Dubbin was recommended to me for working into the skin (not the leather one, that one I leave alone). I did use it once on my goatskin one (which I think was one of Mr. Kearns' cheaper models (I ordered it from a shop in England almost 20 years ago) but it left the skin fairly greasy and I later wished I hadn't applied anything. I always used a wet cloth to dampen the skin and lower its pitch, but I got tired of fussing with the thing every time I went to use it. Being on stage, under lights, was a particular headache; the pitch would go up and up in the middle of one medley.