Growing a moustache is a great way to show a little of your personality via your face. It’s also easier to maintain than a full beard, making it a good option if you’re short on time in your morning routine.
Whether you’re a moustache virgin, or yours is starting to get out of hand, this back-to-basics guide on growing, trimming and styling a moustache is for you.
How to Grow a Moustache
If you’re going for a new look, it’s always best to start with a clean shave along your upper lip, then all of your moustache hairs will be starting off from the same point.
Use the Gillette All Purpose Styler and Beard Trimmer for this, attaching the ProGlide Razor Blade that it comes with to give the area above your lip a close, comfortable shave.
The Styler is the ideal tool if you have a ‘tache, as you can also use its three interchangeable combs (2mm, 4mm and 6mm) to trim your moustache when it’s long enough.
How Long Does It Take to Grow a Moustache?
Sadly, there’s no set answer to this question, but the average time is two to four weeks; two weeks if you have fast-growing facial hair, and around four weeks if you’re not quite so lucky.
This is all down to genetics – some people grow thicker moustaches and beards due to an abundance certain hormone called DHT, which is responsible for facial hair growth.
That being said, some lifestyle factors can play a part in hair growth. A healthy diet, limiting stressful activities, and exercising regularly play an important part in maintaining a healthy body – which in turn, helps all the hair on your body to grow as strong and long as it should.
If you’re looking to grow a thicker moustache, you could also think about how you treat the skin in that area. Do you regularly cleanse and moisturize your moustache area? By taking care of your skin, you are removing dead skin, dirt, and pollution particles from your pores, which supports healthy hair growth in the long run.
There are loads of shaving myths out there about how to make your facial hair grow faster, but usually the main thing you need is patience – your moustache should grow eventually, so hang in there.
Why Has My Moustache Stopped Growing?
When an individual moustache hair reaches the terminal length, it stops growing, falls out, and is replaced by a new hair. This is the same life-cycle of all the hair on your body.
The time taken for an individual hair to reach terminal length will vary from follicle to follicle. To put it in perspective, the average moustache has around 600 hairs – so some areas could still be growing, and some may have already reached terminal length and be close to falling out. Additionally, not all moustache hairs grow at the same rate or to the same length.
The stages of growing a moustache are separated into three phases. It’s the same for all the hair on the human body. The stages are called:
- Anagen - This stage covers the entire process of growth for individual hairs. It can last between 2 and 7 years. The root develops from the follicle and a hair sprouts, growing until it reaches maximum length.
- Catagen - This is the stage where the hair stops gradually stops growing and disconnects from the blood supply, and stops receiving nutrients. The catagen stage generally lasts 2-3 weeks.
- Telogen - This is the shedding phase, where the follicle prepares for new hair growth and the original hair falls out. A new hair grows, beginning the anagen stage once again. This stage can last around 3 months.
If your moustache is growing unevenly, you could shave and start the growth process again – or give it a trim, which we’ll cover in the next section.
How to Trim a Moustache
To trim your ‘tache into a classic moustache style, you need to make sure it’s dry before you go in with your trimmer. Wet hair gives the illusion that it’s longer than it really is, so you need to be careful.
Steady care is so important for trimming a moustache. Use your Gillette Styler to trim just a little bit at a time.
You need to strike the right balance between preventing your moustache from drooping over your top lip and not leaving a noticeable gap between the top of your lip and the bottom of your ‘tache. Taking off a small amount at a time is also the best way to get a straight line - keep checking the symmetry as you go.
Find out how to create more moustache styles, including the coveted handlebar moustache, over on our blog.
Styling your Moustache
When your moustache is at a point that you’re happy with, washing and styling it regularly will help to keep it looking its best.
Every time you wash and shampoo the hair on your head, do your moustache too to keep it in the best shape. Specialised shampoos exist for beards and moustache, such as the King C. Gillette Beard and Face Wash. You might also want to run a styling wax through it to nourish and condition it.
Make sure all eyes are drawn to the ‘tache you’ve worked so hard to grow and look after your beard and the skin underneath it as well. You can do this by using sharp, fresh blades for shaving - sign up to Gillette's shave club if you’re always forgetting to stock up at the shops - and by following a post-shave routine.
Our aftershave products are designed to soothe your skin after shaving to leave you feeling fresh and ready to take on the day.
