Once and for all: do makeup and perfume need kosher for Passover? | Israel today

Every year in the run-up to the holiday, the question arises whether grooming products need special kosher?

• The answer, of course, is complex • We went out to check

• Is there such a thing as kosher makeup for Passover?

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Among the variety of kosher questions regarding eating chametz / legumes / rapeseed / a food that has the letters H, M, and C on Passover, the question regarding the kosherness of make-up and perfume arises again this year, and in most cases it seems to remain unanswered - some say Which is allowed because it is not food, and some say it is forbidden because it is assimilated into the body.

We went out to check once and for all: does kosher need makeup and perfume products on Passover?

"In principle, a substance that tastes bad until it is disqualified for eating a dog is forbidden to eat on Pesach, but it is permissible to enjoy it on Pesach," explains Rabbi Baruch Efrati, a rabbi in the city of Efrat and a judge of religious Zionism. "But there are those who aggravated and forbade the application of a substance with chametz on the body, because they believed that when a person considers the product as a significant thing, then the chametz in it is forbidden for pleasure and not just eating."

Rabbi Efrati adds a caveat: "It is permissible to use a substance whose taste is damaged only if it is damaged before Pesach and not on Pesach itself, so make sure it is created before the holiday. But this is severe, because it makes it easier to enjoy damaged chametz,

Even in the case of a perfume that contains alcohol, if it tastes bad and meets the condition of a creator before Pesach - most people are allowed to use it on the holiday, according to Rabbi Efrati, who emphasizes that if it is flavored lipsticks, even those designed to prevent dry lips, these must be kosher For Passover.

"Even regular lipsticks," adds Rabbi Efrati, "should be bought with kosher for Passover, because sometimes the lips are licked and the substance enters the mouth. Although it is allowed with pleasure, it is forbidden with eating."

And if you have kosher lipsticks for Passover from a previous year that you used on a daily basis, the rabbi suggests wiping a thin layer of the lipstick on a tissue before the holiday.

But are the public really looking for kosher makeup and perfume products for Passover, or are the majority satisfied with the relief that is available on the subject?

Eli Gispan, CEO of Mack, clarifies that from the day after Purim, customers start asking for kosher certificates for products, especially lip products, and sales are definitely rising - "This is the strongest time of the year," he says, "Not only religious and ultra-Orthodox are also looking for kosher products. these".

In fact, these are products that are kosher all year round for Passover, and only receive a kosher certificate before the holiday, right?

"Absolutely. We issue a certificate every year anew. We pass on the entire list of ingredients to a rabbi who is a chemist, and if there is wheat or chametz in the product he will not approve it. There have been qualifications for makeup products for decades."

Is this the same formula that is produced abroad? If it is kosher here - is it kosher all over the world?

"All of Mack's products that are kosher for Passover - equally kosher all over the world. Every year, we publish the list of products for Jewish communities abroad.

The formula is one everywhere. "

And the training approval process is only by checking the components?

Do not want to make sure that no chametz is put into the production site?

"We send the samples to the rabbi with the list of ingredients and that's enough. Manufacturing cosmetics is a sterile thing anyway."

Revlon also tells us that every Passover they see an increase in sales, especially in lip and make-up products - when kosher guards come to replace the products with those that are kosher for Passover.

So which companies offer kosher products for Passover?

Esti Lauder, Mack, Clinique, Bobby Brown, Glam Glow and Smashbox received kosher certificates from Rabbi Israel Meir Levinger, "Maor Haksharot", which lists the kosher products for Passover.

L'Oreal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline, Assi, Soft Touch, Jade and Jens Global Israel received a kosher certificate from Rabbi Yosef Zaritzky, according to which all their products are kosher for Passover, Carline received a kosher certificate for Passover from Badatz Squire on products The cosmetics listed in the certificate, and Revlon received a kosher certificate from Badatz Beit Yosef for 53 products listed in the certificate, and a kosher certificate from the same body was also awarded to Minerz, the mineral powder products and the lipsticks.