For those new to growing a mustache, either welcome to puberty, or congratulations on your decision to explore man’s most versatile facial accessory.
According to the American Mustache Institute (that’s a thing), there are 13 certified classifications of mustache styles, with an incalculable number of variations. Mustaches have been worn to enviable results throughout history by such renaissance men as Mark Twain, Einstein, Errol Flynn, Carl Weathers, Rollie Fingers, Prefontaine, Freddie Mercury, Sam Elliott, Burt Reynolds, Tom Selleck, Robert Redford, and Sean Connery.
We got Kristan Serafino, long time groomer to Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and Jake Gyllenhaal, to give us her tips and tricks for achieving or sustaining your mustache. And no, beards don’t count.
FOR THE NOVICE
This is the first-timer, the man who only recently appreciated the magnetism of a mustache, or is simply new to facial hair in general.
First, there is no magic elixir to accelerate facial hair growth. It grows at the pace that it grows and no sooner. I also want to dispel the urban legend that shaving more often makes the hair grow back thicker, darker or faster.
Begin with a few days of overall facial growth. This will give you a broader area to work with when you begin to style and trim. When you’re ready to shape a mustache use a clear shaving gel or apply a little pre-shave oil around the lip area so you can see what you’re edging. As the mustache fills-in, be certain to trim any wild hairs not playing nicely with the rest of your mustache.
FOR THE PRO
This is the man that came out of the womb with a five-o’clock shadow and has sported a mustache ever since. Mustache maintenance is this man’s lesson.
Groom and trim regularly if you want to keep your significant other your significant other. Trim the hair above the upper lip, from end-to-end, using a beard trimmer or fine tooth comb & scissors. Do not allow the mustache to cover the entire upper lip.
Always wash your mustache before trimming to soften the facial hair, then leave the hair slightly damp while trimming. But remember, damp hair shrinks slightly when dry. After washing apply a beard oil on your mustache to maintain a healthful appearance. This conditioner will help control unmanageable hairs and soften the texture of the mustache. To make a finer mustache look more dense you can apply hair dye to color the thin wispy hairs.
FOR THE ARTIST
This is the man that uses his facial hair as a palette and isn’t afraid to make a statement with style.
Patience is key. The best feature of hair is that it grows back, so you can experiment if you exercise patience. Use a fine tooth comb to not only clean your mustache, but to train the facial hair how to grow and lay-down.
Use trimming scissors to control the length of your mustache and a mustache trimmer to design the shape or maintain a close cropped style. To reduce bulk in a close cropped style using a fine tooth comb to separate and lift surface hair and trimming scissors to cut away the bulk.
Style the length of your mustache by combing a pea-sized amount of beard oil through the facial hair with a fine tooth comb.
