US Air Force Longhairs?

[pinkbunny]

I met a young couple the other day who told me they were in the Air Force. I was really interested in what they did and where they've lived (all over the world!), but I told them I've always shied away from the military for fear of cutting my hair. They told me that they knew lots of longhairs in the Air Force, and that cutting was just a popular option with new recruits. They said as long as it can be put up quickly it's allowed.

I was wondering if anyone here is/was in the Air Force or know any longhairs that are. If what I was told is true, I'm seriously toying with the idea of joining... if I can find out just how quickly the hair needs to go up and what styles are appropriate/efficient?

[spidermom]

I was in the air force in the early 70s, and at that time women could have long hair as long as it didn't touch the collar of the uniform. I twisted mine up every morning and secured it with a big barrett. Oh, and the hat still had to fit. I don't know what the policy is today. My daughter was in the navy, and they cut the women's hair right along with the mens, although men got the buzz cut and women got a sloppy chin-length bob, pretty much.

[Bethie]

DH works with some long haired ladies and they all use bobby pins and hair colored scrunchies to keep their hair in place. So long as you can't "see" what you are using to hold up your hair and it doesn't touch the collar it is fine. At least that has been what I've seen.

[beachlover]

How wonderful if you decide to join the Air Force. My husband was in the Navy for 20 years and we loved it!! As far as the hair length, my cousin was in the Air Force reserves a few years back and during boot camp she cut it to her shirt collar, it was still easy for her to pull up in a bun easily. Not sure what the rules are but that is what she did!

[beachlover]

When we were stationed in Pearl Harbor and used to go to the Air Force Base there, most of the women in uniform all had long hair and just pulled it all off the face in a bun type hairstyle. You could always cut the minimum required and then as soon as bootcamp is over start growing it out again!! Best of luck to you!!

[beachlover]

ok, so my husband said that women are not required to cut their hair but if it is short to begin with it must not go below the collar of the shirt. Long hair is fine as long as it can be pinned up and back away from the face in a neat manner (bun) with no hairs falling out of the bun, and the hat is still able to fit on. Oh, Also, no funky hair colors are allowed. Hope it helps!

[bridgetsgirl]

Me! Me! As has already been said, your hair can be as long as you like, as long as you can style it in such a way that it stays neat and off the collar. Many women use sock buns, but one woman at my tech school back in '04 would put her classic-length hair in a cinnabun. Here's AFI 36-2903 (http://www.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/afi36-2903.pdf), which covers Air Force dress and appearance. Pertinent info is on page 14.

[jennifermarie12]

A couple of friends of mine are in various armed services and most of them didn't cut their hair. One friend of mine has waist length hair, and she said she either does a cinnabun or a sock-bun every day depending on her mood. It doesn't take her much time at all-she has had a lot of practice putting it up in buns.

[Alun]

There's one limitation no-one has stated - you have to be a woman!

Mind you, I do know one long-haired couple where the woman is in the USAF and the man is a househusband (they have one child). They even live on base.

ETA: How many long-haired males (or at least adult males) live on a base? If nothing else, I'm sure everyone knows him by sight, from 100 yards away.

The man is studying part-time, and they plan for him to graduate college before she comes out of the military, so that hopefully he can get a job in his field (computers) before her discharge date. I'm not sure of his wife's rank, but she does safety inspections on planes.

[Ludde]

There's one limitation no-one has stated - you have to be a woman!


Disappointing. It is after all the year 2010.

[talecon]

I was in the marines a few years back. as long as your hair can be secured in a bun its all good. if ur gonna wear ur hair down, it has to be above shoulder

[GuinevereMay]

I often see women on base here in uniform with obviously very long hair. Long hair in Hawaii is kind of a big deal, so it's not as uncommon as other places.

[Purdy Bear]

I think it totally depends on the Service, Regiment, Corp your in. I would go check with the Recruitment Officer in your local area for the up to date view.

Most of the service people I came in contact with were short haired, there were a few with shoulder hair or a little longer. They mostly went for a longer male cut.

The usual thing is the following:

The hair must be neatened all over, no stray hairs. They use a lot of hairspray!

No hair must touch the collar (top line), that includes the under back hair, they usually shave it off (just the wispy bits on the neck).

Fringes/bangs that are long enough must be pinned back.

The sock bun looks to be favourite for all those on You Tube - a great place of advice for anyone wanting to join the services.

It also depends on the job you are doing, if you are in the infantry then they maybe hotter on this compared to those who work in the office.

Lastly, any updo must be very quick to do as you dont get a lot of time to get ready.

PS: They use hair nets a lot like you would for a Ballet Bun.

[SeaPhoenix]

I was in the AF for 8 years (1999-2007) - for the majority of my time in I had waist-hip length hair, with occasional bouts of hair cutting. Although I did cut short in basic training, I did so out of peer pressure, not requirement. I grew it out after that (with one more cut to bob length for my first deployment in the summer of 2000) - and then didn't chop off until around 2005-2006, from hip length.
So long as you keep your hair up neatly and professionally (and off the collar), using hair pins and hair ties that blend in with your (natural looking) hair color, you'll be fine. Granted, I still see a large number of women with hair out of regs - funky hair clips, messy updos - but it's still best to stay neat and tidy, even if you see others breaking the rules. Presents a much more appropriate image, in addition to being a uniform regulation requirement.

Additionally - from a middle east deployment viewpoint - long hair is not a problem there either. Of the 4 deployments I've done, my last two deployments ( sep 2001 -march 2002 for the 9/11 stuff and feb 2003 -aug 2003 for the start of the Iraq stuff), I maintained long hair - and both those times it was in a bare base environment (we built the base from the ground up). Just so long as you can keep it up in uniform, you'll be ok. I never needed hairspray, either. Usually just a dab of some natural type hair gel, or an extra glossing over with coconut oil (not enough to make it look oily, but enough for it to lay more smoothly flat) was enough to keep all my hair neat and in place. Although in a deployed environment, everyone gets a little more loose about neat hair.. if you have slightly frizzed out hair - well... just do what you can with it, and carry on with the mission.

[pinkbunny]

Wow thanks for all the replies! I don't think I'd give in to any pressure to cut, and keeping it up is no big deal (I have to do it for my job anyway). I would only worry about my wispies, but I guess I could use oil to keep them under control... I know I would have to speak to a recruiter to get definite answers, but I'd like to be armed with information beforehand so I don't get any flim-flam... lol

[repunzelwannabe]

I know this is an older thread- but i have something very important to add! When you got through BMT its very stressful and there is NO time to oil or barely even wash your hair. Mine fell out in clumps. So expect it to be ruined- sorry sister. I kept mine long for BMT and didn't regret it- throwing it back in a bun was a snap. However i wished i had cut it shortly after due to damage. I kept it long for 2 years after untill the base of my pony was as thick as a quarter as usual and 5 inches down was thin as a dime. Do NOT try to nurse back the damage. I know its hard but let it go :cool:

[Avital88]

the only thing i know is that all israeli women have long hair here and they all go the army for 1 year and 3 months without cutting it.. its more a time of letting it grow for both men and women, rather than chopping it off.its good you can have long hair nowadays:)

[DakarNick]

I don't know your age or if you checked into this already but the Air Force maximum age to enlist is 27 for non-officer, 35 for Officer Training School, and 40 for doctor, nurse, etc.

[pinkbunny]

I forgot to update this thread since it died anyway - but I did talk to a recruiter, and he straight up told me everyone (female) gets cut to shoulder no ifs, ands, or buts. I even suggested a weave and he just laughed. That little convo pretty much left me discouraged from joining up. If I'd known all this before, I'd have signed up straight out of high school when it would've only been a few inches lost... Not now. I'd be an old woman by the time it grew back out, and I want to enjoy my long long hair now!

[lw8666]

I have family in the Air Force. I've seen many long haired women. Hair is usually bunned and styled neatly when in uniform.

[pinkbunny]

I have family in the Air Force. I've seen many long haired women. Hair is usually bunned and styled neatly when in uniform.

True, but I'm referring to boot camp - everyone gets cut. You can grow it afterward, but for me to cut from knee to shoulder and grow it back out would take too long and be too traumatic.

[Gabriel]

The U.S. Air Force guide lines are published. The official dress and appearance regulations are available to the public. Hair longer than the collar while standing at full attention simply has to be pinned up so it doesn't go past the collar. The bulk of the hair pinned shouldn't be more than three inches from the scalp.

"Boot Camp" doesn't require that female Airmen cut their hair. The rest of the instructions for fringe/bangs and accessories is also specified via the AFI (Air Force Instruction).

[Hairitic]

I was in the Navy and I'm pretty sure the hair regs are the same across the board for all military personnel. It was pretty simple in that womens hair must not fall below the collar, be neat and allow the cover (hat) to be worn appropriately while in uniform. Therefore a neatly barretted bun is fine. This goes for bootcamp, too.:)

[Alun]

I met a young couple the other day who told me they were in the Air Force. I was really interested in what they did and where they've lived (all over the world!), but I told them I've always shied away from the military for fear of cutting my hair. They told me that they knew lots of longhairs in the Air Force, and that cutting was just a popular option with new recruits. They said as long as it can be put up quickly it's allowed.

I was wondering if anyone here is/was in the Air Force or know any longhairs that are. If what I was told is true, I'm seriously toying with the idea of joining... if I can find out just how quickly the hair needs to go up and what styles are appropriate/efficient?

Unless you're a man!!!

Actually, though, as a teenager I was in the Air Training Corps. I think the Civil Air Patrol in the US is similar, but the ATC is actually part of the RAF, and I'm not sure whether the CAP is part of the USAF? I refused to cut my hair, and lost promotions because of it. I would have been promoted as far as sergeant, but was stuck at cadet. Didn't really care about that, though.

Of course, as an adult in the RAF I would have been put on a charge for that, thrown in the guardhouse, etc., but as a cadet they couldn't do much. They could have thrown me out, of course, but they wouldn't have gone that far over hair.

ETA: I see this is a zombie thread, but most of this wasn't in my earlier post

[MemoryXIII]

Oh, you see, I had always thought the same thing. Lovely. <3

[Tabihito]

Pretty much the only restrictions are that the headgear has to still fit properly, it has to be put back neatly, and it has to be above the collar regardless of length. This is going to mean that women in certain roles are going to be able to have longer hair than others- pilots, navigators, and ABMs are going to need to be able to wear helmets, which is going to limit how big a bun can get.

Glad to see someone else already linked to the AFI 36-2903. It's very useful.

[Tabihito]

True, but I'm referring to boot camp - everyone gets cut. You can grow it afterward, but for me to cut from knee to shoulder and grow it back out would take too long and be too traumatic.

Yikes! No, that is certainly not the case. It may have been at some point in the past, but definitely not any more. I know lots of commissioning officers (in an AF unit in the TAMU Corps of Cadets, so they're mostly going AF, a few to other branches), as well as some people who are enlisting. None of them, either the enlistees who are going to basic or the will-be officers going to Field Training, have to cut their hair if they're a female.

[teal]

Here's AFI 36-2903 (http://www.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/afi36-2903.pdf), which covers Air Force dress and appearance. Pertinent info is on page 14.

As a civilian I found this fascinating!

[wvgemini]

I forgot to update this thread since it died anyway - but I did talk to a recruiter, and he straight up told me everyone (female) gets cut to shoulder no ifs, ands, or buts. I even suggested a weave and he just laughed. That little convo pretty much left me discouraged from joining up. If I'd known all this before, I'd have signed up straight out of high school when it would've only been a few inches lost... Not now. I'd be an old woman by the time it grew back out, and I want to enjoy my long long hair now!

Your recruiter is full of it. I have heard about the "Basic Training cut" in the Navy, but none of the other services. I am an Army gal, but know plenty of Air Force ladies. MANY with very long hair.


I was in the Navy and I'm pretty sure the hair regs are the same across the board for all military personnel. It was pretty simple in that womens hair must not fall below the collar, be neat and allow the cover (hat) to be worn appropriately while in uniform. Therefore a neatly barretted bun is fine. This goes for bootcamp, too.:)

Nope. The regs may have basic similarities, but there are many many differences across the board.

[kjirstiben]

OK, I had to chime in, since I'm an AF longhair (tailbone length!). The recruiter you talked to is full of baloney -- that's not what they do for women, and in fact they encourage you to keep some length because it's hard to keep a new haircut in regs... you're in a lot better shape when you can pull it back into at least a ponytail, but better yet a bun.

Though, if you have any texture to your hair... I have hair that will frizz like crazy in humidity, and the bases where you train in the humid Southern US... I got yelled at a LOT for my halo of baby hairs until I figured out that I had to gel it back wet in the mornings. (I have not done this SINCE training, either--it felt gross!)

A lot of the women in training with me would wear french braids or two french braids joined at the back of the neck, in order to keep shortish hair tidy. It was a lot easier if you had longer hair.

I hope that if you're still interested you'll seek out another recruiter or call the original one on his BS. (Admittedly, it's not unusual for the guys not to know the feminine grooming regulations--I've been asked a few times to clarify whether or not another woman is wearing her hair/earrings/uniform in an acceptable way.)

[wvgemini]

*snipped*
in fact they encourage you to keep some length because it's hard to keep a new haircut in regs... you're in a lot better shape when you can pull it back into at least a ponytail, but better yet a bun.

This. It is soooo much easier to bun or my hair in the mornings than when I had it shorter! Plus, we (Army) are actually not allowed to have a super short cut. Pixie is fine, but buzz cut or shaved is against regs. We're supposed to maintain a "feminine appearance."


(Admittedly, it's not unusual for the guys not to know the feminine grooming regulations--I've been asked a few times to clarify whether or not another woman is wearing her hair/earrings/uniform in an acceptable way.)

lol. I colored my hair one time and go flack for it (this was when I was still on active duty). I went back and quoted the reg for the guy. He was trying to tell me that females were only allowed to dye their hair "their own natural color" Sooo ... what would be the point then?