What moustache to grow. How to Grow and Maintain a Mustache, GQ

Here’s how to grow and maintain the mustache of your fullest potential, no matter the style, plus a few of our favorite modern ’ staches for some inspiration. How to grow a chevron mustache.

1. Embrace your growth patterns

The truth of the matter is that you might not be able to grow a full Selleck. And that’s OK, since there are a thousand other mustache styles awaiting you. Even if you’re just sprouting some wisps on the upper lip, let them grow out and then decide what you’ll do with them. (See below for your wispy inspo, a la Joe Keery.)

And, if you happen to sprout a serious caterpillar up there, but instead wish that it was humbler: You have every option available to you. Take a page from Lebron James.

2. Do your research

Now that you've accepted any genetic limitations or super powers, you get to pick a mustache that will look best on you. Luckily, just about every male celebrity has worn a mustache at some point in his life. So, you could Google your doppelganger with the word “mustache” after his name, or just find an endless-scroll Pinterest board. We’ll save you some work, though, and drop a few of our favorite styles here. Here's how to grow a mustache, celebrity edition.

Vincent Sandoval/Getty Images

Trim mustache

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Or rock it straight up: Milo Ventimiglia

Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

3. Get the right tools

A trimmer: This is absolutely essential, whether you need to maintain your preferred length, shear off the top rows of hairs, snip the strays off your lips, or just shave off everything but your upper lip. Check out the best beard and mustache trimmers here.

Goatee beard styles

Mustache scissors: The easiest way to spot-check any strays, or to snip a straight line across your lip, mustache scissors are low cost and highly helpful. We recommend Tweezerman’s scissors.

4. And buy the right products

Mustache wax: Your mustache won’t always style itself. (Typically that’s a Day 1 phenomenon that quickly gives way to gravity and bulk.) If it’s of maneuverable length, then stock up on a small tin of mustache wax (like Lucky Tiger’s to keep it tame without weighing it down. (Just a sliver of wax should suffice.)

Beard oil: Mustache hairs are thick and bristly, and when they get too dry, they start to irritate your skin—and anyone who encounters the mustache. (Your bedfellows, good sir.) Do everyone a favor and keep your whiskers soft and approachable, with a few drops of beard and mustache oil each morning. Check out our favorite oils here.

5. If all else fails, dye it

This tip runs counter to our first step: Yes, so maybe your mustache is blonder than your hair, or maybe it’s a little gray, or your facial hair is red whereas your hair is not. If for whatever reason you want your whiskers to match your hair, then you always have some dye at your disposal. For blonde whiskers especially, it can make your mustache look instantly fuller, and can transform it from “Is he trying to grow a mustache?” to “Whoa, check out the guy with the mustache!” Just for Men is a reliable brand for this—with plenty of shades to match your own hair. True Sons is a subtler approach, particularly if you’re going gray. (It dyes the hair more gradually, so nobody realizes that you changed it overnight.) I’d be extra cautious if you’re dyeing red hairs, and bottom line, I’d also not shy away from the fact that you dyed it. If you want to change the color of your whiskers, much like the color of your hair, just say “Yes, I dyed it.” when asked. Nobody will question your confidence, even if it’s bolstered by some artificial coloring.

Goatee no mustache look

6. Be good to the rest of your face

Since you’re likely shaving the rest of your face in order to spotlight your mustache, you need to spare yourself any agony (irritation, bumps, ingrown hairs, and so forth). So, read up on the best shaving methods in order to keep the focus on your prized facial hair, and not on your subpar, hasty shaving techniques.