, will reveal its true nature!

How can you tell if a sheepskin rug is real?

A real sheepskin rug has some specific characteristics that differ from faux sheepskin. The texture is often softer and more comfortable than the faux alternative. It naturally offers warmth thanks to the natural wool fibres which are hollow and make for far better insulation. A real sheepskin rug also has a natural odour resistance and hypoallergenic properties. These characteristics make it perfect for use in products for babies where it can support better temperature regulation and make a safe space for them.

Real sheepskin is also far more durable and has a longer life than the synthetic version. You’ll find that over time, the fibres in faux sheepskin will start to come away from the faux pelt and shed. This does not happen with real sheepskin.

Our sheepskin rugs are all also eco-friendly as they are sourced from sheep used for the food industry. Instead of these pelts going to waste and being thrown away or otherwise disposed of, we use them to create soft furnishings for your home and boots and slippers to keep you warm in the winter – just as humans have been doing for thousands of years.

But the real question is usually how can you tell if a sheepskin rug is real when purchasing? Here is how you can check whether a sheepskin rug is authentic or not just by feel:

• Check the back of the rug; a real sheepskin will have a smooth, leather-like texture whereas a faux one will feel more synthetic. If you tug it, you’ll be able to see that a faux sheepskin has a woven texture on the back.
• Check the wool itself and where it attaches to the sheepskin. If it is synthetic, the fibres will all be a similar length and may feel plasticky or even prickly in places. They will also come away from the pelt far more easily. A real sheepskin rug is far more durable so the wool will stay in place.
• The wool on a real sheepskin rug will also look different where it joins the pelt as there will be smaller fibres attached at the base where the longer wool extends from.

Is real sheepskin worth it?

Real sheepskin is absolutely worth it, for a huge number of reasons!

Not only is real sheepskin softer and more comfortable, it also has the magical properties that we talked about earlier such as providing fantastic insulation while still remaining breathable. We love to make the best use of this by designing products such as sheepskin pram liners for babies which many of customers continue to use throughout the hot summer months, thanks to the additional property of sheepskin being a naturally wicking material. Thanks to the lanolin in the wool, it wicks away moisture to keep you warm or cool depending on the temperature (imagine the sheep year round!).

Real sheepskin is also far more durable as the fibres stay firmly in place and don’t shed easily at all, unlike faux sheepskin which drops synthetic hair everywhere you go! To help extend the life of your sheepskin, you can make sure to give it easy regular maintenance and clean any spills off it as soon as they happen. Luckily another benefit of sheepskin rugs is that they are naturally odour-resistant too! We have a fantastic sheepskin rug cleaning guide here which should answer all your questions about that if needed. 

We also have a lot of customers who absolutely love their sheepskin rugs for their hypoallergenic properties. This means that for those with allergies or eczema, wool is a good choice as they are less likely to react to it against their skin. There was even a small study in infants that showed that merino wool is a better choice than cotton for those with atopic dermatitis!

One of our favourite things about real sheepskin rugs is that they are eco-friendly if they are ethically sourced, as our sheepskins are. Faux sheepskin rugs are made from synthetic materials that take a huge amount of time to break down, and take a lot of resources to create. Our real sheepskin rugs come from the discarded pelts of sheep that have been used for the food industry, and we take care to know the origins of our products too.

It may be argued that faux sheepskin rugs are easier to clean as they can be thrown in a washing machine without much additional care, however this will likely result in a lot of shedding, meaning your once fluffy rug will look a little bit sad! With a little additional care, you’ll find that your real sheepskin is just as easy to keep clean and will last you a whole lot longer too.

There is also the fact that faux sheepskin rugs may seem cheaper to buy at the outset. Our sheepskin rugs are in fact very affordably priced as we have a direct line to our sheepskin suppliers and so can keep prices low. There is also the additional factor that a real sheepskin rug will last you years and years to come, whereas a synthetic rug is likely to only last for the current season before it starts looking a little lacklustre.

Some also like the fact that faux sheepskins can come in fun colours and designs, not realising that real sheepskin rugs can also be dyed to suit your style! We don’t recommend dying our rugs at home, but we have a lovely range of on trend and exciting colours in both our regular sheepskin rugs and our Tibetan rugs, including gorgeous soft pinks, bold reds and beautiful earthy greens.

So if you’re looking to add a sheepskin rug to your home, we’d highly recommend one of our real Jacobs & Dalton sheepskin rugs!

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