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Can I skip pre-mikveh waxing this month?

30 July, 2024
Question:

Hi! If I have been doing Brazilian waxing and removing all pubic hair before immersion since I got married (about a year), have I created a hazakah? Or can I immerse with some hair starting now? While I prefer waxing, I couldn’t afford it this month. I follow Ashkenazi immersion customs if it makes a difference.


Answer:

Thank you for reaching out to us.

Body hair is not fundamentally a chatzitzah, even if a woman prefers to remove it.

If you have been removing the hair consistently prior to immersion, then the question is whether you have established this as your custom, a sort of vow (neder). That would not be an issue if the hair removal was solely for aesthetic reasons or out of a mistaken belief that it was halachically required.

The neder question might be relevant if you knew that hair removal was not required for mikveh, and took it upon yourself as a halachic stringency. If that describes your situation, then you should make a hatarat nedarim (release from vows) before a group of three Jewish men to release you from this practice, given that you did not anticipate the financial difficulty of maintaining it. Your husband can handle the hatarat nedarim on your behalf. It is enough to state that the neder regards hair removal before mikveh, without being more specific.

Following the hatarat nedarim, you can immerse freely without waxing. When you do wax, just have in mind that you do not wish to make this a binding practice for yourself.

We hope this helps. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

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