Ideally, a woman preparing for mikveh during the mourning period of shloshim should have her nails cut by someone else, preferably a non-Jewish woman. But if she can't work this out comfortably, she may cut them herself.

For Sephardi women, there are no restrictions on hair removal during shloshim. Ashkenazi women who have the practice to remove hair as part of mikveh preparation may do so if it is important to them.

Bathing and washing hair are permitted as usual, including with hot water.

Other preparations, such as combing hair and checking for chatzitzot, are largely unaffected during this time of avelut.

For more on the topic of aveilut, see our article here.

Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

This response was updated on 6 January, 2026.