Troops who currently need shaving waivers for more than a year could face separation under changes announced in a memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is calling for a “clean shaven” military.
“Unit commanders will initiate separation of service members who require a shaving waiver after more than 1 year of medical treatment,” Hegseth wrote in an Aug. 20 memo released on Monday. “I have full confidence in our leaders at all levels to provide an accurate assessment of whether retention is appropriate.”
Earlier this summer, the Army said it was working on finalizing its updated grooming standards, including a potential separation for those who need shaving exemptions. At the time, spokesmen for the Army said the service was taking a “back to standards” approach, after the number of shaving exemptions had grown, with more than 40,000 issued in 2024. The secretary’s new order is the first service-wide policy announced, and comes amid a number of other updates to grooming and appearance regulations issued in recent days.
It is unclear what options are available to service members with Pseudofolliculitis Barbae, or PFB, a painful skin condition in which facial hair grows back into the skin that is common in up to 60% of Black men. PFB is made worse by shaving, which “sharpens the end of hairs like a spear,” according to the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology.
“A 100% effective treatment is to let the beard grow. Once the hairs get to be a certain length they will not grow back into the skin,” the college’s website says.
Hegseth’s Aug. 20 memo, which first appeared on social media late last week, lays out requirements for exemptions to the requirement that troops be clean shaven, but it does not address PFB specifically.
“When authorizing individual exceptions, commanders must apply consistent criteria and appropriately consider the Department’s interests in safety and uniformity,” the memo says.
Under Hegseth’s orders, troops who do get waivers for exemptions must go through medical treatment to address the reason for not shaving. If they still require a shaving waiver after a year of treatment, their unit commanders will start separation processes for those who still need a waiver after a year of treatment.
“Commanders must apply consistent criteria and appropriately consider the Department’s interests in safety and uniformity when authorizing individual exceptions,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on Monday. “Military medical officers will provide a written recommendation concerning a shaving waiver to the commander who is the final approval authority.”
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It’s unclear if Hegseth’s latest move affects whether service members are allowed to have mustaches.
“The grooming standard set by the U.S. military is to be clean shaven and neat in presentation for a proper military appearance,” the memo says.
As secretary, Hegseth has focused heavily on grooming and uniform standards in the armed forces, saying in a March 12 memo on a department-wide review of policies that clear standards make the military “stronger and more disciplined.”
The department did not comment or say how many service members could face separation as a result of the new policy.
“The Department must remain vigilant in maintaining grooming standards which underpin the warrior ethos,” Hegseth’s memo notes.
