The Pentagon has ordered that service members who require exemptions from shaving for longer than one year must be separated from the military, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a memo dated Aug. 20 that was made public Monday.
Commanders may still grant shaving waivers — a long-standing accommodation largely used to treat pseudofolliculitis barbae, or PFB — but those waivers must include a medical treatment plan. If a service member still needs treatment after 12 months, the memo says the individual will be separated from service.
“The Department must remain vigilant in maintaining the grooming standards which underpin the warrior ethos,” Hegseth wrote in the memo. The guidance applies to all branches of the armed forces, according to Pentagon officials.
Most shaving waivers have been issued for PFB, a skin condition in which hair curls back into the skin after shaving and causes irritation and bumps. The condition disproportionately affects Black men. The memo does not specify what treatments the Defense Department will provide, whether it will cover the cost of treatment, or what constitutes an acceptable treatment plan.
The memo is silent on whether there will be exceptions for operational considerations that have previously allowed broader allowances, including long-standing practical waivers for special operations troops in deployed settings or personnel stationed in extreme cold climates such as parts of Alaska, where shaving can pose medical hazards. Officials did not immediately provide clarification on those points when the memo was released.
The announcement comes as the Army unveiled its own revisions to grooming and appearance standards. The Army’s update significantly narrowed the range of acceptable appearances for soldiers, with many of the most substantive changes affecting standards for women, including rules on nails, hairstyles, earrings and makeup.
Pentagon officials said commanders retain the authority to grant waivers but must document a medical plan intended to resolve the underlying condition within a year. The memo directs services to implement the policy across their forces but does not lay out a detailed timetable or enforcement mechanism in the public text.
Advocates and some service members have in past years raised concerns about the disproportionate impact of shaving policies on Black service members because of PFB. The new time-limited approach marks a change from decades of practice in which waivers could be extended for longer periods. The Pentagon’s memo does not address how separations under the new rule will be processed, whether separated members would be eligible for medical or administrative protections, or how the services will handle cases that remain unresolved at the one-year mark.
The Aug. 20 memo, released publicly Sept. 16, is the latest in a series of grooming and appearance policy moves by the Defense Department and the Army as military leaders revise long-standing standards.
Officials within the Pentagon and the individual services will likely be asked to provide further implementation guidance and answers about medical care and procedural protections as the policy takes effect.