The U.S. Marine Corps has ordered Marines diagnosed with pseudofolliculitis barbae — an inflammatory skin condition aggravated by shaving — to undergo medical reevaluation within 90 days to determine if they still require a shaving waiver, according to new Marine Corps guidance issued Thursday.
The administrative message outlines a phased treatment plan for Marines affected by pseudofolliculitis barbae, with the ultimate goal of “returning Service members to grooming standards and ensuring maximum warfighting readiness.”
“Ensuring the health, resilience, and discipline of our Marines and Sailors is essential to sustaining our warfighting capability and maintaining the high standards required to remain ready for any challenge,” the message said. “These standards ensure we remain the world’s premier fighting force, ready to fight and win with unwavering readiness, discipline and lethality.”
Also known as razor bumps, the condition disproportionately affects Black men.
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The Marine Corps’ guidance comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a review of military fitness and grooming standards across all of the service branches, with a focus on beards.
Under the interim guidance, military medical officers can grant a medical waiver to Marines diagnosed with the condition. The waiver will then need to be reviewed and signed off on by commanding officers.
Marines who need a waiver for over one year might be subjected to administrative separation, according to the message.
The new guidance outlines a four-phase regimen, allowing military medical officers to instruct Marines to use clippers and modify grooming standards if needed.
In the first phase, Marines will avoid shaving for four weeks until bumps subside. The second phase will see Marines with moderate to severe cases forgo shaving for eight weeks — or another four weeks if they were already working through phase one — including potential hair removal through depilatory treatment.
Phase three adds another four weeks of the same treatment if the condition remains unresponsive. In phase 4, Marines whose condition doesn’t improve will be referred to a dermatologist for a potential laser treatment funded by the government.
In the past, the Marine Corps has made some exceptions to its strict grooming standards. In 2023, Jaskirat Singh was reportedly the first Marine to graduate boot camp with his Sikh articles of faith, including unshorn hair, a turban, a beard and a steel bracelet
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
