Reports of dwindling missile supplies have raised questions about the U.S. military's ability to sustain combat operations in its six-month war against Iran.
Iranian drone and missile strikes against a key U.S. supply base in Bahrain has stretched the military's ability to supply deployed Navy warships with fresh food and other supplies — a key factor in creating what's been described as a morale crisis on the San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.
Despite these challenges, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly remained fixated on another military issue: shaving.
Since the 1980s most men in uniform have been required to be clean shaved — meaning a close shave every morning.
Mustaches are allowed within regulations.
But a lot of men can't shave every day. Multiple studies have shown a condition called Pseudofolliculitus Barbae, or PFB, can affect up to 80% of Black men.
Because of this each military branch issues waivers — sometimes called "shaving profiles" — to people affected by the condition. It allows them to maintain a small amount of facial hair.
The painful skin condition is a result of biology, said Dr. Swati Kannan, a dermatologist at UC San Diego. It's prevalent among people with course, curly facial hair.
"What happens is that the after shaving, curly hair goes back and reenters the skin and it triggers what's called a foreign body reaction," Kannan said.
A Defense Department memo in August 2025 ordered the services to separate anyone who still required a shaving waiver after one year of treatment.
The next month Hegseth summoned almost every admiral and general in the military to Quantico, Virginia, where he ordered them to get their forces in shape.
"Frankly, it's tiring to look out at combat formations or really any formation and see fat troops," Hegseth told an auditorium full of admirals and generals in September. "This also means grooming standards. No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression. We're going to cut our hair short, shave our beards, and adhere to standards."
During the speech Hegseth singled-out troops with shaving profiles.
"The era of unprofessional appearance is over," Hegseth said. "No more beardos. The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done."
A 2023 Air Force study found that almost 65% of shaving waivers were issued to Black men despite them only being about 13% of the study group.
Dr. Kannan said the new policy is unfair.
"You can't change your biology," Kannan said. "Something just kind of sticks at me that this policy is just inherently kind of unfair — punishing people for who they are."
Tony Ganaway owns the Cutt'n Edge Barber Shop in the College Area of San Diego.
He said his military clients have been talking about the new policy and how to manage their condition.
Ganaway, who is Black, said he doesn't shave because if he did, he'd also suffer from PFB.
"For people that do not have those issues, they don't know what it feels like to have your face like it's on fire," Ganaway said. "It's itching — when it's at its worst, it's almost like a cat just gnawing at your skin at all times."
The waiver policy received new scrutiny and updates by the Navy this summer.
After Hegseth visited the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer in May and the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in San Diego in June, word spread among senior military leaders that the secretary wasn't happy with the amount of facial hair he saw on sailors, according to CNN.
In July the service updated its policy to begin separating sailors with shaving waivers in July 2027.
Bob Muth served in the Marines as a Judge Advocate General — a military attorney.
"It's not an unusual thing," Muth said. "When I was on active duty, we always would have Marines who had shave waivers. I think what's unusual about this is the severity — or importance — of this just seems minimal."
Muth is a law professor at the University of San Diego where he also serves as the vice dean of the School of Law. He said the policy is going to affect Black men more than others.
"Clearly there will be a severe disparate impact on African American service members," he said. "They make up the vast majority of shave waivers."
Despite that disparate impact, Muth said legal challenges based on discrimination are unlikely to be successful. He thinks affected troops will find a more subtle solution.
"I think what you'll see is a lot of service members trying to do everything they can to kind of stall the process," Muth said. "It's also possible that a different secretary will come along who will have a different view on the importance of beards. It seems like this is something that's uniquely important to Secretary Hegseth."
Pentagon leadership might be aware of that. Earlier this month, the Navy ordered commanding officers to produce monthly facial hair accountability reports to track sailors with shaving waivers.
Dr. Kannan’s concerned service members could harm themselves by shaving just to stay in the military. Shaving despite suffering from PFB could have long term consequences.
"It can cause severe disfigurement, scarring — sometimes keloid scarring — that requires surgery to remove," she said. "And it can be ... not only cosmetically disfiguring, but can also be symptomatic and painful."
Ganaway said there are ways to minimize PFB symptoms
"First thing I recommend for a person with sensitive skin that has to shave is using only the trimmers," Ganaway said.
This will prevent the hair follicle from being even with or under the skin.
Special care is needed if shaved hair begins to become ingrown, Ganaway said.
"One thing I always tell anybody at all is whenever your skin is itching, do not scratch," Ganaway said. "Don't pull out the hair from the follicle, just extract it from the skin and then cut it down."
Dr. Kannan says the military’s treatment plan is flawed — there’s no cure for PFB
"It's not a problem, we know, with hygiene or it's not a problem with medications," she said. "The cure is to not shave. That really is the solution to PFB."
