Topic: Acceptable Army Hair?

[NFLD Sapper]

Don't worry, come in with what ever hairstyle you like..... you will end up like this anyways.......

[ballz]

In all seriousness, long hair or short hair, acne or no acne, is not going to change whether or not you get bullied.

Your confidence in yourself and the way you assert yourself is the only thing that stops it. Perhaps you should consider shaving your head as symbolizing a good-bye to the old you that kept his head down and tried to avoid being noticed by others, and a way of welcoming the fact that you're going to be a confident, sharp, professional soldier.

And FWIW, every time I grew my hair out when I was 15/16/17 it always made skin oilier and my acne worse. Every time I got it cut, my skin/acne got much better.

Good luck.

[jparkin]

And FWIW, every time I grew my hair out when I was 15/16/17 it always made skin oilier and my acne worse. Every time I got it cut, my skin/acne got much better.

Exactly what I was thinking. In grade eight I had some pretty fearsome neck-acne that I decided to cover up with collars and turtlenecks...
I'm sure you can guess how that went. As soon as I lost that look and started showering after gym class, things straightened out a bit.
After finally getting out of the awkward puberty stage a year ago, I can testify that it gets better over time.

[richi]

While this thread is going I have a question of my own, instead of starting another. During the first few weeks of BMQ while you are confined to the base are there any opportunities to shave your head? (with a hair trimmer set on 0, no attachments).  Currently I shave my head once per week as I do not like the semi balding look, however if I have to wait a few weeks to cut it it's no big deal. Could I bring my own shaver as well?

thanks in advance.

[-Skeletor-]

When I was in the training system barracks haircuts were frowned upon(and I assume still are), and if caught(ie having a shitty haircut) you would be in ****.

On that note, during BMQ I never cut my own hair, but during SQ myself and some others shaved our own heads without issue, well except for one guy who got a buddy to shave his head but missed some hair and it was picked up during inspection.  Hair clippers were kept in a personal bag in the spare kit closet on our wing of the shacks.

I would recommend just letting the barbers cut your hair during BMQ, after that see how things are on future courses/PAT and judge for yourself if you want to have your own hair clippers and cut your hair.

[Diamondwillow]

I too have a question about hair - I'm female and have kept my hair short for about 2.5yrs now - I'm talking 1/2" guard short.  Right now - I've let it grow out (about 2.5 inches atm) but I am really not too keen on keeping my hair this length or growing it out further.  I am going into BMQ in 2 weeks and am actually unsure if by getting my hair cut to my usual length I will be cause - problems - older female with a butch cut isn't a good start to blending in BMQ I'm guessing.

I did a search on the length of hair for females and none of the posts I could find pertains to how short it may be.. but I DID find a post from some years ago that some girls with cropped locks caused the BMQ instructors to consider charging them?   Of course there very well could be more to the story but I'm curious.
Hopefully someone can shed some light on those regulations as I could not find the official CF file online that gave the hair length requirements for women.

Edit - a wee bit pedantic - fixed a repeated line

[a Sig Op]

There is no minimum length, you'll be fine.

If you want to go back to 1/2", you'll find your life even easier.

[Diamondwillow]

Fantastic!  Crop it is then.  Thank you for the input.

[MrCanada]

MrCanada

As someone who had the crap harassed out of her while growing up by other kids, I know where you are coming from regarding the long-lasting impact that can be caused on the psychological front. I was the little red-headed girl with all the freckles and buck teeth. I still have self-esteem issues today because of some of the bullshit that I had to endure as a kid. BUT, I made out OK. Kids are f`n cruel.

No worries on the haircut front, and I realize the apprehension that what others would regard as `such a simple thing`causes for those who have real reasons to fear `putting themselves out there for another round of BS and harassment`from idiots regarding physical looks that we have no control over. That being said, realize that as a CF member, you`d actually have a step up on the f`n idiots whom you fear would make the comments etc again ... they`d be in uniform and we don`t put up with bullshit such as this. If you find that you are subject to such denigration by your peers or supervisors once the hair is cut and they do not cease when you ask them to ... send me a PM and I`ll advise you further.



From someone who understands the tightness you get in your chest and the apprehension that comes with it just having to think about putting yourself in a position for someone to notice your physical issues again. 25 years after I graduated from high-school, I still get that tightness and apprehension - and seek for ways to avoid certain situations -  dependant upon the situation all thanks to a bunch of ******* bully-kids (and those who just sat back and just watched it happen) from my school years. My friends from that time are extremely few - I can count them on three fingers - and there`s good reason for that. But, don`t let these ****ers hold you down another single minute. At the end of the day, you are better than them.

Thank you for understanding I know that it does seem silly to some, but hearing that it'll be no big deal from someone that has actually experienced something similar means a lot. I'm not mad or angry with what the others had to say, and at the end of the day I do realize that they're right. There's no point in whining and complaining about getting a haircut, because unless I decide to put on a Turban and become a practicing Sikh it's going to get cut no matter what.

And to anyone who may of been thinking it, no, I am not going on Google and deliberately searching for "male celebrity haircuts". I was searching "men's short haircuts", and it just so happened that a lot of the pictures were links from celebrity websites, that's all.

As far as this picture is concerned: http://menshair.about.com/od/mediumhaircutsstyles/ig/Celebrity-Hairstyles-4/Justin-Bartha.htm

The only reason I posted it was because the description underneath said that "The hair is cut to about 1/2 inch on the sides and back and 2 inches on top.".
Isn't that what the regulations say it has to be?

I tried finding Military haircuts this time. Would any of these work? Maybe not for BMQ, but afterwards perhaps?

1) http://haircutsformen.org/buzz/haircuts/buzz04.htm

2) http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=Marines+Haircut+bangs&hl=en&biw=1440&bih=785&tbm=isch&tbnid=IGdG-r0Yv51lGM:&imgrefurl=http://philwickham.wordpress.com/2007/09/05/after-your-heart-and-a-haircut-a-really-short-one/&docid=Us_RuO1j_laRQM&imgurl=http://philwickham.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/sidecrop.jpg&w=437&h=442&ei=DEsvT-qaO-TciQLu5rnQCg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=177&vpy=431&dur=6242&hovh=226&hovw=223&tx=184&ty=62&sig=100258927257839692882&page=1&tbnh=139&tbnw=136&start=0&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:16,s:0

3) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j7CBBTUIT5g/S76tjgr9aZI/AAAAAAAAAtw/hnUxzNfCkHo/s1600/Dear+John+004.jpg

The last one is from a movie, and I know it'll be a no-no in BMQ, but how about afterwards?

[kimbrian]

I'd say this is ideal length for non recruits

http://www.haircareresources.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/crew-cut-hairstyles-3.jpg

also, you can look up Toby Maguire's hair for Brothers (2009).

cheers,

[ekpiper]

Thank you for understanding I know that it does seem silly to some, but hearing that it'll be no big deal from someone that has actually experienced something similar means a lot. I'm not mad or angry with what the others had to say, and at the end of the day I do realize that they're right. There's no point in whining and complaining about getting a haircut, because unless I decide to put on a Turban and become a practicing Sikh it's going to get cut no matter what.

And to anyone who may of been thinking it, no, I am not going on Google and deliberately searching for "male celebrity haircuts". I was searching "men's short haircuts", and it just so happened that a lot of the pictures were links from celebrity websites, that's all.

As far as this picture is concerned: http://menshair.about.com/od/mediumhaircutsstyles/ig/Celebrity-Hairstyles-4/Justin-Bartha.htm

The only reason I posted it was because the description underneath said that "The hair is cut to about 1/2 inch on the sides and back and 2 inches on top.".
Isn't that what the regulations say it has to be?

I tried finding Military haircuts this time. Would any of these work? Maybe not for BMQ, but afterwards perhaps?

1) http://haircutsformen.org/buzz/haircuts/buzz04.htm

2) http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=Marines+Haircut+bangs&hl=en&biw=1440&bih=785&tbm=isch&tbnid=IGdG-r0Yv51lGM:&imgrefurl=http://philwickham.wordpress.com/2007/09/05/after-your-heart-and-a-haircut-a-really-short-one/&docid=Us_RuO1j_laRQM&imgurl=http://philwickham.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/sidecrop.jpg&w=437&h=442&ei=DEsvT-qaO-TciQLu5rnQCg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=177&vpy=431&dur=6242&hovh=226&hovw=223&tx=184&ty=62&sig=100258927257839692882&page=1&tbnh=139&tbnw=136&start=0&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:16,s:0

3) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j7CBBTUIT5g/S76tjgr9aZI/AAAAAAAAAtw/hnUxzNfCkHo/s1600/Dear+John+004.jpg

The last one is from a movie, and I know it'll be a no-no in BMQ, but how about afterwards?

Ok, so here is the basic idea of the haircut that you can have, at most times after basic:

Sides:  Thick enough that you can't see the skin beneath.  This will require a haircut every 3/4 weeks though, as it is usually a fine line between that and having it touch your ears.
Top: A good amount, even enough to cover a bit of your forehead if you have acne along the hairline.

In my experience, the CF has a good number of mature people who don't judge.  I've had (and still have) my share of self-esteem points about my body, be it acne, weight, man boobs.  I have never in 4.5 years (and lots of full visual disclosure) had a single comment about any of it.  I still have those problems in my head, but believe me...those little self-esteem niggles will be completely gone during your training, and afterwards, you'll have enough latitude to try and cover it up if it still seems necessary, but you'll likely have different priorities afterwards.  People will be judging you on a lot of factors, but physical appearance is one that I've found to not be high on the scale.

In the mean time, accept that you are as you are, and that we have no control over a lot of our physical aspects.  There's no logic in worrying about things you haven't any control over.  Just as it is illogical for others to pick on you for it.  I know a number of people with acne that is most certainly 10-20x more severe than yours if you're using hair to cover it up.  He as an RMC cadet, and when he becomes an officer, he can be proud of his accomplishments and have a lot of good friends.

[Johansen]

Repitively asking the same question on here isn't going to get you your answer. Bottom line, if you're told it's too long, you cut it.

[startbutton]

Repitively asking the same question on here isn't going to get you your answer. Bottom line, if you're told it's too long, you cut it.

Agreed your question has been asked and answered quite a few times. In the end you have to decide wether you can put your self esteem issue aside and join the the CF or not be able to and move onto another career where hair length is not an issue .
Sorry if this seems harsh but we have dress regs for a reason and I don't think they will make an acception for you on hair length. 

[Chief Stoker]

Mr Canada i'm not going to sugarcoat it for you, you will have **** chucked at you for one thing or another pretty much your entire career.  Most of it is just harmless fun, but some its pretty vicious. You have to make a decision to shake it off and not let it bother you. Your BMQ will grow your confidence and self esteem, you'll be surprised. If you can't deal with that then i'm afraid the military is not for you.

[SentryMAn]

Let me put it this way about you being bullied about your acne.

Simply tell the bullies why you shaved your head.
Then tell them you get to march around and carry an Automatic Weapon.
Tell them what you get to do at work and how rewarding it is.

Then ask them about their day and see how many hours of video games they played and what their mom made them for lunch.

[kenmnuggas]

For what it's worth, if people on your BM(o)Q hear you making a fuss about your haircut, they're going to make fun of you for it. You're putting yourself in a position where this will turn out badly for you.

[RangerRay]

When I did my QL 2/3 back in the day, we all got #1's or #2's, and it was discovered that one guy had a scabby scalp underneath.  It didn't bother him and the only one who said anything was a staff member who kept calling him "Uncle Fester".  But he was kind of a **** anyways, commenting on other recruits' appearances.  No body cared what he said.

The long and short of it: get your hair cut as directed by your course staff, and don't complain about it.  Only ****'s will make a deal of your acne.  And you won't waste time ****ing around with your hair in the morning before inspection. 

[medicineman]

We're still talking about this??!!

MM

[Scott]

We're still talking about this??!!

MM

Not any longer.

Locked.