Q&A: Kosher Status of Cosmetic Products
Kosher Status of Cosmetic Products
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Today I was invited to a lecture being given by some rabbi about the kosher status of cosmetic products.
I’m wondering: why is this relevant? Aside from certain niches that might be worth discussing—lipstick on Passover, maybe?—can a real kosher issue actually come up in the area of cosmetics?
What do you think?
Abraham
Answer
I’m not sufficiently familiar with the topic. If there is a prohibition against deriving benefit, then it is relevant even when one does not eat the item. True, usually it is unfit even for a dog’s consumption, and then there is no problem, but if there is something that is fit, there could be an issue. There is also room to discuss prohibitions of eating from the standpoint of anointing being like drinking, although according to most opinions this is not ruled that way. See the booklet “The Small Griz’s Novellae” on Yoma.
Discussion on Answer
Even if the product is unfit for a dog’s consumption, wouldn’t using orlah olive oil in hand cream, for example (instead of kosher olive oil), still count as deriving benefit from orlah oil? Because it saved me from using kosher oil in the cream’s manufacturing process, and therefore saved costs.
Orlah does not transfer its prohibited status to its monetary value, so even if it is forbidden to produce such oil for the reason you gave, it seems to me that using it is not forbidden.
By your reasoning, every product would need Passover certification, including cleaning materials. After all, leaven was used in their production and saved the use of kosher material instead, so they benefited from the leaven.
Seemingly, if you bought the oil at full price, there is no ancillary benefit here at all (mishtarshei, in the vernacular).
For that reason, acquired leaven does not involve prohibited benefit.
If there is a prohibition in manufacturing the cream, and there is a company that makes a similar cream in a kosher way, then seemingly one would be obligated specifically to buy the cream that was produced in a kosher manner; otherwise one is strengthening the hands of transgressors.
Seemingly, since the prohibition of assisting is only rabbinic, and it is not clear that that company sells prohibited oil, in a case of rabbinic-level doubt one may be lenient, and this requires further examination.
Besides, you’re the one who was invited to the lecture today. Tell us what you heard there.