Beards

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends a meeting between President Donald Trump and Poland’s President Karol Nawrock in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington D.C., on September 3, 2025. On Monday, the Pentagon announced Hegseth has established a new grooming standard for U.S. service members that targets beards and facial hair. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 15 (UPI) — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is targeting beards and facial hair in the military to establish a new “grooming standard,” as the Pentagon announced Monday that leadership will be required to conduct a review of how service member grooming practices have changed over the past decade.

The “rapid force-wide review of military standards,” requested by Hegseth, according to a Pentagon statement issued Monday, includes “grooming standards for facial hair.”

“The grooming standard set by the U.S. military is to be clean shaven and neat in presentation for a proper military appearance,” Hegseth said, according to the statement by Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.

“Commanders must apply consistent criteria and appropriately consider the department’s interests in safety and uniformity when authorizing individual exceptions,” Parnell added.

According to Hegseth, shaving waivers will be allowed under a written recommendation by military medical officers, as long as there is a treatment plan. Hegseth also said service members who require a shaving waiver after more than one year of medical treatment will be considered for “separation.”

“As I stated when directing the Rapid Force-Wide Review of Military Standards, the strength of the military is our unity and our shared purpose,” said Hegseth. “The department must remain vigilant in maintaining the grooming standards which underpin the warrior ethos.”

Both President Donald Trump and Hegseth used the term “warrior ethos” earlier this month when renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War.

“Words matter. Restoring … the warrior ethos. Restoring victory and clarity as an instinct,” Hegseth said Sept. 5, as Trump signed the executive order. A permanent department name change will require Congress to act.

In addition to grooming, Hegseth’s new requirements extend to body composition and physical fitness.

“We must remain vigilant in maintaining the standards that enable the men and women of our military to protect the American people and our homeland as the world’s most lethal and effective fighting force,” Hegseth wrote. “Our adversaries are not growing weaker, and our tasks are not growing less challenging.”

In 2005, the first series of Celebrity Love Island aired and it was an ex-Westlife bodyguard and a popular TV host who went on to win

Fran Cosgrave, the inaugural winner of Love Island, is almost unrecognisable in a recent social media snap, sporting a full beard two decades after his stint on the show.

The debut series of Celebrity Love Island graced our screens back in 2005, boasting a star-studded line-up including Atomic Kitten’s Liz McClarnon and EastEnders‘ Michael Greco.

However, it was former Westlife bodyguard Fran and telly presenter Jayne Middlemiss who clinched the title.

Before his Love Island adventure, Fran was romantically linked to Natasha Hamilton from 2001 to 2002, with whom he has a son, Josh, now 21.

Fast forward twenty years, and 47 year old Fran looks strikingly different from his time in the luxurious Fiji villa, having swapped his clean-shaven look for a thick, dark beard, reports OK!.

These days, Fran keeps a low profile, trading TV fame for a career in music. He’s currently a producer and DJ for house music trio, the Futuristic Polar Bears, which he founded.

With hit tracks like Running Wild and Damaged under his belt, and a whopping 90 million Spotify streams according to his Instagram bio, Fran has certainly made his mark in the music industry.

The group has toured extensively, lighting up nightclubs around the globe. In a chat with Jennifer Zamparelli on RTE 2FM, Fran reflected on his brush with fame.

He mused: “You can’t take it [fame] too seriously because it’s gone as quick as it comes.

“As it came towards 2009, things just started to spin out of control a bit, as it does. I was kind of finished with the whole celebrity thing.

“I started saying, ‘no’ to loads of programmes and I just wasn’t interested in it. My manager, rightly so, was like, ‘Mate why won’t you do any of these things?’ I was just like, ‘I’m not there anymore.'”

The ex-nightclub proprietor has left his wild nights behind, and now when he’s touring, he maintains a strict ‘no drinking, no partying’ rule.

He’s also channelled his energy into entrepreneurship, launching RUUD Coffee this year and previously introducing his own bespoke coffee blends and brand, Concrete Coffee, in 2024.

Celebrity Love Island made a comeback for its second season in 2006, featuring stars like Eternal singer and Loose Women panellist Kelle Bryan and Boyzone member Shane Lynch.

Yet, it was models Bianca Gascoigne and Calum Best who emerged victorious in the show’s final series before it was axed.

Love Island airs weekdays and Sunday nights from 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX