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Since 1992, French designer Christian Louboutin has designed sleek, seductive shoes that are known for their bright red soles. This iconic touch came in a flash of inspiration to the designer, who coated the soles of his first prototype shoe with red Chanel nail polish taken from a woman painting her nails in his studio. The red sole captured the spirit of his colorful sketches and became a selling point for the shoes. The bright bottoms of the Christian Louboutin shoes will show signs of wear more easily than dark soles, but scuffs and scratches can be remedied.

Speak with a local cobbler about the possibility of adding red sole protectors to the bottom of your Christian Louboutin shoes. The flexible plastic coating will preserve the original red soles of your shoes, and many companies produce sole protectors in colors that closely mimic the red of Christian Louboutins. Cobblers can apply the sole protector to the half of the sole that makes contact with the ground, leaving the trademark Louboutin stamp exposed for added flair. Make sure that your cobbler is experienced in applying sole protectors to shoes, and specifically ask for red sole protectors instead of traditional black protectors.

Send your shoes to a leather repair company that specializes in repairing Christian Louboutin shoes. The official Christian Louboutin website recommends three shoe repair companies in New York City, Raleigh and Los Angeles that specialize in refurbishing Louboutin shoes. All three businesses accept shoes shipped domestically and internationally, and each company's website lists specific procedures for sending your shoes to a Louboutin-recommended shoe repair site.

Avoid needlessly exposing your shoes to gravel, puddles and other ground-level hazards that will shorten the life of your shoe. Exposing the shoe to inclement weather and rough conditions will wear the red sole, causing scratches and scuff marks.

Cover a scratch or visible scuff mark by coloring in the flaw with a red permanent marker. The color of most red permanent pens will blend in with the red of Christian Louboutin soles, and only those staring extremely closely at your feet will be able to spot the marker. Red nail polish works well in place of a permanent marker.

Warning

While scuff marks and scratches are normal, the red sole of a Christian Louboutin shoe should never peel away in a thin, plastic sheet. If your shoe does so, it is likely that you purchased a knock-off design.