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Mustache Styles - How To Grow Your Mustache

Posted: 05 Dec 2010 05:33 AM PST

A mustache is facial hair that is allowed to grow across the upper lip. There are many different styles of mustache, some worn with a full beard and some worn without a beard. What style would look good on a particular person depends a great deal on the overall shape and size of his face. This leaves many men wondering how to grow a mustache.

The growth of facial hair generally begins between the ages of nine and eleven in boys at the corners of the mouth. As they age and progress through adolescence, the hair fills in across the upper lip and begins to grow on the chin. Most men are in their early twenties before they are able to grow a full beard if desired.

Essentially, in order to grow a mustache, a man must stop shaving his upper lip and allow the hair to grow. However, keeping a mustache looking good requires a great deal more than simply not shaving. It requires daily trimming and maintenance.

Some Famous Mens Mustache Styles

Fu Manchu Mustache

Fu Manchu mustache
Some mustache styles have their own name. One such is the Fu Manchu. This type of mustache is kept thin across the lip and the hair at the corners of the lips is allowed to grow out long. An additional line of hair is allowed to grow down from the corners of the mouth to the jawline. All of the hairs in this line are permitted to grow long so that they hang freely below the jawling.

Horseshoe Mustache

John Travolta horseshoe mustache
Another, similar, type of mustache is the horseshoe. This style was made popular by cowboys in the American west. The hair is allowed to grow out full on the lip and downward from the corners of the mouth to the jawline. The difference is that no hair is allowed to hang down from the jaw.

Handlebar Mustache

Example of handlebar mustache
Some men prefer to wear a mustache in the style known as a handlebar. This mustache takes it name from the way it resembles a bicycle handlebar. The hair grows out full across the lip and is allowed to grow out on the cheeks so that it connects with the sideburns. This type mustaches is normally very full and thick.

Pencil Mustache

Chris Cornell pencil mustache
Another style that has been seen from time to time is the pencil. This is a very thin line of hair that runs along the edge of the upper lip with a wide space between it and the nose. From a distance, this style looks like it was drawn on the face with a pencil.