12 Tips for Growing Your Mustache
It’s about time: the mustache is making a comeback. Anyone can rock a ‘stache if they want to. Go bold and bushy or neat and tidy. Today, you have plenty of options. But DNA can only take you so far in your efforts to sprout an admirable mustache.
Many men fall short in the facial hair department, despite their best efforts to grow a mustache naturally. Some extra assistance can go a long way here, and it’s no wonder that mustache growth is such a popular search term online.
We’ve taken all the information from our clinic and the web to pinpoint the 12 most useful tips and do away with the less effective advice. Let’s jump in and get your mustache back on track.
1. Patience
Contrary to popular belief, trimming your facial hair does not encourage it to grow back thicker and fuller. The number one ingredient for realizing your mustache goals is patience. Facial hair grows at a rate of about half an inch per month, so get comfy because it will take some time.
During that first month, resist the temptation to reach for the trimmers and clippers. Embrace your inner caveman and let nature work its course. You need to see the natural shape of your facial hair before you can make adjustments.
After a month, you’ll have a good sense of what you can grow naturally and then make decisions from there about your most suitable styles.
2. Start With a Beard
The stages leading up to your perfect mustache can both look and feel awkward. A few rogue hairs above your upper lip are most likely not the vibe you are going for. To bridge this transition, start by letting your entire beard grow in fully.
Not only will you feel more confident in the interim, but it will set you up to explore different styles. With a solid base of hair, you can choose to keep it sparse with a pencil mustache, go full-on with mutton chops, or anything in between.
When you’ve found a workable style, simply trim away unwanted hair, and customize it to your liking.
3. Comb Regularly
Much like the hair on your head, you need to take care of your mustache if you want it to work for you. Your baseline grooming is going to consist of daily combing at the minimum. Facial hair can grow in unruly directions, so it needs some taming and guidance with the brush.
The unkempt, wild man look may be in vogue on occasion, but a tidier mustache is the way to go in the workplace and any other more formal settings. Besides elevating your presentation, combing has the added benefit of stimulating your follicles which can potentially encourage hair growth.
4. Apply Beard Oil
Many men take a set-it-and-forget-it approach to their facial hair, but like the rest of your body, proper hygiene is a must. Typically made of essential oils and extracts, including jojoba, argan, sweet almond, and rosemary, beard oils are a necessary part of a good mustache care regimen.
The fatty acids, micronutrients, and vitamins contained in these oils are believed by some to help strengthen hair follicles, creating potentially ideal conditions for mustache growth. At the very least, they smell good and can help you tame flyaway hair.
Beard oil not only conditions, hydrates, and softens hair, but it also helps to clean and moisturize your skin in the process. Dry skin is the enemy of a good-looking mustache as it can cause redness and irritation and impede hair growth.
A clean mustache is a happy mustache, so keep things fresh and well-oiled.
5. Experiment with Styles
Just as everyone’s face is different, each man will have certain mustache styles that work best with their face and natural hair growth patterns. Researching styles is a great way to spend the waiting phase of your mustache journey.
Take a selfie of your pre-mustache face and mess around with photoshop to find a flattering look. Alternatively, search your favorite actor’s name and “mustache” for inspiration. Use actors with similar face shapes as a reference point to narrow in on what will suit you best.
A second opinion from a stylist never hurts. Reach out to your more stylish friends and seek out their advice too. Explore your options until you come across something that just fits.
6. Exercise
Many overlook the fact that exercise can play a role in hair growth. In fact, some consider it the second most important factor, other than genetics. Vigorous exercise flushes toxins out of our system through our sweat, simultaneously washing away dirt and grime.
Again, proper hygiene produces the conditions we want for our best mustache. Regular, consistent exercise can also increase testosterone production. Think back to the start of puberty when the first patches of peach fuzz appeared on your upper lip.
When we reach adolescence, our bodies begin producing more testosterone triggering the major body changes we experience, including hair growth. Get a consistent strength training schedule and cardio on the books to help potentially support your T and up your mustache gains.
7. Maintain a Proper Diet
As with all aspects of health, if you put garbage in, performance will suffer. An investment in your health will help you realize returns in your overall health and promote maximum growth in your mustache.
To get the mustache of your dreams, you need to fuel your body with the good stuff. A diet rich in saturated fats, protein, and vitamins A, C, and E is the way to go here. Think chicken, salmon, shellfish, legumes, avocado, and eggs. These foods are all high in zinc. Zinc is a mineral believed to be beneficial for low testosterone levels. It could be a win for your body and your hair.
8. Invest in the Right Tools
Fortunately, we’ve moved away from the self-serious yet whimsical mustache days of the hipsters of the 2010s. Although you definitely do not want to carry your mustache comb around as an identity statement, investing in the right tools will help you achieve your ideal look.
And luckily, the tool kit for mustache maintenance is pretty simple, so you won’t have to break the bank along the way. A trimmer and scissors will help you maintain your preferred styles.
Maintenance is not too complicated either. Use the combination of these tools to trim away stray hairs and square or round-off edges. Much like hair gel, mustache wax is useful in training the direction of your hair. Simply apply the product to your hair and style away.
A comb with finer teeth will help you finish the look.
9. Take Vitamin Supplements
This is a definite area of controversy when it comes to facial hair. At the moment, there are hundreds of different supplements specifically made for facial hair, all claiming to be the miracle cure.
With many men looking to achieve full bushy mustaches and beards, there is high demand. Do your research to make sure you aren’t being sold snake oil. Your best bet when it comes to going the supplement route is a high-quality men’s multivitamin.
Many of the so-called facial hair-enhancing products are exactly that, with a little fancy branding and a major price markup. If your diet is lacking, speak with your doctor to find out if a multivitamin is a good fit for you.
10. Microchanneling
If you have some hair coming in on your upper lip but are struggling to achieve the depth of color and appearance of fullness that you want, you might be interested in microchanneling. Although the process is on the more permanent side, it can help create a healthy scalp and skin.
Microchanneling is a collagen enhancer, similar to derma rolling but more professional, with far better results. Do your research and only use reputable service providers, as microchanneling is a semi-invasive process.
11. Derma Rolling
Some men have started incorporating derma rolling, also known as microneedling, into their mustache care regimen. Typically used for treating acne scars and wrinkles, a derma roller has tiny needles that pierce the skin and stimulate collagen production.
The amino acids in collagen promote hair growth by increasing blood flow to the area. Best if used sparingly, especially when first introducing it to your mustache care routine, as microneedling can cause irritation and redness. Microchanneling is a much safer and more effective alternative.
12. Beard Transplants
A select few among us are genetically blessed with the ability to produce a full-on ‘stache. The rest of us mere mortals need not stress, as there are other options. Of all the techniques on this list, beard transplantation is the most intensive and expensive, but it can yield powerful, transformative results.
Skilled hair restoration surgeons begin the process by removing fine hair attached to healthy follicles from the back of the head, below the beard, and other donor areas. These grafts are then transplanted in the mustache area.
Far from an overnight fix, the healing process for facial hair transplantation can take up to a month, and final results show after six months or more, but the results are hard to argue with. Once the follicles have acclimated after transplantation, hair can grow prolifically.
After meeting with an experienced surgeon, like Dr. Jae Pak, you can discuss how a beard transplant could help you achieve the life-changing results you want.
Make Your Mustache a Masterpiece
Whether you are looking to get quicker results or plan to take the simple, patient route, these tips will help you grow your best mustache. For the best outcome, you need to speak to an expert.
Connect with the hair restoration experts at Jae Pak, M.D., to get on track with your ideal facial hair configuration. You don’t have to live with a patchy, straggly mustache. Schedule a consultation today to make your mustache dreams a reality.
Sources:
I Tried, Desperately, to Grow a Mustache for 30 Days | Men’s Health
Is This the Magic Pill for Growing a Better, Thicker Beard? | GQ
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