If its iPhone app is any indication, HeadBlade cares as much about making people laugh as about moving merchandise. But if that app, which lets users see what they would look like with shaved heads, is generating chuckles, it is also creating something you can't put a price tag on: buzz.

HeadBlade, based in Culver City, California, makes specialty razors designed for head shaving. The company generally markets via athlete endorsements and magazine ads. A few years ago, Todd Greene, the company's CEO, came across OfficeMax's popular Elf Yourself holiday campaign, which allowed people to upload photos and turn themselves and their friends into animated elves. Greene wanted to do something similar for HeadBlade, but he wasn't sure what -- until Apple's App Store opened in July 2008. Then it became clear: HeadBlade needed a head-shaving mobile app. "It was about creating new consumer awareness," Greene says. "Any current customer really wouldn't have a need for this app."

Lacking the tech chops to build the software in-house, Greene turned to a development shop. "I knew what I was asking for wasn't that tough technologically," Greene says, "but I didn't want to have to pay someone to re-create the wheel." With that in mind, Greene hired Styler Design, maker of the popular iStylist Makeover app, given that the company was experienced in the image-layering technology needed to produce a realistic head-shaving app. Six months and $30,000 later, ShaveMyHead was born.

The app lets users import photos, crop their hair, and then select one of more than a dozen bald domes. Users can also choose from an array of facial hair options, as well as eyewear and headwear. Skin color is adjusted by scrolling across a palette. When a new photo is saved, I got shaved by HeadBlade appears at the bottom of the image.

The app does a pretty decent job of approximating what you might look like with a shaved head. But that was never really the point. The idea was to build brand awareness by inciting laughter. That's the main reason the app is free and includes a screen that lets users share their photos via e-mail, Twitter, or Facebook. "For the money, we could have done a couple of magazine ads instead," Greene says, "but this is just much more engaging."