Why It’s Important To Keep Your Mustache Well-Trimmed
I did mention the coffee, right? I mean, that’s a serious thing. I know. I’ve been there. Once your mustache gets to a certain level of...magnificence, let’s say, it tends to pick up bits of anything you put in your mouth. Trim moustache with beard.
Even worse, the mustache ITSELF gets into your mouth quite a lot. Have you been chewing a bite of sandwich only to realize you’re also chewing the edge of your mustache? Trust me, it happens.
Plus, if you don’t know any mustache grooming techniques, the hairs can even turn up and poke into your nose. Yes, it’s annoying.
So what are you to do, chop off the whole thing and forget about growing a mustache? Absolutely not!
Having a great mustache is not impossible. We’ll get to how exactly to achieve the best look for your mustache soon. First, here are some reasons why keeping your mustache trimmed is important.
Mustaches get in the way
For the most part your beard (if you have one) grows away from your mouth and nose. It does it’s own thing and doesn’t bother you too much, once it’s past the itchy phase. Mustaches, on the other hand, only tend to become more annoying as they grow -- unless you know the right way to groom them.
It’s not just the fact that they try to catch your food before it gets to your mouth. They can also cause issues with relationships. Simply put, an overgrown mustache has to be parted and moved out of the way to go in for a kiss. Maybe your partner is fine with it, but chances are it’s super annoying.
A mustache balances your beard
The mustache is the accompaniment to your beard. You really need it to create a balanced look. That means that if you keep a short beard, you’ll want to trim your mustache shorter as well.
Though what about long beards? Do their mustache counterparts also need trimmed? Can’t you just grow a year-long mustache, like so many guys do with their beards?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work that way. You should absolutely have a longer mustache if you have a longer beard, but the mustache requires work to keep it styled and out of the way of your mouth. You can’t just let it go and expect that it will do what you want.
Of course, if you simply can’t manage the upkeep of waxing and combing your mustache, there are a lot of guys who opt for a shorter mustache with their long beard rather than the traditional handlebar, and that’s okay too.
It’s worth mentioning that you can also wear a mustache entirely independent of having any beard. The solo ‘stache has been out of style lately, but who knows? You might just bring it back. In that case, you can wear a solo mustache at any length you prefer -- no need to balance it with a non-existent beard.
Now that you understand why trimming a mustache is important, let’s talk about how often you need to take care of it.
How Often Should You Trim Your Mustache?
How often you trim your mustache is going to depend, in part, on what mustache style you are going with. There are two main groups of mustachioed men. There are those who keep the mustache trimmed short, above the upper lip, and there are those who grow the mustache long and part it to the sides so it lays by the corners of their mouth.
Whichever style you choose, you will need to trim at some point.
There’s no set time frame for when you should trim the ‘stache, per say. That’s because each man’s hair grows at different rates, so the trimming frequency that works for someone else, may not work for you.
Instead of talking about a specific number of days or weeks between trimming, let’s just talk about using your judgment.
Mustache and goatee designs
If you’re keeping a short mustache, you should trim it as often as it starts to grow past the top of your upper lip. This probably means every few days or about once a week, on average. Again, not everyone fits into the average, and you may be able to get away with going a couple of weeks between trims for your short mustache.
Some guys find that their mustache starts getting in the way of drinking, eating, and smooching even when it’s only a little longer than their preferred length. Your mustache tolerance may vary.
If you’re wearing a longer mustache, you’ve got a lot more leeway with how often to trim.
Some guys like to grow really long mustaches that they then comb to the sides (typically with the help of some mustache wax to keep the hairs in place). These types of mustaches actually require very little trimming.
Too much trimming, obviously, is going to keep your mustache from growing to the magnificent length you have envisioned for styling, so here’s my recommendation.
Likewise, when you’re growing your beard and avoiding trimming, do the same for the ‘stache. That means you should wait at least 4 months before you take scissors or a trimmer to your upper lip. In the meantime, work on combing it to the sides, and use plenty of mustache wax.
Once you’ve obtained a long, full mustache, you can start trimming up any of the annoying areas or places where hairs are longer than the others. You’ll probably still need to keep growing the mustache at this point if you eventually want to do a handlebar, or another long style.
It won’t quite be it’s fullest or longest yet. You’ll only need to trim occasionally to keep it growing in the shape you want. In addition, remember that for handlebar styles, you need the hairs in the middle of your lip to grow long, so that they can be combed to the sides. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a really thin mustache.
Once your beard and mustache have grown to the lengths you want, it will be just maintenance trimming. You should only need to trim a long ‘stache once every 2 to 4 weeks.
How do you do that exactly? Read on to find out.
(And feel free to pass this article on to your mustache envious friends.)
How To Trim A Mustache
A perfect mustache is a delicate thing. It takes time to grow, and it can easily be messed up with too much trimming. Therefore, I’m going to give you every step of the process, start to finish, for how to trim your mustache the right way.
First of all, you want to start with dry mustache hairs. Why? Because wet hair hangs down more with the weight of the water, and that’s going to make the hairs look longer than when they are dry.
For this reason, trimming your mustache while it’s wet may result in you chopping off too much, leaving you unhappy with the short length you have left, once all the water is dried up.
It’s as simple as that. The hairs aren’t any harder or easier to cut wet or dry, really. It’s just a matter of getting a more precise trim.
Before you start, you’ll want to lay out all your tools and have them ready. You can trim a mustache either with scissors and clippers, or just with scissors and a comb. You don’t need a whole lot more than that. A mirror will come in handy too, of course.
Here’s a tip on mustache combs. You want to get a small, fine-toothed comb. It will be easier to maneuver around your mouth, especially with scissors in the other hand. The comb will catch all the renegade hairs that are trying to stand apart from the rest of your mustache.
Go ahead and comb your mustache before you start trimming. Some guys like to comb the whole thing downward over their lip, and others prefer to comb it out in the direction the mustache lays when they style it.
How you comb yours for trimming really depends upon the length and style of your mustache, and what works best for you in maintaining the look you want.
If you’re trimming a long mustache, like the kind you might shape into the handlebar style, you’ll probably want to go with just scissors and the comb to get a more natural look to the mustache.
For shorter mustaches, you can go with either just the scissors or clippers and scissors. Clippers work well for thinning a mustache evenly and cutting an even edge along the top of the upper lip. Then, you’ll need the scissors for catching stragglers that stand out from the rest of the hairs.
Regardless of the type of mustache or tools you use, always trim for shape first, then adjust the length, and then do any thinning that needs to be done. Save the clean up of hairs that stick out from the rest for the very end of the job. If you start by trying to clean up outlying hairs, you’ll just have to go through them again at the end.
When you start trimming, your best bet is to start at the middle of the mustache and work your way out to each side as you trim. This will allow you the best opportunity to keep hairs on both sides of the lip even. You definitely don’t want a lopsided mustache.
If you’re trimming with scissors, you can comb through your mustache and snip the hairs that stick out through the comb. Comb down to trim for length, and comb up to trim for thickness.
If you’re using the electric clippers, start with a guard that’s a little longer than you think you need, then switch to the shorter clipper guard. That way you don’t accidentally take off more length than you wanted to.
When you think you’re all done trimming your mustache, comb through it one more time and check for missed hairs. Once you’re satisfied with the results, you’re all done!
It doesn’t take many tools or skills to trim a mustache, really. You just need a little knowledge. After you’ve figured out how you like your mustache to look, the whole process gets easier with practice.
In the meantime, here are a few tips that will help keep your mustache looking its best.
Mustache Grooming Tips
Use these strategies for a majestic mustache, regardless of length or style.
Wash it
Wash your mustache and beard every day. Just because the skin is covered is no excuse to get lax with hygiene. The skin under your mustache still needs to be taken care of.
Moisturize it
You’ve probably heard about beard oil. Yes, you should use it on your mustache too. The skin under your mustache can get dry and irritated from styling products, or just from the hairs sucking up all the natural oils from your skin. If you want to avoid a flaking, itchy mustache, use that beard oil.
Beard balm is another option for mustache care. It moisturizes like an oil, but can also be used for some shaping and styling. It won’t hold like a wax, so you won’t get a handlebar look with beard balm, but it can be good for other styles or just keeping mustache hairs tidy rather than sprawling out all over the place.
Types of mustaches
Clean it up
Don’t be afraid to break out the razor if you need to. No - not to shave off your mustache. It’s just a fact that most beard and mustache owners have areas of sparse growth. Areas that fall outside of the beard or mustache. You will probably want to occasionally shave those off to keep a cleaner, more groomed look.
We’re not talking about ripping the mustache hairs off your lip here. That would be horrible. Yet if you’re going to wear a longer mustache that flows down the corners of your mouth, you’ll most likely want some mustache wax to hold it all in place and keep it out of your mouth.
Summary
Trimming a mustache isn’t that hard. You just need to be armed with the right tools and knowledge for the job. Decide whether you want a short or long ‘stache, and keep it looking great with a regular trim every few weeks.
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