Etihad’s official Style & Image Guide is one of the most detailed grooming documents of any Gulf carrier, and it runs to specific measurements rather than general guidance, hairstyles named and numbered, nail length capped to the half-centimetre, watch dials measured to the millimetre. This piece covers personal grooming and appearance, hair, makeup, nails, jewellery, and the rules specific to men.
Tattoos: What’s Actually Allowed
Etihad’s tattoo rule is straightforward: tattoos can’t be visible while in uniform. But what does that mean in practice? This will depend on whether you are wearing the male or female uniform.
- Female: No tattoos on the arms below the elbow, no tattoos on the legs below the knee. No tattoos on the neck.
- Male: No tattoos on the arms below the shoulder (the area that could still be partially visible through a white undershirt). No tattoos on the neck.
There is one minor exemption to the visible tattoo policy, and that’s for eyebrows that are tattooed on. These tattoos are permitted so long as they’re well-maintained and look natural rather than obviously drawn on.
For the full airline-by-airline picture, including how Etihad compares to Emirates, Delta, and other major carriers on tattoos specifically, see the complete cabin crew tattoo policy guide.
Worth knowing: Etihad’s Style & Image Guide is structured around two almost entirely separate sets of rules, one for women and one for men, rather than a single shared list. Makeup, for instance, is compulsory for female crew, while it’s banned for male crew. The same goes for nail polish, which is banned outright for men but has a specific approved palette for women.
Candidates looking to become cabin crew at Etihad Airways must present as their gender at birth and adhere to the specific male or female grooming rules. Etihad Airways does not recognize non-binary crew members.
For Female Cabin Crew
Hair and Colour
Hair colour needs to look natural and suit the wearer’s skin tone. Single-shade highlights or lowlights are fine as long as they blend into the base colour, but several specific things are ruled out:
- Bleached hair,
- Striped highlights,
- Grey or silver tones (natural or dyed),
- Any “ombre” style where the roots and tips are noticeably different,
- And unnatural red tones, including the orange-ish hue that can come from henna.
Outgrown roots need to be re-coloured regularly to keep an even tone.
Worth knowing: Platinum or ash-coloured hair is only permitted if it reflects the crew member’s natural or heritage hair colour in its natural state. It’s a more specific rule than a blanket ban on light colours, and worth understanding properly rather than assuming any pale shade is automatically off-limits.
For styling, Etihad names eight specific approved hairstyles:
- Low bun with a concealed hair doughnut (max 6cm diameter, matching hair colour),
- Low bun without a doughnut,
- Mid bun,
- French roll or twist,
- French braids and twists,
- Conservative short hairstyle
- Short bob cut, but only with separate approval from the Style & Image team,
- Braided styles for Type 4 hair, which can be worn in cornrows or braids as long as they’re neat and not oversized.
Ribbons, scrunchies, and visible hair accessories generally aren’t permitted across these styles. Hairpins and hairspray are the expected way to keep everything in place. A fringe is allowed as long as it sits above the eyebrows or is pinned back, and hair needs to stay looking maintained until the crew member reaches their accommodation, not undone in transit.
Makeup
Makeup is a requirement for female crew, not an option, and crew are expected to carry their full kit for every duty, including standby and turnaround flights. Etihad names seven compulsory makeup items that crew shoulds always have in their possession:
- Foundation,
- Powder,
- Blusher,
- Eyeshadow,
- Mascara,
- Lipstick,
- And nail polish.
Eyebrow makeup is optional, but eyebrows themselves still need to be shaped and defined.
Shade guidance is specific.
- Eyeshadow needs to stay in warm beige, brown, bronze, or discreet gold tones – a subtle shimmer is fine, but anything glittery or heavy isn’t.
- Lipstick is limited to pink, plum, or purple shades from an approved palette, nothing striking, metallic, or in red, orange, burgundy, or brown tones.
- Mascara is required in black or brown, and applied to both upper and lower lashes; even crew members wearing false lashes still need mascara on the lower lash line unless the false lashes already look sufficiently full. Stick-on lashes aren’t permitted, though natural-looking extensions are.
Nails
Nails need to be clean, well-manicured, and polished without chips or cracks, in a natural shape. Stiletto or pointed nails aren’t permitted. Length is capped at half a centimetre beyond the fingertip, whether natural or enhanced, and all nails need to be filed to the same length.
Approved colours include: a French manicure with a white tip only, a sheer beige, white, or baby pink base with a glossy (not metallic or matte) finish, or a sheer platinum pearly white, solid pearly white from gel or acrylic isn’t accepted,
Acrylic and gel enhancements are fine as long as they look natural and regrowth isn’t visible.
Insight: To get the iconic Etihad Airways nail look, paint your nails in a deep eggplant purple. To ensure it looks polished and doesn’t chip, use acrylic, gelish, or Hardnail. When choosing the correct shade, don’t just go by what the color looks like on the bottle; first, test the shade on one nail before applying it across your entire set.
Facial and Body Hair
Eyebrows need to be shaped and trimmed regularly, and the upper lip kept free of visible hair. Noticeable hair on the arms, legs, and face is expected to be removed, and bleaching visible hair as an alternative to removal isn’t accepted.
Earrings
If ears are pierced, earrings must be worn: one round stud per ear at the lower centre point of the lobe, between 3mm and 10mm in diameter. Permitted styles are limited to single silver or gold studs, a single colourless stone (diamond or zirconium), or a single white pearl, with the setting itself not visible. Any other visible piercing accessory isn’t permitted.
The general expectation is that female crew will wear earrings. Crew members who are unable to wear earrings for medical reasons need an exemption letter from the Style & Image team if the piercing hole would otherwise be visible.
Insight: Etihad’s one-stud-per-ear rule is notably stricter than Emirates, which permits up to two small studs per ear. From the outside, Gulf carrier grooming standards can look interchangeable, but differences like this one are exactly the kind of detail worth stemming rather than assuming carries over if you’re weighing up more than one airline.
For Male Cabin Crew
Male cabin crew follow an entirely separate set of hair and grooming standards.
Hair
- Maximum length of 5cm, with a minimum of a number 2 cut.
- Hair can be gradually graded up or worn in a stepped style, but shaved-in lines aren’t permitted.
- Sideburns need to be neatly trimmed, not extending past the middle of the ear, and between 1cm and 1.5cm wide.
- Wet-look styles, spiky styles, mohawks, and other overly expressive hairstyles aren’t allowed.
- Close-shaved hair isn’t permitted except in cases of natural balding, crew who are mostly bald may shave the scalp completely, and those partially balding may go close-shaven at no shorter than a number 1 cut.
- Dreadlocks, braids, and cornrows aren’t permitted for Type 4 hair, a notable difference from the styling options available to female crew with the same hair type.
Facial Hair
- Crew need to stay clean-shaven if they aren’t able to grow a full beard.
- A full beard is permitted if it’s worn in its natural colour (not colour-enhanced), well-maintained, and kept between a grade 1 (3mm) and grade 2 (6mm) length.
- The neckline and upper cheeks need to be shaved regardless, with sideburns connected to the beard at matching length, and clearly defined edges throughout.
- A moustache is only permitted alongside a full beard; it doesn’t need to physically connect to it, but the beard itself needs to look genuinely full rather than patchy.
- Goatees, thin-line beards, patchy or undefined beards, and simply reporting for duty mid-grow-out aren’t accepted; any beard or moustache needs to be grown on days off or leave, not visibly in progress on shift.
Worth Knowing: Etihad Airways was the first airline in the Middle East to allow its male crew members to wear a beard. There are, however, some other differences compared to Emirates and Qatar Airways – unlike both of these airlines, Etihad only allows male crew members to wear a moustache alongside a full beard.
Nails
Clean and well-maintained at all times, buffed to a shine if desired, but nail polish isn’t permitted. Length can’t extend past the fingertip, and all nails need to be filed to the same length.
Gender-Neutral Standards (All Crew)
Rings
Up to two, one per hand, worn on the ring or middle finger, no wider than 1cm, in gold or silver with colourless stones or pearls. Married crew can wear an engagement and wedding ring together on one hand within that same 1cm width limit, with an additional ring then permitted on the other hand.
Necklaces and Bracelets
Not permitted while in uniform. An approved medical alert chain or bracelet is the one exception, and needs sign-off from the Style & Image team.
Watches
Smartwatches like an Apple Watch are permitted, provided the battery is confirmed sufficiently charged before the shift, and a spare digital or analogue watch is carried in case it runs out or malfunctions mid-flight.
Analogue watches need a second hand. Straps and cases are limited to gold, rose gold, silver, black, or dark brown, and the dial can’t exceed 4cm in diameter for women or 5cm for men. Oversized sports watches and bangle or bracelet-style watches aren’t permitted.
Eyewear
Only clear contact lenses are permitted; coloured lenses for aesthetic purposes aren’t accepted in uniform, and a spare pair of corrective glasses needs to be carried for all operational duties.
Glasses themselves need to stay conservative: plain black, dark brown, tortoise shell, or gold/silver tones, no cat-eye frames, no crystal or stone embellishments, and no photochromic lenses that darken in sunlight. Sunglasses are for outdoor wear only, and need to be removed when speaking with someone. Again, only conservative colours and a moderate frame size are allowed.
Wigs, Henna, and Dental Standards
Wigs require approval from the Style & Image team, generally where there’s a medical reason for one. Henna isn’t permitted while in uniform at all. Dental jewellery of any kind isn’t accepted, and braces are limited to Invisalign or similar clear aligners with an exemption letter; any other type isn’t permitted, with white sapphire braces as a narrow exception that needs direct sign-off for documented medical necessity.
This page is part of our extensive coverage of Etihad's cabin crew recruitment process, which is drawn from years of following the airline's open days and assessment process. If you're getting ready to apply, check out these essential links.
