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Imagine interviewing for a role. You have the job experience, and you tick all the boxes in terms of the work culture. The hiring manager laughs at all your jokes, almost welcoming you to the company. Suddenly, they bring up their clean shaven policy.

Do employers have a right to ask you to shave your beard? Do you have any say in the matter? It’s a gray area depending on your industry, but generally, they can indeed require you to shave. However, you can request an appeal based on a few factors.

Clean Shaven Policies

Every company has an image it wants to retain. Employers are within their legal right to set grooming standards and dress codes. Some policies will usually focus on attire, smell and appearance. Hair is more subjective, considering its cultural significance for many people.

While a federal bill has been passed to forbid employer discrimination on hair texture and style, there’s no specific law for beards yet. Thus, companies may uphold a clean shaven policy regarding facial hair.

Workplaces typically enforce these roles for client-facing jobs to improve presentability. Employees who have to wear personal protective equipment are also a key target for being clean-shaven to uphold beard safety.

OSHA Facial Hair Regulations

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s main concern about beard safety in the workplace is respirator leakage. A respirator is an essential piece of equipment for filtering out chemicals and pollutants from a working environment. It features a fan to blow clean air for inhalation and an exhalation valve for your breath to exit.

Respirators are important for people working with paints, gases and other hazardous environments. They can also be critical tools when dealing with fire. OSHA guidelines dictate that almost all industries must conduct fire safety training in a controlled environment. Aside from learning to use an extinguisher, wearing a respirator can be the difference between life and death.

While there are many designs, full-face masks are ideal for zero exposure to toxic air. Unfortunately, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health finds that facial hair under the sealing of a respirator can result in up to 1,000 times more leakage.

Chin hair is usually the culprit of crossing the respirator seal and creating air leaks. Jobs requiring the use of respirators or other similar face masks on a regular basis can require you to keep facial hair contained for your own safety. Naturally, shaving is the simplest solution. There are also clean-cut facial hair alternatives like minimalist mustache and sideburn styles.

Beard Safety and Hygiene

OSHA standards aside, a clean shaven policy may also allude to the need for proper hygiene. A beard can contain multiple pathogenic microorganisms in its strands. If you’re applying for a job involving food and beverages, it can make sense to shave your facial hair.

Working in a pharmacy or hospital also requires utmost beard safety and hygiene. Keep bacteria out of such spaces, especially if you face immunocompromised patients who need clean indoor air quality.

Shaving is still definitely on a case-to-case basis, though. Some places allow facial hair to be a certain length. If it exceeds these limits, you get a warning and notification to trim. Other companies may require using a beard net instead.

If you keep part of your beard, adopt grooming practices for maximum hygiene. Shampoo and rinse thoroughly as often as possible to eliminate any bits and pieces. You can also use an exfoliating scrub and conditioner to get into the nitty-gritty.

Societal Perspectives

A clean shaven policy can also stem from wanting to look more professional. Appearances matter, especially in a corporate setting. While times have changed, companies still think it’s better to be safe than sorry. Some individuals haven’t completely shifted their views, either.

It’s not always a bad thing. Beards are often a sign of maturity and masculinity for men. Younger job seekers who want to give off an impression of being experienced and authoritative can benefit from facial hair. Just make sure it isn’t unkempt.

That said, there are downsides too. For example, most people stereotype bearded men as more angry and aggressive than their shaven counterparts. Others may also sense they are less trustworthy. The perception still stands despite being rather baseless.

Balancing Employee Rights and Duties

Employers can require you to shave your beard. Do you have to follow the clean shaven policy? Generally, you must abide by the rules to secure a job and stay at a workplace. However, there are some areas where you can appeal to management.

Requesting consideration from your employers makes the most sense if your role doesn’t involve certain working conditions. Medical reasons, religious faith and gender identity can also be grounds to justify your request for consideration.

Medical Reasons

Some men cannot shave their beards because it irritates their skin. Pseudofolliculitis barbae, or PFB, is a chronic condition that entails inflammation in the skin caused by shaving. Up to 60% of Black men can experience this, which may result from their tightly curled hair.

In some cases, PFB is viewed as a disability, which can warrant your beard protection from the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, it depends on the severity of the lesions. Request a doctor’s note and submit it to employers for evaluation.

Religious Faith

People of certain religions cannot shave or cut their hair. For example, Sikh men don’t shave their beards because it’s seen as a blessing. To cut their hair would be an act of turning their back on their religious faith.

There was a recent court case where Sikh men were denied entry to the Marine Corps unless they shaved their facial hair. A court recently ruled they can serve and train under the force even without shaving as a sign of respect for their belief.

Gender Identity

Facial hair can serve as gender affirmation for trans men and other nonconforming persons under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella. It is possible to use the right to gender expression as a core argument for your appeal against a clean shaven policy.

However, it’s important to recognize that identity may hold less weight than other reasons. Employers may argue that their rejection is to avoid any bias between cisgender and noncisgender employees, applying their guidelines to both parties instead.

Shaving for the Workplace

How you present yourself in the workplace matters a lot, especially to employers. Some companies are lax, while others enforce a strong clean shaven policy. Try to find a compromise in your situation to maintain your individuality and adhere to the grooming guidelines.

Conflicting opinions on ultraviolet (UV) radiation’s effects on facial hair circle around. Some people claim clear skies are beneficial for beards and mustaches. Others warn against sunbathing when trying to grow impressive facial hair. Which side of the fence is right?

The truth lies in the middle. Understand how the sun influences facial hair growth to know how therapeutic and destructive it can be.

Does Sunlight Stop Facial Hair Growth?

No, sunlight doesn’t stop facial hair growth. On the contrary, the sun stimulates it. Solar radiation helps you grow the Chevron, a burly beard, a goatee, mutton chops, sideburns or whatever style your DNA permits. That’s because it’s an essential ingredient for vitamin D production.

Sunlight contains ultraviolet B (UVB) light that turns a chemical in your skin into vitamin D. Healthy levels of vitamin D — as well as vitamins A, B7 and C — allow your body to generate plenty of testosterone and convert some of it into dihydrotestosterone, a hormone vital in facial hair growth.

Timing matters to produce an adequate amount of this sunshine vitamin. The best time of day for sun exposure is midday. Experts suggest exposing your face, hands, arms and legs to sunlight without protection for 5-30 minutes between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. is crucial in preventing vitamin D deficiency. This period lets you get a safe dose of UVB radiation efficiently.

The recommendation may not apply to all, though. Race plays a role in vitamin D production because of melanin. This pigment is responsible for skin color and is a natural sunscreen protecting skin from damage from excessive sunlight exposure.

People with more melanin have to spend more time under the sun than those with less of it to stimulate facial hair growth. That’s why lighter-skinned individuals can produce sufficient vitamin D fast. In contrast, darker-skinned people need more prolonged UV exposure to create the same amount of the nutrient.

Does UV Light Stop Hair Growth?

UV light is a double-edged sword. It doesn’t stop hair growth but can damage beards and mustaches. This solar radiation can burn away the protective oils coating individual strands. Without them, your facial hair is more vulnerable to sun damage.

The more brittle your hair becomes, the less effective it is at safeguarding the skin underneath from UV rays. Less natural protection against sunlight increases your risk of skin diseases, including cancer.

Moreover, UV can change hair color. Overexposure to this invisible light can break down your hair’s melanin pigments, causing any hair on your face to appear lighter. Melanin helps combat the undesirable effects of excessive sun exposure, so losing it in your hair is bad news for your health.

How to Ensure Healthy Facial Hair Growth When It’s Sunny

Follow these five tips to grow and maintain healthy facial hair during months when the sun is at its most intense.

1.   Limit Sun Exposure

Rule number one is to catch some sun moderately. What’s moderate depends on your natural skin color. If you have lighter skin, you only need a small window to produce enough vitamin D your body needs to grow facial hair, so avoid basking — or baking — in the sun for too long.

Aside from damaging your facial hair, getting too much UV radiation increases your risk of skin cancer — a growing health concern. It affects more people than other cancers. Skin cancer is so prevalent no less than 20% of Americans will likely get it by the time they reach 70.

Avoiding UV rays is challenging anywhere, even at home. The sun can penetrate your indoor spaces deeply, leaving you with few hiding spots. Fortunately, there are viable solutions to protect yourself without wearing sunscreen. Growing trees and thick foliage around your home or switching to energy-efficient windows will significantly reduce your chance of unexpected UV overexposure.

2.   Moisturize With UV Protection

Using a moisturizer prevents dryness due to washing your facial hair during warm months. Choose a product with Sun Protection Factor 30 or higher to keep your beard hydrated while rendering most of the UV radiation hitting your face harmless.

3.   Put a Premium on Grooming

Split ends indicate damaged hair. You can’t undo them, so you should trim them to give your facial hair a chance to regrow stronger and healthier.

Contrary to popular belief, shaving your face doesn’t accelerate facial hair growth rate. Observe how fast your beard can grow to your desired thickness to determine your suitable trimming frequency.

If you have a patchy beard, shave off the sparse strands to look neat because they’re too far from each other to cover your skin. Use a traditional razor instead of an electric trimmer to avoid having a five o’clock shadow.

4.   Wear Sunscreen

Applying sunscreen to your facial hair sounds strange, but it works like a charm. Utilize a moisturizer with SPF to both keep your beard feeling fresh and protect it from the sun. It can protect your beard from sun damage if you coat your hair with it thoroughly and reapply it every once in a while.

While you’re at it, use some on the skin under your beard. It can complement your facial hair’s sunlight-blocking prowess, keeping the skin where your beard grows healthy. Keep in mind that you’ll want to utilize a chemical sunscreen to avoid leaving a white cast on your skin.

5.   Wear a Beard Cover

A beard cover is more of protective gear than a fashion item. It’s something you wear when you have to be under the sun in unshaded areas for long periods because of your job.

This device can only block some sunlight because it’s porous. Still, it’s better than wearing nothing and leaving your facial hair bare.

Healthy Is the Beard the Sun Shines On

Sunlight is a non-negotiable requirement to grow as much facial hair as your genes let you. UV rays can be damaging, but they’re not the enemy — overexposure is. Be mindful of how much daylight your skin absorbs and when you receive it to stay in the shade no less than you must.