Ponytails and lipstick: Sweeping changes to Army grooming standards are coming
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New grooming standards, which will be reflected in a forthcoming memo (ALARACT), will also go into effect in February. Approved revisions include optional wear of earrings, lipstick and nail colors for women and clear nail polish for men. Earrings will remain unauthorized in field environments, combat-related deployments or locations where access to normal hygiene is not available. In other changes this year, hair highlights are now allowed in natural colors, lipstick and nail polish allowed in "non-extreme" colors for women, earrings allowed for women in combat uniforms, and clear nail polish allowed for men. Women can also wear lipsticks that aren’t “extreme” shades, such as blue, gold or hot pink, according to the revised regulations. Men can wear clear nail polish now, too, a move that Sanders said will allow male soldiers who work with chemicals to protect their nails.
Religious Accommodation:
According to Paragraph 3-2 of AR 670-1, mustaches can not extend past the corners of the mouth (imagine a vertical line drawn upward from the corners of the mouth). Also, soldiers must keep mustaches below the lowest part of the nose. Become a leader and serve your country in one of the nation's top leadership training programs. You can do this while maintaining your college curriculum and earning up to 100% tuition coverage. You can serve part-time or full-time as you train in our health care program. Upon graduation of the program, you will enter the Army health care team as a Commissioned Officer.
Army Hair Regulations
A medium-length hairstyle must extend more than 1 inch from the scalp and cannot exceed the lower edge of the collar in all uniforms. In 2016, Andrews began a campaign to change Army Regulation (the wear and appearance of uniforms and insignia) to include locks – formerly referred to as dreadlocks – as an authorized hairstyle. By 2017, the then-District of Columbia National Guard first lieutenant’s proposal was accepted, changing an Army-wide policy that impacts 2 million active-duty, reserve-component and National Guard Soldiers. Ponytails are also authorized for female soldiers with medium or long hair, but they must be gathered at the back and pinned to remain above the bottom of the color. Additional Army hair regulation updates remove the requirement that hair must present a tapered appearance. Multiple hairstyles are now allowed as long as it maintains a neat professional appearance and doesn’t impede the use of headgear.
National Guard Soldier helps change Army hair regulation
Along with hair standards, the Army is allowing women to wear lipstick and nail polish — something that used to be allowed but was later outlawed. The new standards will also allow men to wear clear nail polish if they wish, which could be used to protect their nails if they “serve in the job specialties that have to deal with harsh chemicals,” for instance. They must have the same general appearance as the natural hair color and conform to standard hair regulations. The most significant changes are new regulations increasing the variety of acceptable hairstyles for female soldiers. Under the current policy, female soldiers' hair cannot be shorter than one-forth of an inch or have braids, twists, locks or cornrows that are wider than half an inch. The revisions were decided by a 17-soldier panel, including 15 women, who assessed grooming suggestions focused on health, wellness, diversity and inclusion of soldiers while keeping "professional appearance" in mind, the Army said.
The Army is planning a major overhaul of its hair and grooming regulations
Army standards require this hairstyle to be neatly and inconspicuously fastened above the collar's lower edge. As for hair and grooming standards, a series of recommended grooming standard changes were brought to Army leadership last month after being voted on by a review panel comprised of representatives throughout the Army. According to slides made public on Tuesday, the voting members of the panel included 15 women (10 Black women, 4 white women, and one Hispanic woman) and two men (one Black man and one Hispanic man). Four male subject matter experts — two dermatologists, one psychologist, and one equal opportunity advisor — were also present on the panel, though they did not vote. Nicole Kirschmann, a career Army civilian, said on her personal Twitter account that she believed the service should allow women to wear ponytails and take into consideration different textures and types of hair. Having “grooming standards that show sensitivity to the cultural and ethnic diversity already present in our Army would go a long way in ‘walking the talk’ about diversity and inclusion,” she told Task & Purpose.
Fort Sam is an informal name for Fort Sam Houston, which is in San Antonio. Separately, the original digital story said the newest change applies to enlisted female soldiers. In 2014, members of the Congressional Black Caucus wrote a letter to the secretary of defense over rules at the time about Black women's twists and braids. "African American women have often been required to meet unreasonable norms as it relates to acceptable standards of grooming in the workplace," the lawmakers wrote.
Serving in the Army requires a well-groomed and professional appearance. The Army strives to be as inclusive as possible while making sure every Soldier can perform their duties as safely as possible. Appearance regulations are considerate of religious beliefs and many forms of cultural expression.
WASHINGTON -- New changes to grooming and appearance standards are slated to take effect next month, as part of the Army’s commitment to improve the wellbeing of all Soldiers. Haley Britzky was the Task & Purpose Army reporter from 2019 to 2022. The discussion about change comes amid an intense focus from service leaders on improving the Army culture and increasing diversity and inclusion within the force.
“That image reinforced the same European standard of professionalism and beauty that had become mine as a girl; the natural me was not good enough,” Peters wrote. The recommendations were identified after a July directive from then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper which ordered a review of hairstyle and grooming policies for racial bias. There is more as far as prohibited hairstyles and authorized hair accessories go. If you want to know about those details, check out the AR Regulation. In recent years, states and cities have passed legislation to prohibit discrimination based on hairstyles, which disproportionately affects Black women. "Anytime there's a difference in regulations by gender, or sex, there is a tendency for the men to feel like they are not being treated equally," Segal said.
Is it time for a trim? Check out the facial hair facts across the world's armed forces - Forces Network
Is it time for a trim? Check out the facial hair facts across the world's armed forces.
Posted: Wed, 25 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The new policy will also remove various words from the regulation that are offensive to some cultures, or have racist ties. In the facial hair section of the regulations, the word “Fu Manchu” will be removed, for example, as it “has been considered offensive to Asian Culture,” the slides say. Hair regulations are meant to reinforce uniformity in the military, but many women — specifically Black women — have said that the stringent regulations don’t take into account different textures and lengths of hair. A wide-ranging set of changes to the uniform and grooming regulations is set to hit the Army, with many new details covering everything from ponytails to earring allowances.
In addition, soldiers can not shape their facial hair into goatees, handlebar mustaches or other styles. In another change, the Army removed minimum hair lengths for women, which used to be ¼ inch. Women can also cut their hair in tapered styles (i.e., in a fashion that conforms to the shape of their heads). The Army also repealed its ban on “multiple hairstyles” so women can combine cornrows, twists, braids and locs. The uniform and/or grooming changes, approved after December 2020, will be included in the next update to the AR 670-1. Senior Army leaders are discussing making long-awaited changes to hair and grooming regulations and they plan to announce the finalized changes in January 2021, Task & Purpose has learned.
Female Soldiers will soon be authorized to wear earrings with their ACU. Earrings can either be screw-on, clip-on, or post-type earrings in gold, silver, or diamond and must be unadorned and spherical without exceeding 6 mm or 1/4 inch in diameter. If the Soldier were to washout or graduate from training, their hair was often below the 1/4 inch minimum length requirement and outside Army regulations. Sgt. Nicole Pierce, a behavioral health noncommissioned officer stationed at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, tells NPR's Weekend Edition that "tightening of the bun has really over the years pulled my hair out."
Previously, only buns were permitted for female soldiers with medium-length hair. The new standard will now allow them to tie their hair in a ponytail "if the individual's hair length or texture prevents them from securing it into a tight bun," the press release . Along with supporting a Soldier's identity, the Army approved the use of additional colors of lipstick and nail polish, including the wear of clear nail polish by male Soldiers. Females also have the option to wear an American manicure, a two-tone nail style that maintains a natural appearance. Soldiers will also be authorized to wear multiple hairstyles as long as it maintains a neat and professional appearance, and if the hairstyle doesn't impede the use of headgear or other equipment, Sanders said. In addition, the Army is also revising its grooming standards to support its People First priority and diversity and inclusion efforts.
Under the current regulation, Soldiers are only authorized to dye, tint, or bleach their hair. The color of their hair must also be uniform and not detract from their professional appearance. Unauthorized pigments include, but are not limited to, purple, blue, pink, green, orange, bright red, and fluorescent or neon colors. Female Soldiers with medium-length hair will have the option to wear a ponytail if the individual's hair length or texture prevents them from securing it into a tight bun, Sanders said.
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