Until recently, a short sharpened head was 1 of the most apparent symbols of military service. Now it's changing. The Finnish armed forces are preparing a improvement to let men to wear longer hair. fresh liberalized regulations are to enter into force from July.
To date, in Finland, where there is simply a general military conscription, the rules were clear. Men in primary service and professional soldiers had to wear short, evenly cut and neat hair. Service regulations besides made it clear that they had to have a smooth shave on their face. At the same time, women who have been allowed to volunteer for voluntary military service since 1995 have the right to hold long hair, as long as they are carefully tied in braids or impaled in coke and do not impede the performance of duties.
The ombudsmen's offices and the ombudsman pointed out a fewer years ago that specified a solution could be discriminatory for men erstwhile all soldiers execute the same tasks independently of sex. Therefore, the Finnish armed forces plan to depart from this division with the start of the July training turnus. The change is intended to cover both conscripts and professional soldiers and persons active in crisis management tasks.
– The planet is changing and the armed forces must change with it. We are part of this process due to the fact that we are dependent on reservists – in a conversation with MTV Uutiset station, Lieutenant General Rami Saari, Deputy Chief of Staff for the Finnish Defence Forces explains that this is how they want to encourage people to take up service.
According to the reform, there will be no rigid restrictions on the dimension of the hair, but it will inactive not be possible to wear them dissolved. Not allowed will besides be different hairstyles, specified as mohawks or cut patterns. According to the Finnish agency STT, it has not yet been decided at this phase whether soldiers can wear a long beard. The Finnish media point out that the opinions among the military were powerfully divided, but the Finnish conscription union gave a affirmative opinion on the proposed changes. Its president points out that long hair is already allowed in men serving in the armed forces of Norway or Sweden.
Army between tradition and modernity
Changing the hair regulations may seem detailed, but in fact it touches the foundations of military culture. For decades, uniform appearance has been a tool for building discipline, submission and community. At the same time, the experience of another armies shows that stringent appearance rules are increasingly giving way to more flexible solutions, subject to safety.
Changes are besides made in the Polish Army. Since October 2025 women can wear hair halfway to their back, provided that they are attached to a single pony or braid. Head shaving is besides acceptable. In turn since September 2024 Soldiers can wear facial hair with a dimension of up to 3 cm, and besides display tattoos, unless the content is offensive.
