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Head shaving is the practice by some men and women to shave off the hair on their head. more...

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There are a wide variety of reasons that this is done. It can be done for practical, religious, cultural, or aesthetic reasons. Practical reasons include work safety or comfort, lice prevention, grooming simplicity, surgery preparation, or concealment of baldness. Members of the armed forces are often required to have their heads shaved upon enlisting. Competitive swimmers will sometimes shave their heads to reduce drag while swimming. Head shaving is a traditional form of punishment for criminals in some countries.

History

Throughout much of the 20th century in many Western countries, head shaving was considered somewhat unusual or lower class. Head shaving was often associated with manual workers such as seamen, dock workers and soldiers, as well as with prisoners and mental hospital patients.

In the 1960s, some British working class youths developed the skinhead subculture, whose members were distingushed by short cropped hair (although at this time they didn't shave their heads right down to the scalp). This look was partly influenced by the Jamaican rude boy style. It was not until the the skinhead revival in the late 1970s — with the development of punk-skinheads and the Oi! scene — that many skinheads started shaving their heads right down. Head shaving has also appeared in other youth-oriented subcultures, such as the punk, hardcore, metalcore, Nu metal, hip hop and techno music scenes.

Examples of famous people with shaved heads include Michael Jordan, Tupac Shakur (deceased), Kurt Angle, Kerry King, Andre Agassi, Moby, and Zinedine Zidane.

Practice

Head shaving can be performed by most regular razors or electric shaving kits. Several companies produce razors designed specifically for head shaving. Because it is generally hard to shave long pieces of hair, people with longer hair cut their hair short using scissors before shaving it off completely. Incidents of cutting one's scalp with a razor blade are common, but generally are avoidable if precautions are taken. Using an electric shaver generally results in fewer cuts.

Heads are sometimes shaved as a form of punishment. Especially for women, the act of shaving off an offender's hair often serves to humiliate the victim and remind them of their offense. For example, thousands of European woman had their heads shaved in front of cheering crowds in the wake of World War II.