B.O.S.S.
Basic Online Shaving Simulator
Briefing
The Pentagon has updated its rules for service members who cannot shave because of PFB, a skin condition that turns shaving into painful razor bumps and scarring.
Try your hand at compliance.
Non-Compliant
0% compliant
SGT. OKAFOR
Try a single blade next time.
Debrief
This was never a technique problem.
Every technique in that memo is real advice real people give. None of it changed the outcome. That's the point. Here's what's actually true:
- Pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB) happens when naturally curved hair curls back into the skin after a close shave. It's a genetic hair-growth pattern, not a hygiene or technique issue, and it disproportionately affects Black men.
- In 2026, the Pentagon tightened its grooming standards to require a clean-shaven "proper military appearance," ending the option of a long-duration or permanent medical shaving waiver. Medical waivers are now capped at roughly one year.
- Troops who still need a shaving waiver after that window can face administrative separation from the service.
- Military dermatologists and advocacy groups, including the Black Veterans Project, have argued the change has little to do with readiness and lands hardest on a condition that mostly affects Black service members.
- Repeated forced shaving over already-inflamed skin raises the risk of infection and permanent scarring, including keloids, one of the reasons dermatologists recommend against shaving through active PFB at all.