Shave your head for cancer. Can you think of a better cause?

Why shave your head for cancer?

Men shave their heads for a variety of reasons. The most common being that they are simply losing it.

Finally, they’ve had enough and have gotten tired of trying to hide their ever-increasing hair loss and decide to beat mother nature to the punch and shave it all off.

However, there are other causes that are less superficial than pure vanity.

There are some other great reasons to shave your head. Believe it or not, some of them can be altruistic like cancer. 

Why would someone shave their head for cancer? Well, the most popular treatment for cancer patients at the current time is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is quite a nasty process which has all kinds of side effects.

However, the most common side effect is hair loss.

When you see a young girl, boy or woman regardless of age lose their hair in the battle against this terrible disease, you feel a little ridiculous for feeling sorry for yourself because you are losing your own hair due to your genetic predisposition.

Actually, I would say that men who already shave their heads have kind of lost the opportunity to shave their heads for a worthy cause like cancer. 

That’s not to say that men who shave their heads can’t show some solidarity to those who have to shave their heads or or go bald because of cancer and chemotherapy treatments.

In fact, we can also show solidarity to those suffering from cancer. 

How to shave your head for cancer

Shaving your head for cancer can be quite an experience. Whether you are about to undergo chemotherapy or are shaving your head for cancer awareness and support. The good news is the process is pretty much the same.

You can do this in the privacy of your own home. You can do this at a hair salon or barber shop. With family or close friends. The choice of venue is yours. However, I’m going to go through in this part on how to shave your head for cancer, when it’s time. 

First, you’re going to need a good pair of scissors. You could do this yourself or you can have a friend, family member or professional do this for you.

Either way, if you’re doing it yourself you’ll need to pay extra special attention so that you don’t end up cutting your ears off in the process.

However, if you use common sense and use your free hand to protect your ear while cutting around it, you shouldn’t have any problems at all.

Take the scissors, go around and cut as many long strands of hair off as possible. It doesn’t matter where you start actually.

But, for the best and most efficient results, you should cut in a systematic manner. For example, you can start at the top, pull longer strands of hair up and use the scissors to cut as close to the scalp as possible.

Don’t worry about getting too close to scalp, since the next stage of shaving your head for cancer we are going to use a different tool. Pull the hair up with your free hand.

Then with your cutting hand, cut the strands off. Work your way around the top of your head first. Try to get as much hair off as possible and as low and close to the scalp as possible. It doesn’t have to be perfect because it’s all coming off anyway. Just be careful. 

Next, you’ll want to work your way around to the back. Again, take your free hand to pull the strands of hair away from the scalp and use your cutting hand to snip off the larger strands. Be extra careful around your ears. 

Move on to cut your sides. You can either start at the right side or the left side in the same way you did the top your hair.

Pull the strands of hair away from your scalp and snip them off with the scissors avoiding the areas around your ears as much as possible at first.

Take your free hand and cup your ear, slightly pulling it away from the scalp in a bending motion.

When your ear is bent away from your scalp, take your scissors and try to grasp a piece of hair within the two blades.

Do this very slowly and only take as much hair as you possibly can safely between the blades. Make sure the blades and the sharp edges are away from the skin as much as possible. Then snip.

Now that you have cut off all the longer strands of hair with the scissors, it’s time for the next step. You will need a good pair of clippers for this part.

When to shave your head during chemo

Unfortunately, hair loss is one of the side effects of chemotherapy. Since there is no medical reason to shave your head and shaving your head during chemo is more or less a cosmetic thing.

So you can actually shave your head whenever you feel comfortable.

Many people feel more comfortable by getting their hair cut short first, before making the transition to shave their head during chemo.

My advice would be to get your hair cut short, before you begin chemotherapy. It may help your transition and to the resulting hair loss during the chemo process a little easier to adjust to. 

The rate and the extent of hair loss during chemo varies by the patient. If you want to  cut your hair short, use a pair of clippers starting at the size 9 or lower clipper guard. They are usually numbered.

Then perhaps on a daily basis or every other day using hair clippers, go down a size. For example from a 9 to an 8. Then from an 8 to a 7 and so on.

You can actually cut your hair shorter and shorter, until you decide to eventually shave your head entirely. This can make it a more comfortable process as well as more aesthetically easier how to adjust your appearance to. 

Shave your head for cancer day. A successful fundraiser to earn money for cancer research. But also has its critics.

One of the most popular ways to not only show solidarity to friends and loved ones or even those that you don’t know who are suffering from cancer, is to shave your head.

They even have a special day to shave your head for cancer.

Although, raising money through fundraisers for cancer research are around in various countries throughout the world, a particular fundraiser to “shave your head for cancer day” has proven to be quite effective in raising money to fight this deadly disease.

As we’ve said before, hair loss is one of the first side effects of chemotherapy. So those who want to show solidarity to their friends and loved ones do so by just shaving their own heads.

However, shaving your head for cancer is not without its own critics. Victims of cancer are offended by this act, regardless of its well meaning intent.

The reason being is it often reminds them of their own traumatic experience in fighting the disease through the harmful and often permanent damage that chemotherapy frequently leaves behind.

You see, hair loss alone, on the scalp is not the only side effect that chemotherapy leaves behind. Perhaps the most visible, but certainly not the only one.

Hair loss also occurs in the eyelashes and eyebrows as well as other parts of the skin, not just the scalp.

Many people don’t realise this fact and just think that hair loss is only affected on the scalp, but those who undertake chemotherapy to fight their cancer know otherwise.

There are many more side effects, including nausea and others. Many have actually spoken against the “shave your head cancer for day” in protest.

The protests are but a small minority of the overall fundraiser, though. The good far outweigh the bad as far as “shave your head for cancer day”.

Although, I am for one, first of all, quite sympathetic to those victims who are against this well-intentioned event.

I hope that they are not offended because the people who are doing this aren’t mocking them, but are trying to stand in solidarity with them.

Furthermore, we need all hands on deck in fighting this dreadful disease. Even though this event may bring back hurtful memories for those who have suffered through the disease, it does raise a lot of money to help fight it. 

In addition, it helps remind people who are fortunate enough not to suffer from this disease that there are many who do and that their help is sorely needed.

Overall I think the “shave your head for cancer day” is a good thing. In fact, if I didn’t shave my head personally every single day, I would be the first to volunteer. 

Shaved head for cancer awareness

This website is dedicated to bald men who have decided to shave their heads and embrace their baldness.

However, shaving your head can also be a great opportunity for those who are not losing their hair or thinning, to do something brave for a great cause like cancer awareness. 

In fact, I would say it’s much more difficult for a man with a thick full head of hair to actually embrace baldness.

It’s a lot easier if you’re losing your hair or thinning to just “come home” and shave your head. I mean, it’s what nature is eventually going to do to you anyway in the end.

But if your genetic makeup is such that you have a full thick head of hair, I think it would be much more difficult and show much more strength and solidarity to cancer sufferers who are going through chemotherapy to join them as a symbol of solidarity and support.

Shaving your head for cancer awareness it a great way to do that. 

Shaved head for cancer

There are other reasons why people have shaved their heads for cancer. Some people shave their heads for cancer in order to make wigs for cancer patients.

The wig industry is alive and well with human hair being a prized asset in the making of high quality wigs and hairpieces. 

Many people, often in third world countries, make their entire living by growing out their hair and having it cut and sold to wig makers and hair manufacturers.

They then take the high quality human hair and make it into the many wigs, hairpieces and hair weave extensions that are all around us every day. 

However, even those who make their living by shaving their heads or cutting their hair and selling it do have altruistic motives as well.

Many people, even in desperate situations in third world countries, also want to do good.

Since cancer is a worldwide problem as it affects all of humanity, it’s also their way of contributing in the effort to find a cure. It’s quite admirable thing to do.

Others have shaved their heads in preparation for their upcoming cancer treatments.

Although medically it’s not necessary for anyone about to undergo chemotherapy or any other known treatment nowadays to shave their heads before these cancer treatments, many do so as a form of psychological preparation.

By shaving their heads in preparation for their upcoming battle with cancer, they adopt a warrior like mentality by applying war paint, or a boxer hitting the speed bag.

They are preparing for the Fight of their lives.

So shaving their heads for cancer is no trivial or superficial event. It is very meaningful and should be respected.