All medical shaving waivers issued to airmen and Space Force guardians before March will be invalidated at the end of January 2026, according to a new policy released by the service’s Surgeon General.
The move does not apply to religious waivers, a Dec. 15 memo from the surgeon general says. The memo appeared on social media on Monday.
“Airmen and guardians who have medical shaving profiles issued prior to March 1, 2025, should schedule an appointment with a military health care provider for further evaluation before the January deadline,” an Air Force news release says.
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Starting Feb. 1, 2026, airmen and guardians with shaving waivers lasting longer than a total of 12 months within a 24-month period will be referred to their commanders, who have the final approval authority for medical shaving waivers, the news release says.
Those who break the 12-month rule, the memo says, “may” have to face a medical review board that could decide to remove them from the service for a “Duty Limiting Condition.”
The Air Force’s announcement is meant to comply with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s guidance to the military services on grooming standards. Hegseth announced in August that he was directing military commanders to begin separating troops who still required medical waivers for shaving after a year of treatment.
The following month, Hegseth issued a memo that said the Defense Department would only issue temporary waivers for medical conditions such as pseudofolliculitis barbae or PFB, which is a painful skin condition common among Black men that is made worse by shaving.
“Airmen and guardians who have or are at risk of getting PFB will be given preventive education on appropriate shaving hygiene and, if needed, medication, a consultation with a dermatologist (or specialist), or a recommendation for laser hair removal,” the Air Force news release says.
The Department of the Air Force already had a long head start on curtailing shaving waivers. In January, it reversed a 2020 policy that allowed airmen and Space Force guardians with PFB to be issued five-year shaving waivers that did not require annual renewals.
Instead, the service announced that all shaving profiles would expire in March, requiring airmen and guardians to be medically evaluated to receive another profile. The move did not apply to religious accommodation shaving waivers.
However, Hegseth indicated in September that he had doubts about some of the religious accommodations that had been granted to allow troops to wear beards, telling a large group of generals and admirals, “We don’t have a military full of Nordic Pagans.”
