U.S. Marine Corps is ending shaving waivers for razor bumps which affects mostly Black service members

[Sonic Boom of the South]

You got that Cheeto all down your throat

bytch shut the fukk up with yo clown civilan ass.

It's not 1 election ever that I didn’t vote Democrat.

You a whole ass fakkit with gay acts on you mind you goofy ass bytch ass loser.


bytch I spoke on exactly wtf happens in the military.
Kill yaself hoe.

 

[O.T.I.S.]

Let me preface this with I retired almost 2 years ago from the Air Force. My thoughts are based on experience and common sense. However, this current administration is stupid and I may end up 100% wrong.

Eventhough most of the people who have shaving waivers are black, this will target non-black people more. Standards did become looser all around in the past couple years, mostly because recruiting numbers decreased. Shaving waivers were given out more to non-black people who didnt need it. They just wanted to grow a beard. One tactic I heard is they would shave the opposite way for a couple weeks before their appointment to generate the “proof” that they needed one. I’m thinking this is the primary reason why they are going after shaving waivers.

The whole people can be discharged for having waivers that exceed 2 years, has been a thing for my whole career. It is targeted towards people who have a medical condition that disqualifies from someone one from deploying for two years. This can range from a severe injury or illness that if they can’t get a stable treatment plan, they will medically retire you. The most common tactic that people use to get out of deploying is starting new medications. If you start a certain type of medication, such as blood pressure meds, they usually put you on 90 day, no deployment order to make sure you don’t have any adverse reactions to the medication and to stabilize your condition. I’ve seen people switch from antidepressants to antidepressants just to avoid deploying.

The one positive for this policy is that it will make it easier for black men to get laser treatment. I’ve only known 1 person who was able to get it through the military. Everyone else, including myself, got denied for it. Other than that, I foresee it going back to what it was the majority of my career which was the hair can only be grown to a certain length, can’t looked groom, and have to be re-evaluated every X amount of days. The article in OP’s post states it up the person’s commanding Officer to determine if the person should be kicked out. I don’t see much people getting kicked out unless they have a a lot of disciplinary issues in their record and this is easy way to kick someone out. I’m thinking the black men that would be at risk of being discharged would be the ones who got super comfortable and wouldn’t want to trim their beards and the people that faked their way to a shaving waiver and don’t want to get rid of it.

Again, I can be 100% wrong since DEI hire, Drunk Pete, is championing this, but I can’t foresee them reducing a significant population of the force just because of a shaving waiver

Right

I figured it would be up to CO’s discretion and if you are serviceable in anyway then he probably wouldn’t do it.

But like you said, we could be wrong and this is new territory. Things like this has happened before like you said, but good to see there COULD be underlying reasons not just targeting black people…


As far as the Marines go, when I last worked for them a few years ago and never saw a black dude with a beard at all. Not to my memory.. but around AF cats I saw a lot of white dudes with beards, more so than black.

 

[3rdWorld]

It’s anti-black, period

Look who is in charge..Hegseth!

 

[get these nets]

I hear you but are non-black people actually being "targeted" if all most of them would have to do is shave without worrying about their face getting ate up?

Agree. With all due respect to that member's personal experience in the military, this change will clearly affect more Black servicemen and recruits.
Non-Blacks who just didn't want to shave, will just start shaving as per the rules. And doing so will have no bearing on their life or physical appearance skin health.

 

[the bossman]

Again, I can be 100% wrong since DEI hire, Drunk Pete, is championing this, but I can’t foresee them reducing a significant population of the force just because of a shaving waiver

Why not? They reduced a significant (black) population of the federal workforce to replace them with MAGA loyalists.

They can do the same with military. They already started with all the top black generals.

 

[skylove4]

Great way to recruit more Muslims. And as a Muslim majority forum, we should applaud this.

We are not a a Muslim majority forum wtf

 

[Fiji Water]

We are not a a Muslim majority forum wtf

We hate women, Jews, and pork. Sounds pretty Muslim to me.

 

[Neuromancer]

Is this bad brehs?

 

[WHolla09]

I hear you but are non-black people actually being "targeted" if all most of them would have to do is shave without worrying about their face getting ate up?

From my experiences, people really don’t care about shaving waivers for black men. It’s kinda assumed that all black men have a shaving waiver. Black people are usually targeted for their hairstyles more than shaving. Now I’ve seen people give dirty looks and talk shyt to non-black men that have beards, since it’s unusual and new. People feel entitled when they are given something new. Most will conform, a minority won’t. Wouldn’t be surprised if someone doesn’t conform just to generate a lawsuit

 

[WHolla09]

Why not? They reduced a significant (black) population of the federal workforce to replace them with MAGA loyalists.

They can do the same with military. They already started with all the top black generals.

Because they would decimate the workforce if they do. Now this is probably Air Force specific, as we don’t go to promotion boards until the later ranks, but Shaving waivers were pretty much held in disdain by higher ranks. Your E-8 through E-9s and the officer ranks. People tended to only be concerned about lower rank members if they blatantly disregard the terms of the shaving waiver. Plus what you stated is black people were replaced. Let’s say they kick out 30% of the black population in the military. Where are they going to get replacements. Standards became more relaxed during the last 5 years due to low recruiting numbers, so it’s not like there are a ton of replacements ready. If they push through with this, it will hurt the military numbers for years and they probably never recover from it

 

[WHolla09]

Why would anybody want to permanently not be able to grow facial hair? Why is that a solution in that posters logic instead of just allowing the electric clipper to be used to shave which is the SIMPLEST, soltuin to the issue? shyt is just goal ppst moving and still uses zero logic in solving a problem that shouldn't even be a fukking problem in this so called modern and more efficient military........also I ain't never heard of a breh in any way shape or form EVER come close to missing a deployment because of PSB..........I HAVE heard numerous numerous stories of brehs being permanently facially scarred on deployment because of archaic ass shaving rules and then being out in the field with hamburger face and unhygienic conditions........

Well laser treatment isn’t permanent, but some people bump up pretty severely even if they shave a little. Others would rather be clean shaved. That’s why I said it would be easier for people to seek laser treatments, that would be covered by the military. I’d imagine most won’t do it, but some would take advantage of it. I also said people get out of deployments by being put on 90 day hold due to medication changes and severe injuries, not because they have PSB. PSB would not stop anyone from deploying. I was saying that if they want to, they can order a medical review for sustained conditions and determine if they want to keep you based on your deployability and whether your Commander wants to retain you. Shaving waivers usually don’t fall into this, but who knows under this administration. At most, I think it would be like when I got a cpap machine. I had a rolling waiver for two years for it, then they had a “medical evaluation” and got my commander to state that I’m deployable and be retained. That’s where I see all this heading.

I agree with that this dumb and shouldn’t be a problem, but that’s what the SECDEF was to prioritize over much more important shyt.

 

[3rdWorld]

Pete Hegseth Slaps Racist Ban on Eyelash Extensions

The Army and Air Force have issued revised rules regulating service members’ appearance.

www.thedailybeast.com

Hegseth Slaps Racist Ban on Eyelash Extensions and Nail Polish​

PONYTAIL PATROL

The Army and Air Force have issued revised rules regulating service members’ appearance.​

Jack Silvers
Breaking News Intern
Published Jul. 17 2025 2:57PM EDT

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images


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.


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 Air Force's new nail polish guidance dictates that women can only wear “clear or French or American Manicure.
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.