Heads are a type of decorative item that can be obtained as part of Mob or Player Loot. They can be used as a creative way to decorate your bases, but also can be used in recipes or be worn by the player.
Player Heads are widely used in building and decorating, especially in detailed builds and servers, because Player Heads can be customized to look like different things depending on your decoration needs.
Luckily, you do not need to make a bunch of skins with your friends and then kill them a bunch of times in order to get the Heads.
There is a total of 6 different Heads you can obtain in Vanilla Minecraft, without the use of Commands, Addons or Plugins.
The most common ones are Mob Heads that can be obtained by killing a Zombie, Skeleton, or Creeper. These are Mobs we interact with all the time and kill often. There is a a 2% chance of a Mob dropping its Head on death.
The most valuable Heads are Wither Skeleton Heads and the End Dragon Heads. The Wither Skeleton Heads can be used to summon the Wither boss, while an End Dragon Head is the only Head that generates naturally in the world.
If you find the End City and End Ship there’s a chance of finding an End Dragon Head.
All of these Heads can be obtained either by killing their respective Mobs, with Looting Enchantments making it a bit easier, or by using commands.
Any Head you get a hold of you can wear on your character as a Helmet, similarly to wearing a Jack O’ Lantern as an accessory.
If you wear a Zombie, Creeper, or Skeleton Head the range at which the respective Mobs can detect you at is reduced by 50%. This way you can disguise yourself and sneak past without fighting.
In Bedrock Edition if you wear any Head or a Pumpkin on your head you will become invisible on all Locator Maps for other Players, allowing you to remain hidden in a multiplayer Realm or Server.
[15 Hats] Secret Things You Can Put on Your Head in Minecraft
Block states[]See also:
| Name | Default value | Allowed values | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| rotation | 0 |
0 |
The block is facing south. |
1 |
The block is facing south-southwest. | ||
2 |
The block is facing southwest. | ||
3 |
The block is facing west-southwest. | ||
4 |
The block is facing west. | ||
5 |
The block is facing west-northwest. | ||
6 |
The block is facing northwest. | ||
7 |
The block is facing north-northwest. | ||
8 |
The block is facing north. | ||
9 |
The block is facing north-northeast. | ||
10 |
The block is facing northeast. | ||
11 |
The block is facing east-northeast. | ||
12 |
The block is facing east. | ||
13 |
The block is facing east-southeast. | ||
14 |
The block is facing southeast. | ||
15 |
The block is facing south-southeast. |
| Name | Default value | Allowed values | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| facing | north |
eastnorthsouthwest |
The direction the head is facing. Opposite from the direction a player is facing when placing it. |
| Name | Metadata Bits | Default value | Allowed values | Values for Metadata Bits | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| facing_direction | 0x10x20x4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
On the floor (rotation is stored in the tile entity) |
2 |
2 |
On a wall, facing north | |||
3 |
3 |
On a wall, facing south | |||
4 |
4 |
On a wall, facing east | |||
5 |
5 |
On a wall, facing west | |||
0 |
0 |
Unused | |||
| nodrop_bit | 0x8 |
false |
falsetrue |
01 |
If true, the skull does not drop as an item. |
Data values[]
| Name | Identifier | Form | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skeleton Skull | skeleton_skull |
Block & Item | block.minecraft.skeleton_skull |
| Wither Skeleton Skull | wither_skeleton_skull |
Block & Item | block.minecraft.wither_skeleton_skull |
| Zombie Head | zombie_head |
Block & Item | block.minecraft.zombie_head |
| Player Head | player_head |
Block & Item | block.minecraft.player_head |
| Creeper Head | creeper_head |
Block & Item | block.minecraft.creeper_head |
| Dragon Head | dragon_head |
Block & Item | block.minecraft.dragon_head |
| Skeleton Wall Skull | skeleton_wall_skull |
Block | block.minecraft.skeleton_wall_skull |
| Wither Skeleton Wall Skull | wither_skeleton_wall_skull |
Block | block.minecraft.wither_skeleton_wall_skull |
| Zombie Wall Head | zombie_wall_head |
Block | block.minecraft.zombie_wall_head |
| Player Wall Head | player_wall_head |
Block | block.minecraft.player_wall_head |
| Creeper Wall Head | creeper_wall_head |
Block | block.minecraft.creeper_wall_head |
| Dragon Wall Head | dragon_wall_head |
Block | block.minecraft.dragon_wall_head |
| Head | Identifier | Numeric ID | Form | Item ID[i 1] | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Block | skull |
144 |
Block & Ungiveable Item[i 2] | item.skull |
— |
| Item | skull |
516 |
Item | — | item.skull.skeleton.name item.skull.wither.name item.skull.zombie.name item.skull.char.name item.skull.creeper.name item.skull.dragon.name |
/give command | Name | Savegame ID |
|---|---|
| Block entity | Skull |
There is a way, however, to put any item in that head slot, with a little trick. Heres how to do it.
Unfortunately, this command only works on players, though it can be used against opposing players. For example, a carved pumpkin is difficult to see out of and can actually be enchanted with Curse of Binding, which means if the Minecraft player successfully uses the command to put it on, itll stay on until that player dies. That wouldnt be the case without the curse, though.
There are certain Minecraft items that can go on a players head. The slot is typically reserved for helmets made of iron, leather, gold, diamond, Netherite or chain (with a turtle helmet also being applicable). Even a carved pumpkin can be put onto someones head, which can make life very difficult for them.
One Reddit user has discovered a way to use any item in place of a helmet, which can yield some pretty unique results. According to them, any item can be used there, so anything from a sword to a grass block can become a helmet. Those are unlikely to provide much protection, though.