Is It Permissible to Have Someone Else Wax Your Body? (Shafi’i)

Answered by Shaykh Shuaib Ally

Question: Assalam alaykum,

Is it allowed for a women to have hair removal done outside of the home, such as laser or wax? Is it permissible to have a man or woman who are strangers to you, to perform a wax or even a bikini wax on your body?

Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

Is Hair Removal Permissible?

It is considered permissible for a woman to have any form of hair removal procedure done, as long as it does not cause measurable bodily harm.

Is it Permissible to have Another Perform this Procedure?

Other than medically necessary procedures, it is not permissible for others to look or touch the areas of your body you are obligated to cover in front of them.

Since a bikini wax is not a medically necessary procedure, and it requires the person performing it to look at your private areas, which are not permissible to uncover in front of anyone other than one’s spouse, it would not be permissible to be performed by other than oneself or one’s spouse.

Prohibition of Uncovering in front of Others

As a general principle, modesty is a desired characteristic. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Modesty is part of faith” [Bukhari, Muslim]. He is also reported to have said, “A man should not look at the private parts of another man; a woman should not look at the private parts of another woman” [Muslim].

Shuaib Ally