Wierd debate at my house: DS has embraced the no haircut till they shave it on IDay. However, debate occuring that he should or should not shave his face. He wants the full experience on IDay of cut and shave. Is this something that is frowned upon coming in with fuzzy face?
DS need to shave before Iday?
- Thread starter Momto2
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2008
- Messages
- 20,840
Another way to look at it is he can get some speed training in before he reports in. Personal grooming time will be at a bare minimum in the AM, and it might be prudent for him to practice his morning shave routine. If he is not skilled, swift, thorough and unbloodied, he will stand out. But it’s his choice.
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2012
- Messages
- 1,103
100% agree with @Capt MJ. It's really just the buzz-cut that is part of "the experience" anyway.
Someone else clippers your hair in a comfy chair and it is not really a "high stress" moment of BCT.
You have to shave your own face. Shaving under pressure is going to increase risks of 1) doing a bad job and drawing negative attention to yourself, 2) uncomfortable razor burn, and 3) nicks possibly leading to infection. It is worth practicing. It is worth showing up to I-day clean-shaven.
One strategy is to shave at night before going to bed, but this only works for those with slow-growing facial hair. Plenty would have a noticeable 5 o'clock shadow by morning and trust me, the cadre will notice.
Someone else clippers your hair in a comfy chair and it is not really a "high stress" moment of BCT.
You have to shave your own face. Shaving under pressure is going to increase risks of 1) doing a bad job and drawing negative attention to yourself, 2) uncomfortable razor burn, and 3) nicks possibly leading to infection. It is worth practicing. It is worth showing up to I-day clean-shaven.
One strategy is to shave at night before going to bed, but this only works for those with slow-growing facial hair. Plenty would have a noticeable 5 o'clock shadow by morning and trust me, the cadre will notice.
Last edited:
I would recommend coming to I-Day at a bare minimum with having shaved recently. I can understand the sentiment and to my knowledge, nothing says you have to be clean-shaven upon arrival, but as others have pointed out, unless there is a waiver in place, the expectation will be that basics are clean-shaven. While I have not personally experienced it, I can envision that trying to rapidly shave a full beard is not a desirable first day of training event.
Old Navy BGO
10-Year Member
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2012
- Messages
- 4,649
It will surely stand out, and one thing you really don't want to do when reporting is to stand out...that is sure to be remembered and give detailers a reason to provide extra attention.
That said there is always that one guy that makes a point to stand out. One of my USNA classmate's son reported to USAFA with a pretty long mullet. At one point there was a move to see how much we could collect and pay him to show up with a USNA t shirt on.
