Moustaches, all you ever wanted to know

So, as you may know, we talk about beards a lot. But that does not mean we don’t love a great moustache. After all, all facial hair is king at Brave and Bearded! At the end of the day, it’s all about style, and we simply want to help you rock and express your own personal style. May that be with a full-on beard or something less imposing, like a thin moustache. No matter what you choose to wear, taking care of your facial hair is what makes your beard and moustache look and feel good.

Moustaches vs Beards: A Bit of ‘Stache History

Beards and Moustaches can both be traced back to about 3000 BC. Beards were much more popular in Ancient Rome, Greece, Asia and the Middle East, while moustaches are a more modern fashion accessory, having found their popularity much more recently, in the 20^th century. As for the name, the word moustache, or moustache in French, or “stache” for short, dates back to the 4th century AD. The meaning and definition of the word, which originates from ancient Greek, simply means lip or “upper lip.”

How to Grow a Moustache

Growing a moustache is fun, since it’s not as much about growing hair, but rather taking it away. The best way to discover and explore what moustache style best suits your face and style is to begin by growing out your beard a little. Once you have a base layer of scruff, you can shave away what you don’t want and see what moustache takes shape. Trying difference short moustache styles is much quicker than with a beard, as you can try out many different in only a couple of weeks. Once you decide on your basic style, you can then let it grow out and explore longer styles. In the beginning, you only need a good beard and moustache trimmer for the shaping. But once it gets longer, you’ll want to look into getting a good comb and some great moustache growing products such as beard oil for moisturizing -- yes, it’s great for moustaches too! -- and some moustache wax for styling.

Moustache Styles

There are a lot of moustaches types and styles to choose from, but the most important aspect of a moustache is finding the one that you love and that suits you the best. Keep in mind that putting specific names on moustaches is difficult, as everyone adapts them to their own liking, which is what you should do.

The Handlebar Moustache

This moustache style is likely the most recognizable and iconic of them all. In reality, the handlebar moustache is an archetype that groups together a variety of styles which all have a unique defining feature. In general terms, it’s defined by its length that extends beyond the width of the upper lip and then curving upward at the extremities, in a manner resembling bicycle handlebars; hence the name. Depending on the length and the amount of curve on the ends, the “handlebar moustache” can go by various other names, including: Imperial, English, Chevron, Hungarian, and Walrus, to name a few.

However, you call it, give yourself at least six weeks of growth without cutting, before you can begin to style it, and another six weeks until it reaches maturity. Be patient and start training your moustache early with the help of your beard comb, and, before you know it, you’ll be sporting a fantastic handlebar of your own!

For inspiration, have a look at the #handlebarmoustache on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/handlebarmoustache/

The Horseshoe Moustache

The Horseshoe can be thought of as being the opposite of the handlebar. The latter one curves up, and the horseshoe most definitely curves down. Given its vertical lines, men with longer faces or chins might want to steer away (handlebar pun intended) from this one as it has a tendency, more than others, of elongating the face.

To grow a handsome horseshoe moustache, you most definitely want to start by growing a beard. This will permit you to evaluate where your hair naturally grows and let you decide on the shape by choosing what to remove and what to keep. Leave the hair from the side of your mouth down to your neck. Shave everything below your lower lip and past your jaw bone. Next, and most importantly,  decided on the width by shaving your cheeks. Here it’s important to evaluate your face physiology and hair growth patterns to ensure you have a face fitting a full moustache.

For inspiration, have a look at the #horseshoemoustache on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/horseshoemoustache/

The Original “Chevron” Moustache

Last but not least, this moustache style is what most men would call the normal growth moustache. It’s a humble style that’s easy to maintain and that all men can grow. Yes, every man. The key here is to let your moustache grow across your upper lip to where it naturally stops horizontally. Once it starts to curve downwards, it’s time to trim or shave to maintain the natural shape of your facial hair across your upper lip.

For most men, the upper lip hair grows downward, so the thickness of your Chevron moustache depends on the length of the hair. Trimming your hair shorter means a thinner moustache, and letting it grown down and trimming along the lip line will result in a thicker moustache. It’s up to you. If your hair grows outwards then you can permit yourself to keep the hair longer to create fullness, but you’ll need to comb it more often and perhaps indulge in some great quality moustache wax to increase your level of style. 

For inspiration, think of the often-referenced original Magnum P.I. portrayed by Tom Selleck back in the eighties.

Long live the “stache,” bro!