Should Christians Wear Makeup?
Image by Serhiy Hipskyy
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.
Some Christians think it’s fine to wear makeup, while other Christians think makeup-free and natural is the only godly way to go. Are there any restrictions in the Bible regarding the use of cosmetics?
What does the Bible say about Christians wearing makeup?
Here are two biblical passages that give us some clarity on this question. In 1 Timothy 2:9-10, the apostle Paul does exhort women to dress modestly:
Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.
The apostle Peter makes the same point in his first epistle:
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. (1 Pet. 3:3-4)
At first glance, it appears that Paul and Peter are exhorting women not to braid their hair. Really? As with every passage in the Bible, we must approach these verses within their proper context.
At the time Paul and Peter wrote their letters, women spent excessively long hours braiding their hair into very intricate styles, which caused them to put an inordinate amount of time into their appearance for the sake of their hair being a status symbol.[1] In his commentary on 1 Peter, Daniel M. Doriani explains,
The problem does not lie with braided hair or gold per se. A gold wedding band is a simple symbol of commitment. But elaborate hair took hours to prepare and so became a conspicuous display of wealth and rank. Inner beauty is what counts. “Virtue is the one garment any woman can wear with pride.” Peter singles out a gentle and quiet spirit. He blesses amiable friendliness, calm peace, a refusal to quarrel or show bad temper. (p. 114)
Paul and Peter aren’t saying that women can’t ever braid their hair, wear gold or pearls, make wise purchases of quality clothing, or improve their appearance in appropriate ways—including by using makeup. They are exhorting women not to be vain and overly concerned with their appearance but rather to focus on the beauty that comes from an obedient heart devoted to loving God and their neighbor.
This article has been updated since its original publishing date of January 13, 2018.
Notes:
[1] Peter Doriani, 1 Peter: Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg: P & R Publishing, 2014), 114.
