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

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu

Hard thick toenails

24 October, 2022

Question:

I have very thick and hard toenails that are extremely difficult to cut. Could this create a problem for mikvah?


Answer:

Thank you for reaching out to us.

Though it is customary to cut nails prior to immersion, natural growths of the body such as nails are not inherently considered a chatzitzah. Additionally, there is a halachic tradition of being less particular about toenails than fingernails. Therefore, as long as you clean them, file or trim them as is comfortable for you, and maintain them well, your toenails do not present a barrier to immersion.

You may find it helpful to consult a physician, podiatrist, and/or a cosmetologist about how best to maintain nails like these in the long term, and about whether any specific tools or products can make it easier to trim them.

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


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