Description of Permanent Makeup
Lately, there has been a widespread shaila about permanent makeup. It should be noted that we are not giving backing or a haskama to any sort of women’s makeup. What we are addressing is only based on the shailos that come before poskim. Permanent makeup is a form of tattoo women get to prevent the need to consistently put on their regular makeup. Sometimes it is on the eyebrows, the corners of the eyes, or the lips.
Permanent makeup. Skin has multiple layers. Permanent makeup is an injection of the cosmetic pigment substance under the uppermost level of skin, called the epidermis, using a digital needle tattooing machine to make the substance penetrate. This is unlike regular tattoos common among non-Jews, in which pigment is injected under the deeper layer of skin, called the dermis. Regular tattoos remain forever and do not fade with time, but this permanent makeup, which does not penetrate to the deeper layers of the skin, starts to fade after three to five years and continues until it is virtually gone.
Microblading. Another, more recent, method of permanent makeup used for the eyebrows is called microblading. A special blade dipped in ink is used to make an etching on the area of the eyebrows. The etching and inking happen simultaneously (above, 8) to create lines on the skin resembling eyebrows, like a tattoo resembling hairs in a half-moon shape in place of natural eyebrows. Here, too, the etching goes into the upper layer of the skin, so it fades after several years and does not last forever.
For Chronic Illness
Some poskim discuss allowing methods of permanent makeup for medical reasons, e.g., for a woman who suffers from the machala, ל"ע, and lost all her body hair due to treatments, or for a woman who suffers from the condition called alopecia totalis and lost all her hair, including her eyebrows, and is embarrassed to go around that way. Some allow her to get permanent makeup in place of her eyebrows so that it appears as though she has eyebrows.
Reasons for the heter. The heter is built on a combination of factors based on what we have mentioned. Some opinions hold there is no issur d’oraisa if it is not for avoda zara (above, 4). There is a machlokes whether it is d’oraisa or d’rabanan if it does not last forever (11). There is also a machlokes whether it is d’oraisa or d’rabanan if it is not in the form of letters (15). Thus, if there is a great need involving severe dignity, one can rely on the poskim who hold in all these disputes it is only an issur d’rabanan, and for the dignity of a cholah, there is reliable basis to allow one to be meikel for a triple d’rabanan.
Non-Jew. Still, even when there is a heter for permanent makeup in the above cases, it is better to have it done by a non-Jew (21) without the person getting the procedure assisting at all (ibid.) (שו"ת שבטי ישראל ח"ב סי' י"ט).
Concealing a scar. Similarly, some allow using permanent makeup methods to conceal a severe scar in a prominent area that bothers a woman and makes her embarrassed to go around in public. Since the color that is injected is the natural color of skin and is not actually noticeable at all, it is not called כתיבה (above 24) (פתשגן הכתב סי' ה'). This is in combination with the other heteirim mentioned above (שו"ת מנחת אשר ח"ב סי' נ"ו, שו"ת אמרי יעקב ח"ב סי' ס"ג).
For Beauty
Lone opinion. Some expand the above heter to allow a woman to use permanent makeup if there is a need for beauty purposes, based on the above heteirim, and hold that we can leave them to it (חכם ופוסק לאחינו בני עדות המזרח). Based on this, there are several cosmeticians who offer the service to anyone who wants to rely on the above. They also advertise it to attract the public.
However, almost all poskim argue. They hold there is no heter whatsoever unless there is a great need, e.g., for a chronic illness ר"ל, as mentioned. This should not be allowed for any woman simply for beauty, so that she does not need to put on makeup every day or because of thinning eyebrows. For each angle of heter, there are also Rishonim who hold it is an issur d’oraisa, and even according to the mekilim, it is still an issur d’rabanan. Therefore, they only give a heter for illness and severe dignity if there is a great need; beauty is not included in the heter or the definition of dignity [כבוד הבריות]. One should not, ח"ו do anything questionable in the issur d’oraisa of tattooing for the sake of convenience and beauty (הגריש"א, הגרי"י פישר, הגר"ח קנייבסקי הובאו בנשמת אברהם יו"ד סי' ק"פ, ש ו"ת להורות נתן ח"י סי' ס"ד, חוט שני שבת ח"ג קובץ ענינים עמ' רמ"א, מגילת ספר יו"ד סי' ט"ז, שו"ת שבט הלוי ח"י סי' קלז, שו"ת שרגא המאיר אורייתא י"ח, היכל הוראה ח"ה הרואה ע"ו, שו"ת אמרי יעקב שם).
Issur on both people. This requires caution, as women rationalize to themselves, saying it is a chareidi woman who is performing the procedure. She might be relying on a lone opinion or on questionable kulos, but as we pointed out (above, 20), the issur is on both the one giving the tattoo and the one getting the tattoo. People should know this and be careful.
Thus, a woman who keeps Torah and mitzvos should not be involved in this at all. Even when circumstances of heter exist, as mentioned, it should only be done by a non-Jew (21). There is no room for this profession within our camp; parnassa is from Hashem.
