The Navy says it will now allow servicewomen to sport ponytails and other hairstyles, reversing a policy that long forbade females from letting their hair down.
Chief of Naval Operations Admiral, John Richardson, said it makes the Navy more inclusive.
Many black women had asked for changes to the female grooming standards. A female sailor, Yeoman First Class LaToya Jones, announced the new policy during a Facebook Live event Tuesday with Admiral Richardson. The new standards went into effect Wednesday.
According to the Associated Press, Lock hairstyles, or ropelike strands, are also now allowed includingwider hair buns. Women can now wear ponytails while in uniform.
Captain, Thurraya Kent, a senior member of the working group that recommended the changes, told the Navy that adding grooming options would eliminate a distraction, be more inclusive of different hair textures and enable people to keep their hair natural instead of processing it chemically.
