Winks, Norfolk

Mink Eyelash Extensions: Lids of Luxury

Mink extensions line eyes in soft, realistic fringe. Learn how they get from creature to lash line in this Groupon guide.

Mink are not known for their sweet tempers, but the feisty carnivores surrender their fur for eyelash extensions in a reasonably peaceful exchange. Mink farmers—many of them in Russia, the native land of the prized siberian mink—harvest the hairs by picking up each animal and brushing its coat to collect the shed fur. Then, the delicate strands undergo a thorough sanitization process to make them hypoallergenic and safe to wear, even for people with animal allergies.

Feather soft, the hairs are lighter than most synthetic options and easier to curl and customize, allowing for looks that range from a simple mascara effect to a doe-eyed gaze perfectly primed for doling out butterfly kisses. At the salon, aestheticians carefully sort through hairs of different lengths and thicknesses to match the client’s own lashes. Then, they apply tiny amounts of glue to each natural lash and begin outfitting lids with the desired degree of lushness; because mink hairs are so fine, it’s often possible to attach several to a single lash. The extensions will stay put as long as the lashes they’re attached to do—that is, for the duration of the hair’s life cycle, about two to three months.