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We live in LA. There's no doubt a lot of external and unhealthy pressure to 'look good'. And on the flipside, many women get a great deal of joy, self-confidence, and even spiritual fulfillment from caring for their style and appearance. Caring for our bodies-- which for some includes wearing makeup-- can feel so central to a person's identity that to suspend it for Shabbat would take away from Oneg Shabbat.
The ability to put on makeup on Shabbat becomes of even more intimate importance for women whose mikvah night falls on
Friday night
Shabbat. Makeup is considered a chatzitzah and will interfere with a kosher immersion. I am often asked questions from women who want to delay their mikvah night-- which we never want to do
!--
just so they can still wear makeup to shul on Shabbat the next day. Women who wear makeup daily worry that if they show up to shul without makeup, it will be obvious to others that it was their mikvah night on Shabbat-- and they will be embarrassed.
And so the conversation about applying makeup on Shabbat is not just a fascinating halachic concern, but also a deeply personal and modest topic for many women in our community.
So here's where Rav Moshe comes in. Rav Moshe wrote in two separate teshuvot that a woman may apply makeup on Shabbat under certain circumstances. In the first he writes: אסור לאשה לצבוע את פניה מדין צביעה אבל לזרוק את הפאודער /האבקה/ לבן על הפנים שלא מתקיים כלל אין בזה איסור צביעה, "It is prohibited for a woman to dye her face with makeup, but to throw on her face white powder that will not last, does not fall under the prohibition of dyeing"
(
שו
"ת אגרות משה אורח חיים חלק א סימן קיד
).
Here Rav Moshe introduces a leniency for applying makeup on Shabbat that is based on using makeup that is not lasting. In the second teshuvah he explains that this is talc makeup-- בלי שמנונית ואינה מתקיימת, "without oil and that does not last"
(
שו
"ת אגרות משה אורח חיים חלק ה סימן כז
).
Rav Moshe reasons that makeup which does not last cannot be deemed as dyeing. So what does it mean 'to last'? Oil-based makeups all last long enough that Rav Moshe would not permit them-- and almost all makeup products today contain oil. As such, lines like Shaindee Cosmetics have developed 'Shabbat Makeup' that fits Rav Moshe's teshuvah requirements, allowing women who hold by his psak to apply makeup on Shabbat. Available products include blushes, face makeup, eyeshadows, lip products, and more that fit Rav Moshe's requirement of אינה מתקיימת.
Practically, this means that if a woman wants to apply makeup on Shabbat, she should only use 'Shabbat Makeup' products.
If you have further questions about this, please contact me or Rav Yosef.
You can find some
such
products here:
http://www.shaindeecosmetics.com/index.html
.
Please note: there are no mascaras, pencil eyeliners, or lipsticks that fit Rav Moshe's ruling, and so the products offered are powder versions with specific instructions for application, which we will explain next time.
Stay tuned for the next Shabbat Short when we will outline how to apply makeup on Shabbat and how to remove it!
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