Will I have to cut my hair at training? what about after when I'm at the hospital

[sabby17]

I'm about to go to Navy officer training school and then I'll be a Navy nurse. I was told that if it is not collar length it will be cut to that length. Mine is not that long. It is on my shoulders(and even that I am uncomfortable with). Can I put it in a bun instead of having it cut or will they cut my hair? If I have to then I'll defiantly get it cut before I go because with many other girls waiting in line to get their hair cut at training I'm sure whoever is cutting it isn't going to make it even. And what about after training? When I'm working in the hospital will I have to have my hair in a bun, cut to my collar or as can I have it grow out a little past my shoulder and still wear it down?

Also if I get it cut at the appropriate length will they still cut it? Someone told me that the navy will still cut it even if it is at the right length.

What is collar length hair exactlt? Some said it was like an inch above shoulder and then someone told me it was right below the ears *shudders*

[sabby17]

Sabby,

Like I said, I do not mean to sound rude. If you go back and read your original post maybe you will see how someone without any knowledge of your research or anything other than what you wrote in the post, could come to the conclusions I did. One thing I SHOULD have said is Kudos to you for having the courage to serve in the military! I could never do it.

Yeah I did see how that could sound the way it did. The truth is I'm not that girly. Its just I don't know I'm one of those people who like to be prepared and know as much as possible about something and the hair thing wasn't even thought about until now when I've kind of gotten all the other military/navy nurse questions out of the way and I kind of freaked out about cutting my hair because its always been long. I wasn't sure where else to post this question. But I've thought about it and don't really care if its short.

[brillohead, ADN, RN]

BTW, if you want to put your hair up securely without visible accessories, you can't go wrong with Spin Pins by Goody (mini if your hair is thin or fine in texture, regular if your hair is coorifice and/or thick). Those suckers go in and STAY in.

[midinphx, BSN]

I think the original question is not dumb. I remember before I left having the same discussion about how to easily keep my hair in regulation. I spent a lot of time practicing and watching youtube videos.

And just to clarify - as enlisted females don't have different regulations for dress and appearance. I did not have to get my hair cut for army basic training - but I did. I have to say having it short for basic was easier than sleeping with my hair up in a bun during commissioned officer training when I had it long.

[0402]

I use a regular hair tie for the base of my ponytail and then use clear rubber bands for securing my bun (bobby pins were breaking my hair, but these don't). I do the sock bun sometimes, but I have really thick hair and find it too heavy, at times, so now that my hair is longer, I just divide it in half and twist each part up, with some gel and use the clear rubber bands to secure it.

Also, if your hair is short for OCS, make sure it's short enough to be out of your face. I cut my hair prior to OCS, but it kept falling in my face, which meant I was constantly touching it, so I ended up with a haircut much shorter than I would have ever wanted.

[GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN]

many moons ago prior going into the military service, i had 18" cut from my thick hair locks, everyone in the salon wanted to make a wig out of it. btw, i'm one of those that my hair grows pretty fast so every now and then i let my hair grow and wear it in a pony-tail, then i donate it to "locks for love":d

[cyntrim]

Thank you for your service! I think your question is admirable and I wished that I would have thought to ask a question like that before I went into Marine Corps boot camp. As a previous poster said we could not have any hair in our eyes or touching our collar and absolutely no bobby pins could be seen so it was difficult. My mother cried when I went in with hair longer than my shoulder blades and came home with a drill instructor cut. Meaning it was about 1 inch all over my head, because I found it too hard to keep up with. Whatever you decide to do about the length of your hair start practicing now and go outside and run with and see what happens to it to see if it will be manageable once you have so much pressure on you to perform. We had females that worried about their hair so much that they would secretly get up in the middle of the night to put it back up, because they did not want to get their hair cut. Hey we are women and even though it will grow back does not mean we want to have to cut it....

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

I cut my waist-length hair to a short bob because I didn't want to deal with it during officer basic (I'm in the Army). I donated 20" or so to Locks of Love. I can't imagine dealing with that much hair during our three weeks of field training exercises without showers! Ugh. Yes, really. My hair is incredibly thick, too. And I liked it shorter, so short it has stayed. However, there were plenty of women at officer basic who had long hair and survived with it. :)

[CynRN11]

I have long curly hair, and while it wasn't a primary concern, I have also searched the web for examples of what is acceptable for ODS. If I have to cut it, versus putting it up in a bun everyday, I would rather do it before I leave than chance it with whoever is cutting it at training With the information overload that happens in this whole process, it isn't a huge deal, but it was always sort of in the back of my mind because I have always had long hair.

I have talked with several women with long hair who are going into different branches, and we all had the same questions regarding whether or not we could keep our long hair.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

I'm also an Army nurse. I had long hair for training both times I trained, including time in the field (I went through LTC in ROTC and BOLC for basic officers training a couple years apart) and I really did like having long hair. The girls who had short hair seemed like they always had Kevlar head, and while Kevlars can do a number on long hair, at least you can take it down and put it up again if it gets really bad. With hair at your length, however, it may be a toss-up. If it doesn't readily stay put in a bun and you need a bunch of bobby pins to keep it from falling out, definitely cut it. Bobby pins + Kevlar = penetrating scalp wound. Keep a little comb or brush on you for those times when your hair just won't salute.

PS, I'd like to correct anyone here who seems to think that military regs aren't somehow relevant to nursing. It's not exactly what you'd find under the "your grossest story" thread or your "guess what happened to me at work today" thread, but it's very relevant to someone who is just going in. I had a lot of questions before I entered, most of them related to housing and training, and many of those "non-nursing" questions were answered by the good folks under the Government/Military Nursing specialty forum. This forum is a great resource full of helpful people. That's something I don't want to see change!

[realnursealso/LPN, LPN]

Found the regulations regarding hair on females in the US Navy:Navy Grooming Standards

[CynRN11]

realnursealso/lpn: i came across this article also and it took me forever to figure out what was meant by

[color=#333333] "no portion of the bulk of the hair as measured from the scalp will exceed approximately 2 inches." i thought, well, that is still really short! then i realized they were referring to 2 inches from the scalp when your hair is up somehow. just read the words, cyn, stop trying to reinvent the wheel.

[caliotter3]

Call a recruiter and ask them what the current policy is.