Mikvah Immersion: Nail Polish

Hi, My wife usually has her nails done and she has them removed before each time she goes to the mikvah. Her friends have been telling her that they were told that if she has it done consistently then she does not need to remove it as long as its still perfect. I wanted to know if this is true and if she can keep them on.

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

Normative halacha requires a woman to cut and clean her nails, including removing any nail polish, fake nails, and the like, prior to immersing in the mikva.

One of the reasons for this is because we want to take away all types of cha'tsi'tsot when we immerse in a Mikvah.

So le' halacha: Le'chatchilah one should remove fake nails and nail polish before immersion, however, if it is difficult for her to remove it or lets say its erev shabbos and there is no time to remove it, then one can be lenient to immerse in the mikvah with it as long as it is complete and not broken.

Same too as long as it is complete and not broken, in all cases if she immersed with it then the immersion is valid.

I will add a final point of related interest: Hair dye does not need to be removed before immersing in a mikva. The difference between nail polish and hair dye is that hair dye is very thin. One does not ever feel the dye when touching dyed hair. The hair feels the same as it does when natural. Nail polish, however, is thicker, it has substance, and is a district protrusion on the nail. As such, nail polish should be removed before immersion.

YD 198:17,18; Shach, YD 198:22; Mishna Berura 161:1; Eliyahu Rabba, OC 161