Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has released revised rules on personal appearance for members of the Army and Air Force that could disproportionately affect women and minorities.
This month, the U.S. Army and Air Force issued separate directives that tightly regulate how service members are allowed to look, including the length of their hair, the way they wear their uniforms, and the color of nail polish they wear.
Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein reported on the memos on Thursday, writing that the secretary believes that “disciplined hair care will lead to a disciplined military” and restore a “warrior ethos,” which he often talks about in interviews and hearings.
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One of the most detailed sections in the Army’s directive from July 8 pertains to shaving, which most members of the Armed Forces are required to do daily. The Army previously granted “shaving waivers” to service members who suffer from pseudofolliculitis barbae, also known as razor bumps. These waivers allowed soldiers to sport neatly trimmed beards instead.
However, under the new directive, soldiers with razor bumps will be allowed to keep their beards for only a temporary treatment period, after which they risk being banned from the Army if they do not shave. The Army will even cover the cost of laser hair removal for soldiers if other treatment options have been exhausted.
When the Marines adopted a similar policy in March, critics noted that Black service members are at a much higher risk for razor bumps; 66 percent of Navy members with waivers are Black.
A military dermatologist told Military.com in March that those with a shaving waiver are promoted more slowly than their peers, creating a “racial discriminatory impact” against Black service members.
Dermatologists also told NBC News that the Marines’ policy had “nothing to do with readiness”; soldiers are more than capable of performing their duties with facial hair.
The Air Force’s new directive, issued on July 11, is even broader. It does away with a detailed chart specifying which color nail polish female Air Force members can wear, replacing it with an instruction for nail polish to be “clear or French or American manicure only.”
The directive bans eyelash extensions (except for medical purposes) and rolled-up shirt sleeves. It also replaces the term “gender” with “sex” throughout the 140-page personnel guidebook.
Klippenstein noted that the eyelash provision, like the Army and Marines’ changes to shaving requirements, is likely to impact Black servicemembers more than their peers. “I’m sure it’s a coincidence that this also impacts black and brown people the most,” he wrote tongue-in-cheek.
A spokesperson for the Army said that, given that the directive on facial hair is new, the branch is still reevaluating medical waivers and issuing treatment plans. “Discipline is critical to war fighting,” he said. “The Army is committed to supporting the health and welfare of our soldiers.”
The U.S. Air Force did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
