From the perspective of the gemara,[1] the restrictions of the Nine Days end with the completion of the day of Tisha B’Av (9th of Av). This is not an obvious conclusion, as the majority of the burning of the Beit HaMikdash took place on the 10th of Av, and Rabbi Yochanan[2] said that he would have thought that the latter date is the more appropriate day for the fast. In fact, there were Amora’im who fasted on both days.[3]
Based on this background, post-Talmudic minhagim developed to continue certain prohibitions even after Tisha B’Av. The Tur[4] writes: “It is a proper minhag to not eat meat on the night of the 10th and the day of the 10th … so that it should be close to a fast.”[5] The Bach understands this language as a double stringency: One should not eat any meat on the 10th of Av, and one should even limit his eating of other foods, as is befitting for a day that on some level should have been a fast. The Bach’s second stringency is not accepted; after Tisha B’Av, we eat non-meat foods without any limitations. (We can, however, relate to the Mikraei Kodesh’s[6] discomfort with those who, for example, go out for ice cream every Motzaei Tisha B’Av.)
The Shulchan Aruch[7] cites the minhag to not eat meat or drink wine the entire night and day of the 10th, but various Acharonim limit this stringency somewhat. The Bi’ur Halacha[8] says that it is permitted to eat a food that was only cooked with meat, as long as one does not eat meat itself. The Magen Avraham[9] writes that it is permitted to eat meat at a seudat mitzva.[10] And the Rama[11] sets the tone for Ashkenazim by limiting the minhag to avoid meat and wine as lasting only until midday of the 10th.
Regarding other restrictions, Ashkenazim are stricter than Sephardim. The Shulchan Aruch mentions only the restrictions on meat and wine, and the Rama does not argue. However, the Maharshal[12] writes that since the minhag is to extend the Nine Days restriction of wine and meat into the 10th, the same should be true of laundering, haircutting, and bathing. The Mishna Berura[13] and the broad consensus of Ashkenazi poskim accept the Maharshal’s stringency.
Although some prominent Sephardic poskim adopt this added stringency regarding laundering, haircutting, and bathing, it apparently was not widely accepted. Therefore, Rav Ovadia Yosef[14] writes that Sephardim should follow the Shulchan Aruch’s opinion that only meat and wine are forbidden, whereas the rest of the restrictions cease when Tisha B’Av ends (although he admits that it is questionable whether one may recite Shehecheyanu at that point).[15] The Mikraei Kodesh[16] cites Rav Mordechai Eliyahu as extending the restriction on music throughout the 10th of Av.
Regarding laundering, haircutting, and bathing, there is room for leniency in cases of need, even for Ashkenazim. Reasons for this allowance include the following: First, this part of the minhag is not only post-Talmudic, but is even post-Shulchan Aruch. Second, it is much more common for the continuation of these restrictions to be particularly difficult, especially as the hot summer takes its toll and the stacks of laundry pile up. In addition, all agree that one may perform any of these activities in honor of Shabbat when Tisha B’Av falls on Thursday.[17] (According to the Halichot Shlomo,[18] in such a case, one may start the washing on Thursday night and throw into the load of clothing needed for Shabbat even items that are not needed for Shabbat. However, haircutting should be postponed until Friday morning.) There are other situations in which stringency is likely beyond the call of duty, such as when one is leaving home soon after Tisha B’Av and needs a large supply of clean laundry,
When Tisha B’Av is pushed off from Shabbat to Sunday, Motzaei Tisha B’Av is the 11th of Av. In such a case, the only restriction that remains after Tisha B’Av has ended is to not eat meat or drink wine, and this applies only at night.[19]