How do I make a soft tanned hide softer?

I recently had a rabbit hide soft tanned, but parts of him are still very stiff, ie ears and face. What can I use to soften these areas without breaking them off? I don't know anything about tanning, but is on my list of things to do before I die. This little rabbit has very long hair (Jersey Wooley), if that makes any difference. Thanks for any and all help. Ruth

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Ruth, it needs to be oiled and "broken"

To make a hide soft, in laymans terms, the cellular wall structure must be "broken". That entails oiling a hide with a tanning oil(suntan lotion, hand lotion, anything with lanolin will work) and then "breaking" it. That means the hide is pulled across a dull edge repeatedly to break those cell walls. With a rabbit, I'd caution you to use very little pressure as you're likely going to tear the hide if you're not very careful.

softer tan for the new year.

ruth..
it starts in the beginning. using an enzyme to get ALL fat out of the skin so that the tanning oil will not just run off. but rather it will obsorb. and using a negatively charged tan and a positively charged oil also increases your chances of better tanning oil obsorbtion
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