How Long Does It Take To Shave Your Head? (Spoiler: <5 mins)


Time to shave your head

How long does it take to shave your head is a question guys ask with differing opinions offered.

I came across a website run by a guy with a full head of hair – ie. not a head shaver – opining that it’s a 10-15 minute job each time depending on whether you’re a newbie or expert.

I shave my head in around 3 minutes.

I’m not an expert. I just have a great deal of experience shaving my head, that’s all. I don’t hold a certification or guru status.

You’re not out to set the land speed record. But head shaving is a time-saver when you add in the amount of time you might be spending washing your hair, blowdrying, styling.

Not to mention the money you spend on shampoos, gels, mousse and hairbrushes.

And of course the time and cost of repeated haircuts.

Once you start shaving your head especially if you’re dealing with hair loss, you’ll wish you had done it sooner.

Shaving your head isn’t a race but…

My Head Shaving Time Trials

I decided to time my head shaving routine to see how long it actually takes. I jumped in the shower, had a shower and then got to the head shaving part. I wrote about what to do before you shave your head, too.

Here are the results which I timed using my cellphone timer from start to finish.

From the time I turned the timer on and started wetting my scalp with shower water until the time I turned the timer off having completed the shaving, 2 minutes and 58 seconds had passed.

From the time I wet my hair before applying shaving cream until the time I rinsed my head following shaving, a total of 178 seconds had passed.

I ensured I wasn’t going too quickly knowing that I was timing myself. But even if you round this up to 3 minutes and double it, that would make 6 minutes. That’s still significantly less than the claimed 10-15 minutes for head shaving and that’s even when I doubled the time that it actually took me!

My total head shaving experience was under 3 minutes all in, from start to finish. Wetting my hair, applying shaving cream, shaving my head, rinsing my head.

Left Hand? Right Hand? Both Hands?

I’m generally right-handed. I write with my right hand and anything with a stick or bat like hockey or baseball, I hold in my right hand.

But anything involving precision I tend to do with my left hand. I shave my face with my left hand, throw darts left-handed and throw a ball left-handed. I prefer using tools with my left hand too.

When it comes to shaving my face I generally stick with my left hand because I can easily reach each side of my face.

When I shave my head though, I switch between left and right hand quite comfortably. Perhaps this speeds up my finishing time but I doubt it does much in the bigger picture.

If you feel more comfortable shaving your face with one hand, you’ll probably do the same when shaving your head.

How Long Does It Take To Shave Your Head?
How Long Does It Take To Shave Your Head? Not That Long!

Conclusion

  • How long does it take to shave your head? Several minutes at most each time. Less than 5 minutes in all likelihood. If it takes more time, that’s ok! You’re not in a race.
  • Obviously the time to shave your head depends on the amount of hair you have to shave, how efficient you are and the speed at which you shave.
  • If you can comfortably move between both left and right hands as I do, it might speed up your shaving. If you shave your face with only one hand though, you can shave your head the same way.
  • Shaving your head ultimately saves you time when you consider trips to the barber and the time you spend blowdrying, combing and styling hair.
  • Costs savings from shaving your head are from no more barber visits, no gel or haircare products and no hairbrushes or hairdryers.

How long does it take to shave your head? Let us know in the comments below!

Carl Mueller

I'm a bald guy with beard (goatee) who blogs about shaving, head shaving, style and grooming ideas for men.

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