How to Tell If Your False Eyelashes Are Vegan and Cruelty-Free

With Veganuary [1] kicking off this month, we've seen lots of creative ways to add more animal-friendly items to your life through food and fashion. But veganism in beauty [2] is just as important as wearing pleather or switching to a plant-based diet as we grapple with ways to treat the flora and fauna around us with more respect.

While brands make a point of demonstrating their flashy new vegan and cruelty-free products [3], sometimes we forget to question the basics that we use every day. So, coming into 2020, as I put on my false lashes for New Year's Eve, I wondered: what are these actually made out of?

I wasn't prepared for the answer. While the outcry over animal fur being used in jackets and stoles has slowly developed into a wide-ranging adoption of faux fur this past decade, minks still suffer. That's right, mink fur is still being used to create fluffy lashes — and so many beauty consumers are not even aware that as they shun fur in clothing, they may still be gluing it to their lash lines.

PETA [4] has publicly denounced the practice of using mink fur in fake lashes, saying that "the best way to end the abuse of animals exploited in the fur industry [5] is to steer clear of any item made with fur — whether that's a coat, a key ring, or a 'set of eyelashes.'" The organisation also debunks the idea that the fur is simply brushed off the minks and is cruelty-free, countering with "these animals are naturally scared of humans (rightfully so), and being forcefully held by a human who's pulling on their fur would, at best, be terrifying for them."

So, now we know to avoid mink eyelashes, but are there vegan, faux-fur, and completely cruelty-free options available? You bet.

Some beauty ecommerce sites, like False Eyelashes [6], have entire sections dedicated to "cruelty-free lashes" and include brands like Eylure [7], Lash Unlimited [8], Koko Lashes [9], and House of Lashes [10], the latter of which only makes its lashes out of 100-percent synthetic fibres (for vegans) or sterilised human hair. Additionally, House of Lashes also has a vegan lash adhesive that's made with 100-percent acrylics and not a single animal product. Other popular beauty brands that offer synthetic options include Unicorn Cosmetics [11], E.l.f. Cosmetics [12], Eldora [13], and Morphe, which offers a variety of shapes and sizes on Cult Beauty [14]

Is there a place to check if your lash purchase is synthetic and not harming any animals? Sure — ethical watchdog websites such as Leaping Bunny [15] curate comprehensive lists of products that are cruelty-free, and you can cross check them with the Vegan Society UK [16] to make sure it is a completely vegan product. Read on to shop some of our favourite vegan false eyelashes.