The Truth About Mink Lashes

At NZ Lashes, we’re firmly against animal cruelty – which is the reason we only stock completely 100% cruelty free synthetic lashes. In this blog we’re going to talk a bit about mink lashes and the reasons we don’t stock them.

The apparent benefits of mink lashes are that they are fluffier and more natural looking than synthetic lashes. Made popular by celebrities such as Beyonce and Kim Kardashian, mink lashes are not only extremely expensive, they are also really difficult to work with and wear. They are never the same length through a set so can look uneven, they have no natural curl to them and getting them wet can be problematic. The issues around how mink fur is harvested also doesn’t sit well with those concerned with animal welfare.

Let’s start by talking about the “mink” lash extensions and false lashes you probably see offered for low prices. These probably aren’t actually real mink fur – they are more likely to be synthetic recreations that mimic real mink in terms of fluffiness and length. So don’t be fooled if you see “mink” lashes for a low price, they are probably just imitation mink that shouldn’t be a higher price than other types of synthetic lashes. The reason genuine mink lashes are expensive is because it takes a significant amount of time, labour and money to harvest real fur.

So, on the subject of mink lashes, how do they harvest the fur? There are a few different ways. The first is to kill the mink and skin them in the way that you might expect fur would be harvested for clothing or accessories. We’re against killing animals for beauty, particularly as there is no way of knowing if the mink has been killed “humanely” or if it has suffered during the process.

The second is to “handstrip” the fur from the mink while it is alive which is most commonly found in mink lashes that are marked as “cruelty free”. The mink isn’t killed in this process but is likely to feel pain as hair is removed. There’s also no guarantee that the animal has been kept ethically, it may live in cramped or unsanitary conditions with lots of other animals which we would argue is not “cruelty-free” at all.

The only way to genuinely know if you’re getting ethical and cruelty-free lashes is to go synthetic, which is why at NZ Lashes we only offer synthetic lashes. We’re always exploring new lash innovations and styles but until we can find guaranteed cruelty-free suppliers we won’t be stocking mink fur lashes. Check out our range of synthetic lashes here.