Hair, makeup, and nails

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Caitlin

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I have been seriously thinking about getting back into doing my makeup, doing my nails, and coloring my hair. But I am also of the belief that God made me the way he wanted me. So who am I to change that? I have also heard other Christians say that doing your hair, makeup, nails, and wearing jewelry is sinful. But what does the Catholic Church teach about this? Are these things really sinful?
 
Caitlin said:
But I am also of the belief that God made me the way he wanted me. So who am I to change that?
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If we carried this logic to its natural conclusion, we’d all be behind bars for public nudity. Or at least very cold in Chicago.

No, there is no Church teaching against pretty hair, nails, or make-up.
 
Caitlin said:
I have also heard other Christians say that doing your hair, makeup, nails, and wearing jewelry is sinful. But what does the Catholic Church teach about this? Are these things really sinful?
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No they are certainly not sinful. I’d imagine jewelry would only be sinful if you spend an excessive amount of money on them - more than you can afford.but there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good.
 
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My own personal belief is that women should not wear makeup, that said, as far as I know, it is not sinful to do so. I think it really depends on your motives. There’s nothing wrong with caring about your appearance, though.
 
Self decoration seems to be a human impulse.
Even Stone Age cultures who otherwise are very scantily clad will wear pendants or apply pigments to their skin.

I don’t leave the house without powdering my face to smooth out the reddenEd areas and reduce shine. And if I’m getting my picture taken I’ll put on eyeliner.

Nails? If you wash your hands a zillion times a day, then Sally Hansen is the most durable brand of polish.
 
There is a teaching against lascivious makeup in the examination of conscience in my missal. Lascivious isn’t really defined though.
 
There is a nice medium between unwashed hippy and over the top glam. Don’t go crazy in either direction and you’ll be fine. You shouldn’t stand out in either extreme.
 
Vanity has to do with how much we care what others think of us. Seems like something you’d need to make a personal assessment on. Then also consider if it is taking too much money or time, both things we need to be good stewards of.
 
The Catholic Church doesnt teach against reasonable hair, face and nail salon work. Like everything else, its fine in moderation. Some people also need it for their job. I have a friend who has been a TV reporter and she was expected to look a certain way that involved hairdoes and makeup.

If you’re obsessed with it to the point where you’re neglecting other aspects of your life, such as worshipping God, spending time with your family, or doing your job at work, or if you’re being vain about your appearance, or if you’re spending money at the salon that you don’t have/ can’t afford / should be spent on necessities or more important stuff for your kids, etc, then it might be a sin for you personally. God gave us a conscience to figure that out.
 
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Caitlin,

Hair, nails, cosmetics…in moderation.

I prefer to file my own nails, use a nail brush to keep fingernails clean, and not bother with manicurists. I’m not saying it is wrong to have one’s nails done, but it would bother my conscience to have pictures put on my fingernails when I can send a donation to the food pantry here for what that would cost.

I like to joke and say it would be a sin if I didn’t wear some make-up. It doesn’t take but about ten minutes to comb hair, and put a bit of make-up on.
 
adamhovey1988 said:
My own personal belief is that women should not wear makeup, that said, as far as I know, it is not sinful to do so.
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If you don’t think it’s sinful, why do you think women shouldn’t do it? Do you not subscribe to the view that that which is not prohibited is permitted? The only person I know who thinks that women should not wear makeup is a somewhat odd friend of mine whose family were European nobility. I understand that in those circles it was, and perhaps still is, frowned upon, but more because it’s regarded as “common” than because it’s considered immoral.
 
Dorothy said:
I prefer to file my own nails, use a nail brush to keep fingernails clean, and not bother with manicurists.
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I don’t bother with manicures because when you have your hands in cat litter half the week, or similarly messy things (crafting, food etc) there is no point.

Also a lot of the mani/ pedi salons in my area have all Asians working there and there have been articles in the paper that many of these workers are exploited by the salon bosses, so I don’t want to feed into that system. I grew up doing my own nails anyway, there weren’t mani/ pedi salons when I was young unless you were some rich lady with nothing better to do than sit around a spa, so I’m not inclined to start patronizing them now when I’m older and short on time.

But there are plenty of Catholic ladies who like to have mani/ pedi and I’m not bothered by it. Their choice, their money, etc.
 
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adamhovey1988 said:
My own personal belief is that women should not wear makeup
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Yea, well, my own personal belief is that men shouldn’t wear deep v-neck shirts. But what’re ya gonna do? (Shrug).

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0Scarlett_nidiyilii said:
If you wash your hands a zillion times a day, then Sally Hansen is the most durable brand of polish.
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Good to know!!
LumineDiei said:
Natural Makeup Application on Left and Full makeup application on Right
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If it’s make-up, it’s not a sin. On the other hand, if they’re cheating with Photoshop . . . 😡
 
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The natural make-up looks are very nice in my opinion.

The eyes on the lower right picture scare me a bit! 🙂
 
And it takes as long to do that no-makeup look than it does to do my normal full face office makeup!
 
Being groomed is not a sin. Having said that…
The bottom right looks “plastic”. The lashes are too much. (My opinion is worth what you paid for it)
Dominus vobiscum
 
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