I've always wondered when the hair-cut and shaving policies came into being. Looking at pictures of the past, I see great generals and others with beards and long hair. Looking at my dad's pictures from the 1970s, I see mustaches protruding far beyond the corners of the mouth. So, when did the current hair-cut regs come into being, and when did the mustache regs come into being?

As far as I know, the haircut policy today is the same as it was 35 years ago, when I enlisted.
As for the pictures, some units allow people to push the limits.

In the early 70's, at the end of the draft, things got pretty liberal.Sideburns were not supposed to be below the lowest point of the ear opening. Mustaches were not supposed to extend beyond the sides of the mouth or over the lip.Enforcement was pretty lax. Things improved as the draftees "who did not want to be there" left the system.

Much of the facial hair and head hair regulations began around the time that nerve agents and chemical warfare was being used, around WWI. If that assumption is correct, then i would assume that the reason for the regulations is the same for todays, proper fit and wear of the promask. Kind of like the regs that firefighters have as well.

.02

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Originally posted by noestoyqui:
Much of the facial hair and head hair regulations began around the time that nerve agents and chemical warfare was being used, around WWI. If that assumption is correct, then i would assume that the reason for the regulations is the same for todays, proper fit and wear of the promask. Kind of like the regs that firefighters have as well. .02

I can see that. Grant and Lee didn't have to worry about NBC gear. And the other posts clear up the questions about the '70s. I would look at my dad's Army pictures and think about what the NCOs in my units would have said. One time I had a shaving profile because I had an allergic reaction to something in the field, and everywhere I went, I had to show that thing. Some even accused me of purposefully rubbing something on my face to get a profile, but what they didn't understand is that I hated not being able to shave. I just couldn't because I had infected sores all over my face.

One of the happiest things for me when I got out of the military was not having to shave.

I haven't shaved in ten years.

When I retired from the Guard, I didn't get a haircut for 18 months. It got wayyyyyyy too long. My hair grows fast, it got ridiculous and uncomfortable.

Same here , didn't cut my hair for two years, I had a pretty large fro going. I Still have a Goatee now

I had a friend in my section whose hair was way beyond regulation...during duty hours, it was always "greased" back and under the hat where it "looked" regulation. After hours and before hitting the town, the shower room would look like an oil slick when he finished.

Mark

When i was drafted in Dec.of 65 they peeled me like an onion.hardly had any hair left.So when i got out in Dec.of 67 i grew a beard every winter for the next 41 years.this is the first year that i haven't grown one.I have to sleep with a face mask,and a bi-pap now and the mask won't stay sealed with a beard..

i want to have the ww2 pompadore all slicked back . btw isnt it 2 inches? if im not mistaken? they keep telling me a need a haircut but my hairs only about an inch? at 10 bucks a cut here in germany ever week or two adds up. and btw i did try cutting my hair once and when the attatchment clip fell off i had a nice nick off the back to say the least. it all came off that time.

In my Company was a professional barber who'd been drafted. As an old married man, he hardly left the barracks. In Berlin, he set up shop in the latrine. Each evening, he'd cut hair (short, GI '"buzz cut" that passed inspection) for a quarter. Since he didn't drink or smoke, & spent his evenings making money, he probably left the Army a fairly wealthy man.

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Originally posted by 16408975:
When i was drafted in Dec.of 65 they peeled me like an onion.hardly had any hair left.So when i got out in Dec.of 67 i grew a beard every winter for the next 41 years.this is the first year that i haven't grown one.I have to sleep with a face mask,and a bi-pap now and the mask won't stay sealed with a beard..

My hair was to my shoulders when I went in, June '74. The barber cut everything on top and left the sides. His buddies had a good laugh, then he cut the rest. Even with the lame attempt at comedy, it only took about 15 seconds. I had $3.75 taken out of my first pay for providing the barbers with a good laugh.

Indoctrination Day at Jump School, my Company 1SG told the formation that if our hair was longer than his, we were wrong. Then he took off his Beret, he had as much hair as a billiard ball.
So, I went and got a Jump School haircut. I don't think I got it cut again for six months. I thought it had stopped growing.

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Originally posted by gumbydammit:
When I retired from the Guard, I didn't get a haircut for 18 months. It got wayyyyyyy too long. My hair grows fast, it got ridiculous and uncomfortable.

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Originally posted by airdiablo6:
Same here , didn't cut my hair for two years, I had a pretty large fro going. I Still have a Goatee now

Yes, I went pretty well Injun or Native myself upon retiring from active duty.. It was perfect for WNA (War of Northern Aggression) and IWP (Indian Wars Period) reenactments and staff ride support duty. (Prior to retirement I was always the high and tight type). But nowadays I stay pretty well close to AR-670-1.

Remember the days of the post MP “Courtesy Patrols” which hung around outside the PX????... giving out tickets to those needing a haircut. HA!, In today’s PC Army someone would be crying foul and filing an IG complaint…!!!

I wonder if the Army's history ever will change in terms of hair cuts etc. I feel aweful having to wear my hair as a female in a tied bun. My son said to me that I look like a prisoner guard. That is one thing that I like in the german military the women are allowed to wear a ponytail, unless they are in the field then they have to wear a low ponytail or bun( depending on length of hair).

I would be so happy if there would e a change. Who do you write too to bring this maybe up? ::chuckles:: has pen and paper ready

According to the list of Army Chiefs of Staff by looking at their pictures the last Army Chief of Staff to sport a goattee was General Peyton C March who served in that position until 1921. That last Army Chief of Staff with a full beard was General John C Bates who served in the position in 1906. In between then and now several Army Chiefs of Staff had very long moustaches. General William Wallace Wotherspoon was Army Chief of Staff in 1914. He had an incredibly long moustache.

The double standard always ticked me off. I'm not talking about the fact that females could have long hair; I'm talking about enforcement.

AR 670-1 says something about females' hair maintaining a feminine appearance, but I ran into a female NCO once who pretty much trimmed her hair with a number one clipper guard. When I first saw her, I wasn't sure if she was a man or a woman. I was just grateful that she wasn't an officer because if I had needed to salute and greet, I wouldn't have known whether to say "sir" or "ma'am." When I saw her nametag and U.S. Army tag is when I realized what she was, but that doesn't go over very well in a politically correct society now does it?

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Originally posted by 88miker:
i want to have the ww2 pompadore all slicked back . btw isnt it 2 inches? if im not mistaken? they keep telling me a need a haircut but my hairs only about an inch? at 10 bucks a cut here in germany ever week or two adds up. and btw i did try cutting my hair once and when the attatchment clip fell off i had a nice nick off the back to say the least. it all came off that time.

There is nothing in AR 670-1 that says how long a male soldiers hair can or cant be. I keep my hair longer in the WW2 style you mentioned and nobody says anything about it to me. In fact, in both DA photos I had that went to the E-7 and E-8 boards I didnt have a high and tight and I was selected for promotion both times.

I used to wear my hair long enough that it could be parted down the middle. My MSG site chief in Germany try to tell me that my hair couldn't be longer than 2 inches. I pointed to his comb-over and said, "Sergeant, what about all that hair you comb from the left side of your head over to right side?"

He walked away and never brought it up again.

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Originally posted by 26Y_Joe:
I used to wear my hair long enough that it could be parted down the middle.

Mine could've been.

I parted it on the left side, though.