Does Makeup Invalidate Wudu?

Does makeup break invalidate your Wudu?

It Depends.

We have discussed previously that makeup with Haram ingredients will invalidate your wudu. But apart from this, even makeup that is halal can get in the way of a proper wudu.

Wudu, or ablution, is the act of washing oneself according to Islamic procedure and is often completed prior to performing prayers, or touching the Qur'an.

In order for your wudu to be valid the water you use must reach your skin. If the makeup you are wearing is causing a barrier then your wudu is not complete.

Nail Polish is a well-known cosmetic product that invalidates the wudu, but there are many other types of cosmetics that may or may not be affecting the validity of your wudu.

It is always beneficial to educate yourself in this because generally there are three types of women you will meet. One who is completely oblivious to the fact that her makeup may be invalidating her wudu, the second who knows but doesn't care, and the third who blatantly tells any women that her prayer is not accepted because of her makeup.You don't want to be any of these women. You want to be the educated woman, who is completely comfortable in her makeup and knows very well if her makeup is halal or haram.

MASCARA
-whether waterproof or not you need to properly get rid of your mascara in order for your wudu to be valid.
-your eye lashes are part of the face, and thus each lash must be touched with water. Mascara generally forms a barrier.
-Advice: Wear mascara after Magrib prayer, and do Isha once you come home (if you can't hold your wudu). Or only wear mascara during your special time of the month.

LIPSTICK/LIPGLOSS
-If you can see your lipstick is creating a barrier between the skin and the water then  it's invalidating your wudu. How do you know if it's creating a barrier? If water forms little circular balls all over your lips, it means that the water can't get past the lip-product to your lips.
-Advice: wear a lipstain instead

FOUNDATION/CONCEALER
-Once again, you have to make the decision here. If you can tell the foundation is too heavy and is creating a barrier, it has to come off.

EYELINER
-Touch your eyeliner. Do you feel a heavy coat of eyeliner. Generally the long-lasting eyeliner, or the gel-liners appear to cause a barrier. The cheap eyeliners, or the one that easily smudge tend not to be a problem
-Advice: You can always put eyeliner on your top and bottom waterline. This won't invalidate your wudu.

EYESHADOW
-This is a personal decision. Some sisters feel the need to remove their eyeshadow, I personally don't.
I think any sort of powder product does not invalidate the wudu . The only "if" factor here is whether the primer causes a barrier.

The information above gives you a basic outline of what is going to invalidate your wudu and what is not. However, the general rule for any makeup product is your personal investigation of it. Everyone is using a different product on their face, so it's not fair to state that someones makeup is invalidating their wudu if you have no idea what that specific product is like.

If you're a makeup lover this may bum you out. How do you wear makeup then if you have to take it off?
1. Most parties are in the evening. Do your wudu right before you put on your makeup. Most of the time you'll get Asar and Zhur at home, and it's only Magrib you have to worry about.
2. Carry makeup removing wipes, and extra makeup so you can re-do your makeup after wudu.
3. Skip the mascara, and wear eyeliner on your water line.
4. Carry your lipstick shade with you
5. Go all-out when it's your time-of-the-month
6. Remember your wudu is only benefiting you, and that you should be honest with yourself.


MOST IMPORTANT!
Don't judge each other. If you see a woman who doesn't want to take off her makeup, then leave her alone.After you've said your part, your job is finish. Remember that these rules are not easy for everyone, and some sisters need more time to take the rule to heart. Your job is just to inform them, what they choose to do with that information is up to them.

WHAT MAKES IT HARAM OR HALAL?

How do I evaluate products and determine them as permissible or impermissible (i.e. halal or haram)? Well I look for a number of ingredients and have different rules in accordance with a specific ingredient:

CARMINE

This is the ingredient made from crushed beetles to give that beautiful red pigment in many cosmetic products including lipsticks, eye shadows, and glosses. Carmine has various names including cochineal, E120(in food), and CI 75470. Insects in Islam cannot be consumed, and the average women will definitely consume some product off her lips. So if you got carmine in your lipstick, girl you gotta throw that lipstick in the trash! But wait; there is a wee problem here. Carmine usually varies from shade to shade, and most companies will not tell you which lipstick has carmine and which doesn’t; therefore carmine will always be one of those “may contain” ingredients. Well, there is a general Islamic rule that things are assumed pure unless proven otherwise. [1] So if you’ve exhausted your efforts in finding the exact ingredients but can’t, then from the rule I would assume you can continue using that product (but that is up to you).

 Personally, I rather not support companies that are too lazy to give me a proper ingredient list. Some companies that don’t use carmine and have some great lipsticks are Yves Rocher (all products) and Urban Decay (some products). MAC , NYX and JOE fresh are three companies that will tell you specifically which shade will have carmine and which won’t. MAC use to be the fastest at getting back to me but lately their taking FOREVERRRRRRRRRRR.

ALCOHOL

Ethyl Alcohol is Haram girl!, Cetyl Alcohol and Cetearyl Alcohol are Halal.[2]

ANIMALS

It’s common knowledge that pork is Haram, and makeup ingredients that have pig derived ingredients are definitely Haram, but what most Muslims consumers don’t know that even the derivates of an animal which has not been slaughtered in accordance with Shariah is Haram. Here is a list of common ingredients that are usually derived from an animal source unless the company tells you otherwise: glycerine, stearic acid, glycerol stearate, urea, lecithin, and collagen.

But OH lawwwwwwwwwwd Have Mercy. Those are just the ingredients I have commonly seen, PETA has a list of other animal ingredients (not all of which are Haram), plus each common animal ingredient has some next scientific name (e.g. urea, is also called Carbamide).

Best thing to do would be to opt for brands that use no animal-derived ingredients at all, or are halal certified. However these products are not easily accessible to everyone. The next option would be to email the company a general inquiry of that specific product: “Does blank lipstick have any animal derived ingredients, if yes, from which animal and what is the name of that ingredient”.

Yes it is annoying, yes it is time-consuming, but remember that these impure ingredients will invalidate your wudu, and thus invalidate your prayer. What could be more important than your daily prayers?!?!? NOTHING!

ANIMAL CRUELTY

Another criteria which most Muslim Consumers fail to acknowledge is whether a product has been tested on animals. For the longest time I thought “Animal testing is okay, I mean we use animals for all that scientific shiznit and I’ve never heard an Imam complaining about that”. But here’s the rule: “Animal testing is permitted when it fulfills genuine needs that cannot otherwise be reasonably fulfilled. When it is permitted, it should be kept to the extent of the need, and all reasonable means must be taken to avoid undue pain or ill-treatment of the animals.”[3] Animal testing in the name of cosmetics is completely unethical and inhumane. Moreover, many companies are making incredible products without animal testing; hence, there are other methods to test cosmetics without the ill-treatment of animals. Does that mean you throw out all your old animal-tested makeup? If you want, but if you decide to keep it then don’t recommend it to other consumers, and don’t support that company in the future by buying more of their products.

One of my biggest weakness are those “makeup-guru” videos on Youtube who are all up in yo face with “I hate animal testing!- Oh but check out this new Maybelline fit foundation, It’s freaking awesome!”.  Makeup is such a big weakness for me, if I hear it’s good I wanna go out and buy it. So now I just avoid watching videos that review, and use animal tested makeup.  And maybe if you have a makeup weakness like me, you could do the same J!

I guess this completes my VERY long post on how I evaluate makeup. This is one page you may want to bookmark for future reference of share with fellow Muslims sisters at school, home, or the mosque.

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[1] http://spa.qibla.com/issue_view.asp?HD=3&ID=8587&CATE=406

[2] http://www.albalagh.net/letters/synthetic_alcohols.shtml

[3] http://spa.qibla.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=5017&CATE=177