Head shaving

People throughout history have shaved all or part of their heads for diverse reasons including aesthetics, convenience, culture, fashion, practicality, punishment, a rite of passage, religion, or style.

[6] Nazis punished people accused of racial mixing by parading them through the streets with shaved heads and placards around their necks detailing their acts.

[11] Competitive swimmers, sprinters, and joggers sometimes seek to gain an advantage by completely removing all hair from their entire body to reduce drag while competing.

Shaved heads are also often associated with villains in fiction,[75] such as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Colonel Kurtz, Lex Luthor, Thanos, Bullseye, portrayed by Colin Farrell, and Alex Macqueen's version of the Master.

A goatee, usually of the Van Dyke variety, is often worn to complement the look or add sophistication; this look was popularized in the 1990s by professional wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

For most of the crime drama series Breaking Bad,[76] Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) wore a Van Dyke with a shaved head.

In the 1960s, some British working-class youths developed the skinhead subculture, whose members were distinguished by short cropped hair (although they did not shave their heads down to the scalp at the time).

Many people, particularly men, began to shave their heads during lockdown due to boredom and/or being unable to have their hair cut as barbershops were forced to stay closed.

The effort was started on Just Giving with a goal of £100,000; it encouraged people to shave their heads whilst also donating money to the NHS and was dubbed the "Covhead-19 Challenge".