Bill Text (PDF)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), alongside Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) and Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), reintroduced the Recognition of Traction Alopecia in Service Women Act, legislation that would support and expand medical coverage of traction alopecia in the military.

In order to adhere to military grooming standards, many servicewomen use tight hairstyles and chemical hair products that contribute to permanent damage to the hair and scalp. The use of military headgear can also exacerbate and/or cause permanent damage.

The Recognition of Traction Alopecia in Service Women Act would amend U.S. Code 1074 C to add traction alopecia and wigs as a covered medical treatment under TRICARE, the uniformed services health care program for active-duty service members. It would also direct the Secretary of Defense to create regulations and training materials warning of the risk of traction alopecia.

“Our servicemen and women make many personal sacrifices in defense of our nation—permanent hair damage and scalp health should not have to be one of them,” said Rep. Pressley. “Women, and Black women in particular, experience traction alopecia and hair loss due to the tight hairstyles and dangerous chemical products needed to meet military grooming standards. I’m proud to join Reps. Watson Coleman and McClellan in leading legislation that will support coverage for those suffering from traction alopecia and allow millions of servicewomen to protect their natural hair and promote scalp health.”

“I am grateful to our service members who regularly put their lives on the line to defend the country they love,” said Rep. Watson Coleman. “When their service causes them harm, as in the case of scalp damage, we have a duty to help make them whole and warn them of the risks.”

“Millions of women servicemembers risk their lives every day to protect and defend our nation, and we owe them a debt of gratitude,” said Rep. McClellan. “Yet current military appearance standards fail to account for the unique challenges women face in meeting compliance. Black women in particular often go out of their way to meet these standards, many of which remain incompatible with their natural hair. I’m joining Rep. Watson Coleman to introduce the Recognition of Traction Alopecia in Service Women Act to raise awareness of traction alopecia and ensure that our servicewomen are no longer forced to choose between meeting grooming standards and protecting their health.” 

Text of the bill can be accessed here.

Congresswoman Pressley has been steadfast in her advocacy for Black women’s health, ending race-based hair discrimination, and introducing policies that affirm the right of Black women to show up in the world as their full, authentic selves.

• Rep. Pressley is a lead co-sponsor of the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act, legislation with Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Barbara Lee (CA-13) and Ilhan Omar (MN-05) that would ban discrimination based on hair textures and hairstyles that are commonly associated with a particular race or national origin.
• Congresswoman Pressley, alongside Congresswomen Brown and Velázquez, have led congressional efforts to ban formaldehyde in hair products. In March 2026, Rep. Pressley, alongside Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) and Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), introduced the Health Hair Act, legislation to effectively ban formaldehyde from hair products. Last year, they sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting an update on delays in implementation of a rule to ban formaldehyde and other formaldehyde-releasing chemicals in hair products. In October 2023, the FDA proposed the ban of formaldehyde in hair products following a letter led by Reps. Pressley and Brown, which called on the agency to investigate the health risks associated with the chemical. However, the implementation of the ban has continuously been delayed.
• In February 2026, Rep. Pressley, alongside Rep. Jim McGovern (MA-02) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), led their colleagues in re-introducing the Wigs as Durable Medical Equipment Act, legislation to help individuals affected by Alopecia Areata and patients with cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy by allowing medical wigs and other head coverings to be covered under the Medicare program.
• Rep. Pressley leads the Anti-Racism in Public Health Act, a bicameral bill to declare structural racism a public health crisis and confront its public health impacts through two bold new programs within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Rep. Pressley originally introduced the bill in September 2020.
• In 2020, the House passed an amendment introduced by Congresswoman Pressley to provide $5 million dollars for the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to fund research on the causes, impacts, and possible treatments of Alopecia areata.
• In December 2019, Rep. Pressley and her colleagues sent a letter to Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky seeking information on the targeted marketing and sale of the company’s talc-based baby powder and its potential to cause harm, particularly to women, teenage girls, and people of color, due to asbestos contamination. 

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