Perceptions of Shaving Profiles and Their Potential Impacts on Career Progression in the United States Air Force

Abstract

The United States Air Force (USAF), in line with the other services within the DoD, expects its male members to maintain zero visible facial hair, other than a neatly maintained mustache, when in uniform. This requirement stems from the five elements of dress and personal appearance: neatness, cleanliness, safety, uniformity, and military image.¹ However, a portion of military members are afflicted with pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), a medical condition that is exacerbated by shaving and is oftentimes only controlled by either allowing beard growth or undergoing laser hair removal. The USAF instruction regarding dress and appearance states that, “beards are not authorized unless for medical reasons, when authorized by a medical official, or as authorized pursuant to a request for a religious accommodation.”¹ This allows military healthcare providers to issue “shaving profiles” that allow members to grow facial hair beyond what is allowed by regulation, whether it be for PFB, for simple irritation from shaving, or for other cutaneous conditions. The authors hypothesized that an unintentional negative bias on the career advancement of an active duty service member with beard growth may exist within the USAF, and given that PFB predominantly affects skin of color, this could lead to a racial bias. To help determine any impact of shaving profiles on career advancement, we performed an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved anonymous survey conducted at five Air Force installations around the world over the past year.