Almost an hour to remove makeup? - Nishmat Yoatzot Halacha

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Almost an hour to remove makeup?

April 3, 2016

Question

While preparing for the mikvah, I find that removing my makeup takes up a large amount of time. I keep scrubbing and as long as I see some come off on the pad I continue until it's absolutely gone. This process can continue for close to an hour, and I know that for some the entire mikvah preparation doesn't take that long. I find it very draining, so I'd like to know if this level of cleaning required. Thanks!

Answer

We agree that spending an hour removing makeup is excessive.

While you should try to remove all your makeup, if there are tiny unnoticeable remnants left, they would not be considered a chatzitzah.

We recommend spending 10-15 minutes removing your makeup, and that's it. Don't worry if there are small traces of makeup left. You can try experimenting with different types of makeup remover to see if you can find a more effective remover. Another suggestion is not to put on any makeup (or at least minimal makeup) the day you plan on immersing to minimize the difficulty of removing your makeup during your preparations. With time and practice, you may be able to reduce the amount of time spent on removing your makeup to less than 10-15 minutes.

Please feel free to get back to us with any further questions.

B'Hatzlacha!