Airmen with the 1st Particular Functions Wing are needed to just take a class on how to shave in advance of they can ask for a waiver for clinical ailments exacerbated by shaving, explained wing commander Col. Patrick Dierig.
The intent of the system is to improve the procedure for these members who will need a legitimate shaving waiver, Dierig explained in a statement to Endeavor & Function. I intend to eliminate any unwarranted stigma with the waivers by bettering the process.
Dierig introduced the required class in a March 12 memo about shaving waiver guidance that has been shared on social media.
The memo mentions that if an airman in the wing has a health-related situation that stops them from being clean-shaven below the Air Forces instruction on dress and private visual appeal, they will have to continue to keep their facial hair trimmed at 1/4 inch long.
But just before they can be issued a shaving profile, airmen in the wing are needed to show up at the Shaving Individual Education Study course at the Hurlburt Field Health and fitness and Wellness Heart, and their attendance ought to be observed in their Aeromedical Providers Info Administration Method file, the memo suggests.
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The course will deliver info about skin challenges that can be triggered or worsened by close shaving, together with strategies on what steps airmen can acquire prior to, through, and after shaving to reduce pores and skin irritation, razor burns, and ingrown hairs, Dierig stated.
Personal conditions in which the Airman is not able to handle signs and symptoms with the tactics learned in the class, are referred to their key treatment manager for prescription treatment method and, in some conditions, a prolonged-time period shaving profile, Dierig said. For associates who need shaving waivers, the course also offers steering on the most size specifications and expert grooming standards although in uniform.
In recent several years, the two the Navy and Maritime Corps have begun to challenge no-shave chits to services associates identified with pseudofolliculitis barbae, also recognized as razor bumps, a serious situation in which facial curved hair grows back again into the skin.
Up to 60% of Black guys put up with from razor bumps. Shaving only tends to make the issue even worse since it sharpens the hairs that develop into the skin.
A 100% effective cure is to permit the beard develop, in accordance to the American Osteopathic College or university of Dermatology. At the time the hairs get to be a certain size they will not grow back again into the skin.
Other services users belonging to specific spiritual teams, such as Sikhs, Muslims, and Pagans, have requested spiritual exemptions to U.S. military grooming expectations to let them to use beads.
We are completely supportive of shaving waivers for equally religious and health care uses, and I help the course because it educates Airmen on right shaving approaches and skincare routines to both equally deal with and avoid pores and skin situations, Dierig mentioned.
The shaving course is intended to provide airmen with the schooling and equipment they have to have to deal with facial skin situations devoid of possessing to make an appointment to see a medical doctor, Dierig said.
If we can enable one particular human being with a non permanent healthcare situation find out a new approach to cut down facial pores and skin troubles, then I imagine it is value the energy, Dierig reported. Particularly for associates who are a lot more inclined to pores and skin problems.