Despite almost daily requests for mink eyelash extensions, we stopped offering them at Perfect You in early 2016. You might be surprised to hear why. To learn more, read the full story below.
Setting the Record Straight On Mink Eyelashes
It’s all over the internet. Beauty bloggers with little to no experience in the eyelash extensions industry, writing about eyelash extensions. And, in every blog post, they all say the same thing. I’m sure you’ve heard it before:
“For the lightest and fluffiest lashes, natural mink is the best option. But they are going to cost you!! Beyonce wears them, blah blah blah…….” Pamela the Beauty Blogger, Source: Copied off another blog which says exactly the same thing, so is obviously true.
But, here are the real pros and cons of mink eyelashes, and this has nothing to do with animal rights (which as eyelash extensions professionals, we know very little about).
PROS of Mink Eyelash Extensions
- They are fairly light and fluffy. Up until 2013, they were the thinnest lashes available on the market.
- Studios can charge a lot for them, because every blogger says that “they are the lightest and fluffiest”.
- They break easily, so eyelash extensions studios can get clients coming back more regularly. (Of course, this is a disadvantage for consumers).
- “Mink” just sounds luxurious, doesn’t it?
- They are “natural”. But then again, so is Ebola and Earthquakes, so we’re not really sure what this adds up to. 🙂
CONS of Mink Eyelash Extensions
- They break easily.
- They are not the lightest and fluffiest lashes by a long margin.
- What you see is what you get. Mink eyelash extensions don’t have any unique or consistent curl, as with synthetic eyelash extensions.
- They are marginally harder to work with, so inexperienced technicians will have a problem applying them. This is a huge problem for clients and technicians, as the technician might get blamed for premature shedding, when the real culprit is the eyelash extensions themselves.
- They do not come in volume sets (although this is not a disadvantage for people who don’t want volume).
- They are often not natural at all. Very often “mink” eyelashes are branded as mink, but are actually synthetic versions.
But, What Could Possibly be Better than Mink Eyelash Extensions?
We can’t be totally down on mink eyelash extensions, as they did have their day about 5-10 years ago. At one point, they were the lightest and fluffiest option. Increasingly though, as eyelash extensions became more popular, better technology emerged, and synthetic eyelash extensions are now better than mink by a long long margin. Note: this post was written in late 2017. Our estimate is that mink had their day, up to about 2013. Plus, the synthetic lashes that are labelled “mink”, are actually really good. Our experience is that people who have had positive results with mink eyelashes, have unknowingly been wearing synthetic mink the whole time.
But, What if you like the look of mink?
If you love that light and fluffy look, then tell your eyelash extensions technician that you want the “mink look”. They will choose the right curl, weight and colour to give you the look and feel of mink eyelashes, but with the consistent quality and durability of synthetic.
If you’ve always been happy with your mink eyelashes, you might be surprised to hear that what you actually think is real mink fur, is actually a very very good synthetic replica, which are labelled as “mink”.
We have a tray of mink eyelashes on display, for anyone who would like to come and see the difference between natural mink, and modern synthetic eyelash extensions. Feel free to drop in anytime, and we can show you the difference.
Eyelash Extensions: What you need to know
