Mustache Styles
There are many different mustache styles that are common or popular. The popularity of mustache styles changes relatively often and can depend quite a bit on the location of the individual as well as the type of image they are trying to convey. Some mustache styles may signify that a person is part of a specific group or organization while other mustache styles may help define a person’s social status. Much of this is contingent on the location of the person, however, because there are many mustache styles that are common in one area of the country or in one country of the world that are not so common elsewhere.
In the United States today the significance of a particular mustache style has decreased slightly as men have experimented with various styles without attempting to convey a message to those around them. This has allowed for a wide range of mustache and beard styles to become commonplace in most locations of the United States. Generally there are a few mustache and beard looks that are most common and considered some of the best looks. They are the best simply because they are the most pleasing to the most amount of people. A well-kept mustache or beard is usually more appreciated by outside observers than one that looks unruly and unkempt.
For most men with a mustache the most important activity for keeping it attractive is to have a mustache trim regularly. A mustache trim simply trims any hairs that have grown too long or in unwanted directions. Keeping the mustache at a mostly uniform length keeps it looking good. There is no specific length for a mustache, though generally it is advisable to keep it short enough that it does not obstruct the mouth and lips. This is partly because a mustache that intrudes on the mouth and lips can get food and drinks caught inside of it and this can be difficult to keep clean. Most individuals do not like looking at mustaches that have food or other debris stuck in them, and it is not very sanitary for the individual with the mustache to have old bits of food on their mustache that they might ingest by accident.
Some mustache styles include the handlebar mustache, where the mustache is grown long on the sides and styled down like bicycle handlebars. It was generally worn by cowboys in its early years, and there it was said to resemble a horseshoe shape. The shape has not changed, though, when motorcyclists and other individuals who were not cowboys adopted the style they did not have a reason to continue associating it with horseshoes. There are other named styles such as a natural mustache, which is simply a mustache that is grown and maintained without any gel or other styling aids. Other mustaches require some gel or other styling aids to help them stick upwards or sideways in points, for example. One of those styles is called the Dali mustache as well as the English mustache.
For some men, growing a mustache can be difficult. It is possible for these men to have a mustache if they purchase a fake mustache. The advantage of a fake mustache is also that it means the user could have a difficult-to-maintain style at an instant. For some mustaches that would typically require months of growing the mustache and then some styling every day to maintain the correct shape, having a fake mustache can be a great way to allow this style to be more accessible. Also, a fake mustache is good for when an individual wants to have a mustache only for one night or one event. Fake mustaches also allow children and women as well as men who do not grow much facial hair to have a thicker mustache look even if they cannot grow one themselves.
A mustache is defined as hair that is grown above the lip generally. The rest of the hair on a man’s face is generally called a beard. There are many different beard styles as well, though most of them are not quite as styled as the mustache has been traditionally. One of the main beard styles is the goatee. There are many goatee styles that include different ways that the hair is shaved around the chin area. The defining characteristic of the goatee is that there is only a small strip of vertical hair allowed to grow under the bottom lip between the lip and the chin. The rest of the beard can come in a wide variety of styles from fully grown out to entirely shaved off and everything in between.
Beards can also be kept full, which means that the hair is allowed to grow freely all around the face. This hair is generally kept trimmed slightly so that the beard keeps a distinct shape. If it isn’t trimmed, the beard will grow in different directions and at different rates which can make the individual look unkempt. Beards can be grown to long points under the chin, much like the traditional wizard’s beard. They can also be left only outlining the chin and clean-shaven elsewhere. Beard and mustache styles vary wildly and today are left to the imagination of the wearer rather than the societal norms of the time.
