Real vs faux fur — how to tell if a fur coat is genuine

You can reliably tell real fur from faux without a lab — a few minutes with the piece in hand are enough. At Kozuskovo we work daily with real fox, Mongolian sheep and raccoon, so we know exactly what to check.

The first and most important test: part the hairs with your fingers down to the base. Real fur always has a leather backing — soft, smooth suede that looks like peach skin up close. Faux fur has a woven or knitted textile mesh with the hairs machine-sewn into it.

On fox and raccoon the leather is supple and slightly warm to the touch; on Mongolian sheep it is thicker — but always uniform, with no visible stitching across the base.

Real hairs are finer at the root and taper toward a delicate, almost invisible tip. Synthetic fibres are the same thickness along their whole length; the tips look either cut off or rounded.

A loupe or phone zoom helps. On real fox you'll see a colour gradient from a darker root through a lighter middle to a fine tip; on imitations the colour is uniform along the whole hair.

• Touch: Real fur glides between the fingers and springs back on its own. Faux feels rubbery, hairs break or stay flattened.
• Temperature: Real fur adapts to touch and quickly warms in the hand. Synthetic fibres stay cold.
• Weight: A real coat (especially Mongolian sheep or raccoon) is noticeably heavier than a faux piece of the same size.

The most reliable proof — you only need one hair pulled from the edge. Hold it with tweezers over a ceramic plate and apply a lighter flame.

• Real fur: the hair curls, burns to a brittle powder and smells like burnt hair or feathers (a protein smell).
• Faux fur: the fibre melts into a hard bead, releases black smoke and a chemical, plastic smell.

Only test one hair from a hidden spot and never above the coat itself.

A real fox or raccoon coat cannot be bought for a few tens of euros in a reputable shop. On the label look for the specific animal ("Fox / Vulpes vulpes", "Mongolian sheep", "Raccoon"). "Acrylic", "modacrylic" or "polyester" means a synthetic material.

Every real Kozuskovo coat lists the exact fur species and origin: fox, Mongolian sheep, raccoon.

Faux fur is lighter and cheaper. It won't match the thermal comfort, colour depth or long life of a real coat. A quality real fox or Mongolian sheep coat, cared for properly, lasts 20 – 30 seasons.

See also our guides: Fur care, Fur types.