Labour leader David Shearer says he felt "every breeze and whisk of wind" on the on the Wellington waterfront after having his head shaved for charity.

Shearer went under the clippers this morning after being announced as the winner of an online poll to raise money for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer NZ.

He had won the poll, part of the Shave for a Cure campaign, by just 2 per cent.

Shearer had never had his head shaved before.



"It's been slowly going unfortunately so I've decided to take it under control now and do it myself."

Greens co-leader Russel Norman, who joined Shearer in a last-minute twist, said his new hair do was a "little cooler, but comfortably so."

He said he had a shaved head years ago when he worked at a Mitsubishi car manufacturing plant in Adelaide.



"That wasn't for a good cause, this time it's for a good cause."

About 30 people were on Wellington's Queens Wharf for the announcement of who had won and to watch the winner, or perhaps that should have been loser, have their head shaved.



Earlier, Norman had revealed he had a cancer scare at the age of 15 when a mole on his forearm turned malignant.



The melanoma left a 10-centimetre scar when it was removed.



Shearer had said he had wanted to take part in the event because he had friends who had died of cancer.