Navy women can now let their hair down

Longstanding policy forbidding pony tails and other hairstyles reversed

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Navy says it will now allow servicewomen to sport ponytails and other hairstyles, reversing a policy that forbade females from letting their hair down.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. 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 Richardson. The new standards went into effect Wednesday.

Lock hairstyles, or ropelike strands, are also now allowed. Wider hair buns, too. And women can wear ponytails while in uniform.

Capt. Thurraya Kent is the senior member of the working group that recommended the changes. The group 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.

Kent, who has been in the Navy for nearly 26 years, said she’s very encouraged that Navy leaders both listened and understood.

U.S. NAVY/ASSOCIATED PRESS Yeoman First Class LaToya Jones, center, speaks as Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, left of center, and Chief of Naval Personnel Adm. Robert Burke, right of center, and others listen.