Overview

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senior leaders at Quantico that the era of “rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles” is over, declaring “No more beardos.”
• The posted guidance requires individualized review of religious requests, documentation of sincere belief, and confines approved beards to jobs with low risk of chemical exposure or firefighting.
• The policy builds on an August directive tying medical shaving waivers to treatment plans with evaluation for separation if a waiver is still needed after one year.
• Advocacy groups and faith organizations, including the Sikh Coalition and CAIR, warned of threats to religious liberty as NAACP leaders and veterans raised concerns about racial impact and retention.
• Medical experts note pseudofolliculitis barbae disproportionately affects Black men, while services scramble to assess existing waivers and tracking remains uneven, with the Marine Corps reporting 50 of 101 religious beard requests granted since 2020.