2.2 Hair, Cosmetics, Fingernails, and Jewelry Standards (AD 2025-18)

Hair, Cosmetics, Fingernails, and Jewelry Standards (AD 2025-18)

Board Primer: On 12 September 2025 the Secretary of the Army published Army Directive 2025-18 (Appearance, Grooming, and Army Body Composition Program Standards), and Soldiers had 30 days to comply. The directive deliberately replaced subjective phrases in AR 670-1 — "neat and conservative," "shoulder blades" — with measured standards. If your answer uses the old shoulder-blade rule, you are quoting a superseded policy.

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1. Why Appearance Standards Exist

AR 670-1 Chapter 3 grounds personal appearance in discipline and safety, not aesthetics:

1. Protective equipment fit. Facial hair and excessive bulk break the seal of the M50 Joint Service General Purpose Mask and the fit of the Advanced Combat Helmet.
2. Operational safety. Hair and accessories must not catch in weapon actions, turrets, or rigging.
3. Uniformity and discipline. The Sergeant Major of the Army framed the 2025 directive plainly: "You don't have to memorize it, but you should know what right looks like."

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2. Male Hair Standards

• Taper or fade. Hair must be a blended taper or fade beginning at zero length (skin fade) or at 1/4-inch length. The transition between the short sides and the longer top must be smooth, with no sharp undercuts.
• Bulk. Not more than 2 inches at the top of the scalp and 1 inch at the sides.
• Prohibited. Locs, braids, and twists are prohibited for male Soldiers, as are shaved designs, asymmetrical cuts, mohawks, and any style that is not a natural human hair color.
• General. Hair will not fall over the ears, touch the eyebrows, or touch the collar. Shaved heads remain authorized.

3. Male Sideburns and Mustaches

• Sideburns begin at zero or 1/4-inch length, are trimmed with a clean horizontal line, and — under the current facial-hair guidance — must be trimmed above the opening of the ear canal.
• Mustaches are authorized. They must be neatly trimmed and tapered, may not cover the upper lip line, and may not extend beyond a vertical line drawn upward from the corners of the mouth.
• Beards are prohibited without an approved medical exception to policy or religious accommodation. Those two processes are covered in the next section.

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4. Female Hair Standards

The 2025 directive rebuilt the female hair rules around three named styles with fixed dimensions.

Ponytails

• Authorized as a single braided or single unbraided ponytail, only in the Army Combat Uniform (ACU) or the Army Physical Fitness Uniform (APFU).
• Prohibited in any variation of the dress uniform — this is the change most candidates get wrong.
• The bulk of the ponytail must not exceed the width of the head.
• Maximum length: 6 inches from the top of the collar. Minimum length: 1 inch, measured from the base of the ponytail holder.
• Centered at the back of the head and positioned horizontally in line with the top of the ears when viewed from the side.

Buns

• Worn at the back of the head, extending a maximum of 3 inches from the scalp and no wider than the width of the head.
• Centered at the back of the head, positioned horizontally in line with the top of the ears when viewed from the side. The bottom of the bun may fall at or above the collar.

Braids

• Up to two braids running parallel down the center of the back are authorized in the utility and physical fitness uniforms.
• No braid may exceed 2 inches in width or 6 inches in length.

General

• Only natural hair colors. Blended fades are authorized for female Soldiers, with the same no-sharp-undercut rule and a 2-inch maximum bulk on top. Shaved heads are authorized.
• Hair accessories must be plain, unadorned, and match the natural hair color or be clear or black.

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5. Cosmetics

6. Fingernails

• Male Soldiers: nails will not extend beyond the tip of the finger, and no polish of any kind — including clear — is authorized.
• Female Soldiers: nails will not exceed 1/4 inch in length, must be square or rounded in shape, and only clear polish is authorized.

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7. Jewelry

Earrings

• Male Soldiers: not authorized to wear earrings in any military uniform or on duty in civilian attire.
• Female Soldiers: authorized in the ACU, service, and dress uniforms. Earrings must be a matched pair, one earring per standard earlobe, small plain studs, not exceeding 6 millimeters (1/4 inch) in diameter, unadorned, and spherical or square. Hoops and drop earrings are not authorized.
• Earrings may not be worn in the cartilage, industrial, transverse lobe, tragus, or conch of the ear.
• No other facial or visible piercing is permitted in any uniform, and clear nose-ring gauges and retainers are not authorized.
• Earrings are not worn in tactical or field environments.

Rings, watches, and bracelets

• A maximum of two rings total across both hands; a wedding set counts as one ring. Thumb rings are not authorized.
• One wristwatch, conservative in color and design.
• One bracelet: a medical alert bracelet or a POW/MIA or KIA remembrance bracelet. Decorative and fashion bracelets are prohibited.

Body ornamentation

Attaching, affixing, or displaying objects, articles, jewelry, or ornamentation to, through, or under the skin, tongue, lips, inside the mouth, or any other visible body part is prohibited on duty. Dental ornamentation — gold, platinum, or unnatural-color caps, jewels, initials, or designs on teeth — is prohibited, as is unnatural shaping of teeth for nonmedical reasons.

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8. Comparative Standards Matrix