Question:
When is one allowed to take a hair cut after tish bav?
Answer:
One should wait until after chatzot on the tenth of Av to get a haircut. For Sephardim it’s permitted to take a haircut during the three weeks even a Sephardic Yeshiva Bachur in a Ashkenazi Yeshiva however, it’s preferable to be strict not to cut the entire three weeks.
The father of a baby boy, the sandak, and the mohel can all cut their hair on the day of a baby’s brit milah.
It is forbidden to take a haircut for a bar mitzva. Some say if one’s hair is so long that it is a chatzitzah for tefillin then one is permitted to get a haircut. If not cutting one’s hair will cause great monetary loss, one is permitted to cut it during the three weeks but not during the week that Tisha B’av falls out. If one will not lose money, even if the hair makes him uncomfortable he may not cut his hair.
Some poskim allow a child under the age of six to get a haircut. Iggerot Moshe YD 1:224 and Aruch Hashulchan 551:31. Mishna Brurah 551:81 and Shaar Hatziyun 551:91 as well as the Chayei Adam 133:18 conclude that children even below 6 should not get haircuts and bring two reasons from the Terumat Hadeshen 142. One being chinuch, in which case it would only apply to older than six and the other being “agmat nefesh,” meaning it makes people feel more pain to see children mourning, in which case it would apply to even children under 6. Chanoch lanaar 21:2:1, Nitei Gavriel 20:7, Rivevot Ephraim 1:336:2, 2:155:19 say that if an upsherin falls out during the three weeks one should either push it up or postpone it. Torat Yekutiel 1:47 is lenient.
It is permitted to comb and style one’s hair during the Three Weeks and Nine Days and one doesn’t have to worry that one will pull out hairs. The poskim debate if one can trim his eyebrows during the three weeks.
A woman who needs to cut her hair in order to get married, all the more so if she’s already engaged, or if a woman has the custom to cut her hair before going to the mikveh, it’s permissible to do so during the three weeks.
If a woman’s hair is growing so long that it is becoming difficult for her to keep the hair under the head covering, she can cut it during the three weeks. It is permitted to put on makeup as one would on a regular day of the year but not something extra special. Some say that it is permitted to dye your hair during the nine days. Others say that it is only permitted in the three weeks before the nine days.[59]
Women may get their sheitels cut or styled during the three weeks, as this is not considered to be their hair, but their clothing.
There is a general prohibition of shaving during the three weeks just like hair cuts, however, there are several situations which may warrant shaving which include a person who shaves everyday, shaving for work, and shaving for Kavod Shabbos. As each one of these is a dispute and unclear if it is totally permissible, a person should follow his father’s minhag or ask his local Rabbi for guidance.
Since S”A 551:12 rules that it’s forbidden to cut any hair on one’s body during the week of Tisha BeAv as a din from the Gemara it would seem clear that it’s forbidden to shave during the week of Tisha BeAv. Additionally, Ashkenazim who follow the Rama shouldn’t be able to shave during the entire three weeks as Rama 551:4 writes that the minhagim of the week of Tisha BeAv apply to the entire three weeks. However, there are several leniencies in the Achronim. |