How a shaved head went from being simply a hairstyle to a national beacon of hope for those facing blood cancer.

The first buzz cut.

With the passage of time, we have lost some of the details about exactly when and where World’s Greatest Shave, formerly known as Shave for a Cure, started.

What we do know is several passionate, committed and brave individuals stepped up in the late nineties and began shaving their hair for our cause.

Things began to take off quickly and we think the first ​‘official’ – whatever that means! – ​‘Shave for a Cure’ event occurred in 1998, with $1.85 million raised and 1,700 heads shaved! 

Name is changed to ​‘World’s Greatest Shave’ and was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records for most heads shaved.

Our famous ​‘chins’ were introduced to Australia.

The Leukaemia Foundation made a radical, fun, and hilarious change to World’s Greatest Shave by introducing our iconic ​‘chins’ – and we haven’t looked back since.

This year marked the biggest fundrais­ing year in shave history with over $20,000,000 raised!

In 2018, World’s Greatest Shave celebrated 20 years of shaving the world and was cemented as one of Australia’s most iconic fundraising events.

The year World’s Greatest Shave looked a little different.

People came up with new and creative ways to continue raising funds for people living with blood cancer. From shave events held over Zoom to live streams from the backyard, we saw the resilience and determination of our fundraising community shine. 

Celebrating 25 years of World’s Greatest Shave!

In 2023, the Leukaemia Foun­da­tion’s World’s Greatest Shave will celebrate 25 years – making it one of Australia’s longest run­ning and most iconic fundraising events.

Over the last quarter-century, more than 2 million Aussies have taken part – with an estimated 39,000 kilo­grams of hair removed! 

Peo­ple of all ages come together to shave, cut or colour their hair – supported every step of the way by proud family, friends, colleagues and classmates.

Some will have a personal connection to blood cancer, while others take part simply to have fun, tick some­thing off their bucket list, and raise money for a good cause.