[Avodah] Henna parties

[Sober Family]

RSM: "This, if true,  sounds like a serious problem of chatzitza b'tvila to me (IIAMN, the henna party often preceeds the tvila by several days). ..."

SA YD 198:17 - "Colour with which women colour their faces and hands and the hair of their head is not chotzetz, and similarly a dyer whose hands are dyed - it is not chotzetz."

BY explains this, quoting RoSH: "Women who colour themselves - it appears that this is not chotzetz because it is decorative and they are not makpid but do so intentionally, and furthermore the colour has no independent substance but is merely an appearance."

AFAIK, we can be lenient with hair dye because she is ainah makpedet - on the contrary, she wants her hair to be dyed, and also because the dye has no independent substance but is absorbed into the hair. (I imagine that the same principle would apply if one were matbil an item of dyed clothing for tumah/taharah purposes?)

I assume that we can be lenient about henna on hands (cosmetic and absorbed into the skin) based on similar principles. In fact, with hands, there is definitely no problem of rov. With hair there is a problem of rov according to some Rishonim - but as we have seen the dye is considered part of the hair, not a separate substance that intervenes between the hair and the water. As you can see, both cases are brought down in the SA as mutar.

RnTK "was told that we posken not to make a fuss if women  
show up at the mikva with fake (glued-on) fingernails, colorful polished  
manicures,  or dyed hair."

Re dyed hair - see above. Acrylic nails or nail polish is a minority of her body about which she is not makpedet - in fact, the polish or acrylic is decorative and she wants it to remain in place. Long nails are not inherently a chatzitza - they are part of her body - the custom to cut them short is based on the difficulty in cleaning them properly. Some authorities consider this an absolute requirement, but others leave room for leniency and it is not uncommon especially for kallot to be allowed to clean their nails well without cutting them short.

For both hair dye and nail polish - the dye or polish should be in good condition, not chipped or growing out in such a way that most women would not like the way it looked. Dye or polish that looks bad is no longer considered a desirable cosmetic.

L'chat'chila, we try to remove all foreign substances before tevilah. Bediavad - when a woman has a need or desire not to remove some foreign object (e.g., a medical, cosmetic, or unremovable item) a specific individual she'elah should always be asked, especially if the alternative is delaying mikveh or chas v'shalom dropping mikveh observance altogether.

- Ilana
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