US EditionPentagon unveils new ‘clean shaven’ grooming standards
The Pentagon mandates clean-shaven standards for troops, with over 40,000 shaving waivers issued in 2024; waivers beyond one year may lead to separation after medical review.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued an Aug. 20, 2025 memo directing unit commanders to separate service members requiring medical shaving waivers beyond one year of treatment.
- This policy follows a force-wide review addressing growing shaving exemption requests and seeks to enforce clean-shaven and neat appearance standards in the military.
- Medical providers recommend waivers for pseudofolliculitis barbae, a painful skin condition affecting about 60% of Black men, requiring troops to follow phased treatment plans.
- More than 40,000 shaving waivers were issued in 2024, yet the new guidance excludes religious exemptions such as those sought by John Hoskins for his Pastafarian faith.
- The updated standards aim to restore uniform grooming but may disproportionately affect Black service members due to the prevalence of PFB in that population.
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New 'grooming standards' for Trump's Department of War: 'Clean shaven, neat in presentation'
As per the new rules, military medical officers will issue a written recommendation regarding a shaving waiver, which will then be reviewed by the commander, who has the final say. Service members granted a waiver must follow a prescribed medical treatment plan
Pentagon unveils new ‘clean shaven’ grooming standards
The Pentagon on Monday unveiled new grooming standards, which now require service members “to be clean shaven and neat in presentation for a proper military appearance.” Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement Monday that following “a rapid force-wide review of military standards” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “recently directed the Services to implement…
Troops with medical shaving exemptions face separation
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 pr…
New Pentagon Policy Limits Medical Shaving Waivers to 12 Months
Unit commanders are being told to separate service members who can’t shave their cheeks and chin for medical reasons for more than a year in new guidance from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. “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 for senior military leadership that was included in a Sept. 15 press release. “The groo…
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