Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu
Side Bar

Shellac nail polish

10 November, 2015
Question:

Are you allowed to go into the mikvah with shellac nail polish if it was freshly done? It stays on for 2 weeks without any chips.


Answer:

Thank you for reaching out to us.

It is halachically preferable to immerse without any foreign substance on the nails (including polish, gel, shellac, acrylic/gel nails, etc.), so women typically remove any polish prior to immersion.

However, since manicures are in place to beautify the nails, polish may not always be considered a chatzitzah, especially if it is long lasting like shellac. A woman may be permitted to immerse with a shellac manicure in some situations, as long as there are no gaps or chips (and her nails are cleaned well). To satisfy these conditions, a shellac manicure may need to be filled prior to immersion.

There is a range of halachic opinion on this matter, so a woman who intends to immerse with shellac may wish to check in with the mikveh in advance of immersion.

Learn more about the halachot of nails and mikveh immersion here.

Please be in touch with any further questions.

This response was updated on 15 January, 2024.

This internet service does not preclude, override or replace the psak of any rabbinical authority. It is the responsibility of the questioner to inform us of any previous consultation or ruling. As even slight variation in circumstances may have Halachic consequences, views expressed concerning one case may not be applied to other, seemingly similar cases. All health and health-related information contained within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is intended to be general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for consulting with your health care professional. The advice is intended to offer a basis for individuals to discuss their medical condition with their health care provider but not individual advice. Although every effort is made to ensure that the material within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is accurate and timely, it is provided for the convenience of the Web site user but should not be considered official. Advice for actual medical practice should be obtained from a licensed health care professional. For further questions or comments:  The Nishmat Women's Health and Halacha Site is a public service of Nishmat, The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. This project and others like it are made possible by contributions from people like you. If you have benefited from the service, and wish to enable us to help others, click here to donate.
Users of Internet filtering services: This site discusses sensitive subjects that some services filter without visual indication. A page that appears 100% complete might actually be missing critical Jewish-law or medical information. To ensure that you view the pages accurately, ask the filtering service to whitelist all pages under yoatzot.org.

Accessibility Toolbar