Silk vs Mink Lash Extensions

For those who started out wearing nothing but strip lashes — oh, endless strip lashes — odds are you’ve wandered through the lash aisle time after time, just grabbing the best-looking lashes and zooming off. But if you’ve ever stopped to really look at the lashes you were picking up, you may have noticed that not all lashes are the same.

False lashes are more than meets the eye (pun intended) when it comes to the ingredients that make them up. What started as a strip of literal fabric with cheap, synthetic fiber in 1911, or real human hair glued to skin with gauze and spirit gum in 1916, has since become a collection of lash options made from commonly used sources. 

If you meander through any lash brand’s products, even our own, you’ll find they probably make their lashes with one of three primary fibers: synthetic, vegan-silk, or mink (sometimes faux-mink). Synthetic fibers and faux mink are common in store-bought strip lashes from more generic brands and will reflect that quality with each wear — a quality which is usually not very high. 

Lashify® prides itself on using only premium Korean PBT silk. It’s 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and of the highest quality you can find in a lash. But more on that later. For now, let’s break down the two contenders for the best lash fiber — silk vs. mink — how they came to be, and who’s dogging for the top spot on the lash ladder. 

What Are Lashes Made Of?

Of the three lash fibers we mentioned above: synthetic, silk, and mink, it’s no debate that silk and mink are the finer of the options. 

Synthetic fibers are made from polished acrylic that creates the strongest-looking lash of the bunch but falls short when the drama they often mimic appears more plastic and coarse than natural and voluminous, paired with their uncomfortable and heavy wear. They’re the cheapest option for a reason. 

Synthetic lashes may have been the top-tier lash back in the day, but since other options have risen in quality and availability, synthetic fibers like this took a backseat. They were popularized after their creation in the 1950s and 1960s by model Twiggy, who is considered the lash icon of the era. 

Vegan silk lashes are another story. Vegan silk is a type of synthetic lash made to mimic the look of real human hair like natural lashes do. Synthetic fiber lashes and their branches, such as vegan silk, are in high demand because they claim to be animal-friendly and vegan. True silk lashes are incredibly rare, and odds are you won’t find them carried in place of their vegan counterparts in any major lash retailer. 

Finally, mink lashes and faux mink lashes — the vegan version — are another highly popular type of lash fiber. True mink lashes are made from the hairs of the mink, an animal native to North America that resembles an otter or ferret. This little fuzzy friend is a staple of the fur industry and is often bred in captivity for such a need. 

Faux mink lashes are often found in more abundance because of this reason. They mimic the look and feel of mink lashes without any of the captive breeding or use of their fur. A much more moral kind of lash if you ask us. We’re all about the comfort of the fur babies at Lashify.

Silk Lash Extensions: When To Wear

Vegan silk lashes are an incredible synthetic option for a lot of reasons. They are more durable than their mink counterpart, for one. Vegan silk stands to hold its shape through thick and thin and for a lot longer than other lashes. 

When showering, washing your face, or drinking pina coladas and getting caught in the rain, vegan silk is known to withstand water and hold its curl. On the other hand, mink can’t even come in contact with a single drop lest the entire operation falls flat (yes, another pun intended). 

Vegan silk lashes are also a lot less involved than mink. Lashes are affected by the wear and tear of time just as much as anything else, and you’ll find that vegan silk holds up against the hours just as well as it does against the weather. Mink, on the other hand, will age like your Great Aunt Gertrude — poorly. 

If you want a fuller, fluffier, more dramatic lash look, the occasion calls for vegan silk lashes. Vegan silk is the heftier of the options, making it ideal for those who desire a bit of boldness in their life. But bold isn’t all vegan silk can offer; silk lashes also can provide a natural look if that’s what you’re after.

Mink Lash Extensions: When To Wear

We have to be honest. Both mink and faux mink lashes have very few star qualities when it comes to the comparison game. Mink is the most expensive kind of lash you can find, with very little to show for it when it’s up against vegan silk. 

Where mink does pop off, however, is in the comfort of the wear. Mink is the lightest of all lash fibers making it wear like a cloud on your eyes. If you’re all about that comfort wear, you might enjoy messing around with a mink option. But here’s the kicker: not if you have allergies. 

Which, honestly, is a lot of people. The eyes are one of the most sensitive and delicate areas of your body. If you’re not careful with the skincare, makeup, and beauty products used around (or on) your eyes, you could be in for a serious wake-up call. 

Because mink lashes come from a real animal, those allergies could spring up in the blink of an eye (wow, we’re feeling punny today). For that reason, most opt for vegan silk or even faux mink. Even though it’s a slightly heavier lash, it’s probably better to sacrifice the airy feel for healthy wear. Plus, the right vegan silk lashes are going to feel feather-light anyway. 

The Perfect Ingredient

If it’s not obvious by now, vegan silk is the optimal choice when shopping for lashes. If you’ve forgotten already, vegan silk is more durable and long-lasting against elements like weather and time. You can use vegan silk to create a simple, natural look, or you can opt for a bold, dramatic look that’s made possible by thicker fibers.

Vegan silk mimics the look and feel of human hair while remaining 100% vegan and cruelty-free, so you can feel guilt-free whenever you spend your money on these lashes. And to top it all off, vegan silk lashes are cheaper than mink! So, really, we see no competition here.

In almost every facet of the debate of silk vs mink lash extensions, silk wins! 

The More You Know

We love listing all the reasons silk is such a wonderful lash fiber because, as you now know, it’s what Lashify’s Gossamers® are made from. Our premium Korean PBT silk Gossamers® are the cream of the crop on the lash market, and you’ll find that they stand with some of the best as the best.

For those curious, PBT is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic compound — which is a fancy way of saying that it’s the more durable, stronger, lighter, and moisture-resistant kind of compound that allows our lashes to stand against every test. It allows our lashes to be affordable and premium, voluminous and weightless, and soft and strong.

If you’re looking for a solid place to start trying out vegan silk lashes for yourself, we’d recommend any Gossie® from our Core Collection™. This lash-fecta of a team is made up of our best-selling, cult-favorite Gossamers® that play to win every time. Whether you opt for a thicker lash fiber and more dramatic flair in our Bold Gossamer® Lashes, for our natural, wispy, and fluffy Amplify Gossamer® Lashes, or even for our extra curl-tastic and length-defying Curl Gossamer® Lashes, we’ve got you covered. There’s a little something for everyone here, and it’s a great launch pad into the sea of vegan silk lashes that wait for you on the other side. 

Don’t sit still for another second! We honestly don’t know how you can with all these lashes teasing and tantalizing from just a click away. Don’t worry; we’ll save you a spot on our next trip to the Lash Library while you browse. 

Sources:

Mink | Description, Habitat, Conservation Status, & Facts | Britannica

1960s: Twiggy's Eyes · Eye Makeup Through The Ages | NYU Counter Archive 

Polybutylene Terephthalate - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics