Seven-month Handlebar Mustache

Handlebar Mustache at 7 months

As I consider May 10 to be my mustache emergence day so that would make today its seven month anniversary. 

Hat and handlebar mustache

The handlebar mustache is kind of a retro fashion dating back to a different era - specifically from the 1850's to early 1900's.  During that time many men wore fabulous handlebar mustaches and also hats.  The two compliment each other nicely.  So I could not pass up this hat that I found on the clearance rack at a local store.



Handlebar mustache and a hat

During this current arctic winter weather blast, I have been wearing the hat along with a wool overcoat, gloves and a scarf.  People are telling me that I look very "dapper" and that makes a great package with the mustache.  It's a fun look which I have not gotten used to yet.

One thing that notice in the picture above is how noticeable my tiger stripes are in the mustache with distinctive dark and light streaks.  They are one of my mustache's unique defining characteristics which I rather enjoy.

Face-spanner handelbar mustache with small tight curl

Face spanner handlebar mustache with small tight curl at end

This morning's handlebar mustache did not want to from a nice large sweeping curl, so rather than forcing it, I styled it straight out like if I was going to do it English style, but it seemed to want to curl at the ends.  So I styled it as you see in this picture.  Sometimes I like this face-spanner look with the curls at the end, other times I like the large open curls, and other times tighter curls closer in.  That's the fun part of having a big handlebar - you can change it around.  I have not yet settled on a favorite style.

Christmas Mustache styled with Bounder

Handlebar Mustache Styled with Bounder Wax

I friend of mine on the Handelbar Club Forum graciously gave me a tin of Bounder wax from Wax Industries which I tried this morning.  I like the look and how it holds a nice large curl.  On the downside, the perfume smell is quite strong. 

I will add it to my drawer of mustache products that I regularly use.

Tight curls courtesy of Got2B Glued

Curled tips

The last couple of days, I have reached back in my drawer and got the Got2B tube out for the first time in a while and used it on the curls only (after using American Crew Fiber to get the stache in shape) and found that the tighter curls that it creates seem to give me more compliments. Anyway, here's how I looked yesterday.

Today I did it again and here's how it looks:


Tight curls, close up

The curls seemed to spring into position when applying the Got2B Glued.  As the glue dried, the curls tightened to form complete 360 degree circles. 

I have a hard time deciding if I look the look of a tighter curls or larger more open ones.  Decisions - decisions.

November monthly haircut shot

Time for another hair cut.  Here's my before and after shots from November 23, 2013.  Sorry that the mustache looks so unkempt, but I can't go back, have him put the hair back on and do it over again.

Au Naturel except for the cheesecake

Au naturel handlebar mustache except for the cheesecake

I would say that this is how my mustache looks with any styling product.  That is, if cheesecake is not considered a styling product.  I had major difficulty eating a piece of cherry cheesecake with a whole lot of if ending in the mustache.  Here's how I looked after wiping it out.

It was a good day for compliments, so I figured that it was a good day for a picture - in spite of the cheesecake incident.

Google results

Google results

Today when I Googled "Handlebar Mustache" and looked at the image results I saw several pictures from this blog.  Cool!

6 month mustache

My 6 month handlebar mustache

Tomorrow I consider to be my 6 month anniversary of the beginning of my mustache which I am celebrating with this photograph.  As I have mentioned before, I started from a closely cropped goatee so I can only guess as to how old the mustache really is and I did not attempt to convert it into a handlebar until the end of May, 2013.

Oiling the mustache

Today's mustache is brought to you with only mineral oil added.  No other styling products were used.


Lightly oiled mustache - otherwise au natural

Handlebar faceover fun

Recently on the handlebar club forum, some of the members pictures have been edited for the sake of fun.  I have not been spared.  Here are some of me with the comments posted.

Here you go John, there's a job waiting for you and your english styled mo at the Tower of London.....

Haircut before and after

Before and after, October 29, 2013

Here is my latest haircut before and after shots.  The mustache was untouched.  The picture on the left has a bit of a Norman Rockwell touch with it showing me, the reflection of me, and the reflection of the image on the camera of me.

These pictures show my persistent corkscrewing on the evil left side (right side of the picture). 

English Style without the goatee

At the request of an Englishman on the handlebar forum, I took and posted this picture when he wanted to see how I would look with the English style and no goatee.

In response to the picture, he wrote, "That's a real bobby dazzler me ol' china!"

As my English slang is lacking a bit, I requested a translation and got the following, "Bobby dazzler, northern English colloquialism for specially good looking...,  China (plate), London cockney rhyming slang for "mate" or pal!"

He then wrote, "John, if you're gonna look the look, you gotta talk the talk!!!!"

Hey at least I could understand that.

My wife noticed the missing goatee

Not a particularly good picture, but here's how it looks today

At a wedding reception last night, I found out that my wife noticed that I had shaved my chin after I joked with other people that she had not noticed the change.  When some acquaintances made comments about my mustache, she mentioned to them that I had also shaved off the goatee.

Later she asked me when I had done this, and I told her Thursday morning.  She said that liked the goatee, preferred my old mustache, but that the hairs were not bothering her as much when kissing.  She made no ultimatums, just these comments.

When one of our mutual acquaintances made the comment how much she really liked my mustache, I told her that my wife did not.  She said that she would have to talk to her about that.

Shaved the Goatee - 5th Month

Today is what I consider to be the five month birthday of my mustache and I decided to make a change.

Here is my last picture with my goatee

Before the goatectomy

Milestone: First request from a stranger for a photograph

My milestone today was having a stranger request to take my picture for the first time. I obliged. I noticed a couple of stares and whispers from an 8 year old +- boy at a table at the restaurant where I work my second job. The party was made up of people from more than one family - the group with the boy had left when one of the woman from the group came up to me. "Can I ask you a favor?" she asked. "Sure" "May I take your picture? I don't know if you noticed it or not, but the other woman's son was fascinated by your mustache. He wondered if it was real. I wanted to get a picture for him... If you're OK with that." "It's definitely real and that would be fine." I smiled for the picture after which she thanked me. I only wish that my picture could have been taken with the boy. I think that we both would have enjoyed that.

Non Kissable Mustache

Kissing my wife has become an issue of late.

As I approach my five month mark, for the last couple of weeks I have noticed a lot of hairs entering my mouth while eating recently (which is not that big of deal) and also my wife has really started complaining about hairs getting in the way while kissing. As you can see from this photograph, Yes, the mustache is coming down over my lips.

Me and my non-kissable handlebar mustache

She is asking me to trim the never-trim area over the lips. I don't think that she realizes, however, that this will only increase the problem because then she would be stabbed with the sharp ends of the fresh cut. And, it would doom me to having to fight a trimmed center.

I have been using the Push-Tuck-Slide technique and I may try and see if just combing it to the sides opens up the lip area for her. I have posted to the Handlebar Club Forum asking for advice.  Should I get some that works, I will post it here.

Momma's not happy, and when Mamma's not happy, no one is happy.

Profile photos

Just a couple of profile shots to document how my mustache looks from different angles.

Right side with its "always awesome' curl

The evil left side - actually behaving itself

Certainly these are not of the same photographic quality as photo in my previous entry, but people might question me turning my workspace into a self portrait studio so I am using my computer's webcam instead.

English Style

Here's my latest attempt at an English style.  With my natural curls, it must really be glued into submission. 

When English styled, I definitely have a face spanner.  It measured at just over 6 inches - as compared with 5 and 1/2 at the end of July.  While the increase in length has been small, the center shows remarkable improvement.  It's a much nicer looking mustache right now, even if it is not much longer.

Shaving around the mustache

while shaving

Shaving around the mustache presents a challenge because I need to shave up and under the ends without mistakenly cutting any of it.  My method has been grabbing the ends, lifting them up to shave what's underneath, then moving it towards the center to shave the undergrowth area.

While doing so, I unconsciously ended up shoving the mustache into my mouth. I had my Eureka moment.  To keep my mustache out of the way during shaving, all I have to do is shove it in my mouth!

This mustache keeps teaching me things every day.

Comparing pictures - Drawn on mustache vs. the real thing

When I started this blog, I created this picture thinking how I would look with an epic handlebar mustache back in June:

 

And here is how it looks today (unwaxed)

Obviously I didn't know how to draw a mustache back then.  Nature did a much better job than my drawing ability - but then a blindfolded monkey would have probably exceeded it also.

September Barber Visit

Here's my latest before and after barber shots from yesterday.  Actually, in the picture my hair does not look to much different in the two shots except that it looks like I have a flag growing out of my head in the after shot.

It really was not a good mustache day.  I was corkscrewing like crazy.  But this time my barber did not say anything about the mustache.  No offers to trim it or anything.

The pictures show some wispy hairs that extend beyond most of the others in the mustache.  These aggressive hairs seem to grow faster than the others and were driving me nuts, so this morning I trimmed them to where most of the other hairs end at the tips.  I thinking trying to end the corkscrewing by trimming would be a major mistake, but these strays will never blend in so getting rid of them was the right thing to do.

Today I am wearing the mustache straighter with less curl at the ends.  Less curl means less corkscrew which looks better.

On another note, my wife now calls my mustache "that mustache" rather than "your mustache".  She has not yet been won over.

What happend to the Evil Left Side

When the mustache looks this good, why wax?

My evil left side has somehow decided to behave lately.  Sure, it still corkscrews a bit, but it is developing a nice curl to match the right.  I am finding at this length, the mustache is getting easier to style and maintain.  Today's picture shows it complete au natural.

Last night was a good mustache night at the restaurant. 

It started with a new busser who I met - who is probably around 17.  He said,  "I want to grow a mustache like yours ... It's really awesome".

The lady at one of my tables said "Nice mustache" as I greeted them, and I got a similar comment by someone who was on his way to be seated as he walked by me.

I also got a $100 tip on a $200 check.  I don't know if the mustache contributed to the tip or not,  but it did not hurt.

4 month mustache

My mustache at 4 months

Today marks what I believe to be the four month anniversary of my mustache.  Since I started my handlebar from an existing mustache/goatee combination, I can't say that it started on May 10, 2013.  But, if I had started from a clean shave on that date, I think that it would look like it does today.

New Profile Picture

August 31, 2013 photo

The messy mustache photo in my previous post was cropped from my previous profile photograph.  Now that I am embarrassed by it, I am switching it out for this new one with the neater mustache.

Push - Tuck - Slide results

Top - mustache as of August 10, 2013
Bottom - mustache as of August 31, 2013



Using the Push, Tuck, Slide method of grooming my mustache has been a real game changer.  The top picture shows my best results after laboring multiple waxes and glues in my attempt to control the beast.  The bottom shows the same mustache three weeks later after I started using the push-tuck-slide method.

Notice the differences:

• Curls:  much fuller, nicer shape
• Fangs:  gone
• Shape: changed from sloppy to a nice sweeping flow from the center to the sides.
• Mouth:  clear of hairs

What the pictures do not show is the difference in time needed in grooming and preparation.  I probably spent over 20 minutes  prepping for the top one.  I did not time the bottom either, but I guess that it was about 3 minutes.

The Push, Tuck, and Slide Handlebar Mustache Styling Technique

Styling my mustache using Push, Tuck, and Slide

This animated pictures shows the steps that I use to finger groom my handlebar mustache and get the center looking great.

1.   PUSH:  Using index finger push the hairs at the top of the mustache down towards the lips.  Pushing gives the front of the mustache a "shell" to tuck the lower hairs behind.

2.   TUCK:  Using the thumb, take hairs that extend below the mustache and tuck them up and under the hairs that have been pushed down.  Be aggressive and tuck high under the mustache.  Tucking keeps the hairs out of your mouth.

3.  SLIDE:  At the end of the tuck, use the thumb to slide the tucked hairs and any other hairs in the back of the mustache toward the side of the mustache.  This forms a "pipeline behind the shell" that moves the hairs to the curls making them thicker and fuller.

Start at the center and work towards the ends. Once done, a couple of twirls give nice curls. 

When applying wax or other styling products, coating the tips of the thumbs and adjacent sides of the index fingers and then using this method works to hold everything in place.  But, I find often no product is needed to keep it styled.

Please comment on this post and let me know how this technique works for you.

With a mustache like that you must have a dog

Today's mustache with tips out and just a curled at the very ends.

Just a couple of stories of living with a handlebar mustache.

----

Crossing the street at a traffic light I heard "Awesome Mustache!"  a young man shouted from the window of a turning pickup truck with a couple of teenagers inside.

I smiled and waived an OK sign

----
In line with a man at Walmart:

"I just wanted to tell you that you have a terrific mustache"

"Thank you"

"How long have you been growing it?"

"About four months"

"I wish that I could grow one"

"I am sure that you could.  Just let it grow"

It's not that hard guys.  If you can produce a mustache by not shaving, you can grow a handlebar.

----

At the steakhouse where I wait tables:

"I am done with my plate" said the customer.

"May I box up the steak so that you can take it with you."

"No, I am just visiting and I don't have a place to put it.  But why don't you take it, you can feed it to your dog ... Surely with a mustache like that, you have a dog"

"I don't have a dog, but if I did, what kind of dog would I have?"

"I would say an Alaskan Malamute"

"Hmm... with a mustache like mine, I though that you would say a Schnauzer"

----

At another table spoken by a middle aged woman.

"You look very good in that mustache.  Elegant and dignified"

I like your curls... what do you call them? ... handlebars

Barbershop visit 8-23-2013 before and after

It was time for another haircut - as you can tell by my shaggy appearance on the before side.  At the conclusion my barber asked if I would like anything done with the mustache.  I politely declined thinking that there was nothing that a man with scissors cold do to help it - on second thought, I should have asked him what he had in mind, and then declined.

"It's looking good" he said.  "I like your curls... what do you call them ... handlebars".

At home, my wife noticed my haircut.  "...but he didn't trim your mustache" she said with a disappointed look on her face.

No he didn't.

Don't let it get any longer

Is it too long?

 

At breakfast my wife said to talk to you for a moment about your mustache? I said sure.

 

"Well, don't let it get any longer than it is right now. I don't really like the way it curls up on the ends."

 

I told her that mustaches don't grow forever, that they eventually reach a terminal length unlike a beard which can get much much longer.  I told her that I was probably nearing that length (but I hope not).

Tiger colored mustache

The tiger stripes of the right side of my mustache

As my mustache has gotten longer and I have improved my styling technique (is it ever really mastered?), I have noticed that it has very unique stripes of color. Rather than a random scattering of different colors, there are definite rows of multiple similarly colored hairs. Some are white, others black and some red-orange.  I tried to capture it in the photograph above, but the camera fails to adequate capture the variety of color so I have annotated some of the stripes. 

So, what color is my mustache?  I could say calico, but since the colors are in stripes or red, black and white, I will call it "tiger".

The picture above also shows the beautiful handlebar shape and curl that I am presently achieving with very little effort and no styling products. Additional length makes it easier to style.

Mustache and Trinity necktie knot

Mustache waxed but not curled, and trinity knotted necktie

Last night I styled the mustache with no curl, but not quite an English Style, and also tied the neck tie as a trinity knot.  I can never get anyone to comment on the Trinity knot, but as usual I did get mustache comments.  This was the first time where an acquaintance whom I know pretty well did not immediately recognize me due to the mustache.  Once she did, she said that I looked really good in it.

Perfect mustache day ... until I shaved

Me and another family member with whiskers

Lately I have been perfecting my styling technique where I use my index finger to push the top of the mustache down in the front, and then use my thumb to tuck the bottom hairs underneath it and slide them towards the ends.  It works very well and I will elaborate on it in a future post.

The night before last, I used this technique while laying in bed after taking a shower.  Well, I yesterday morning I awoke to a beautiful mustache with nice curls on both sides - no styling product or anything..  Oh, it was going to be a glorious mustache day.  Then I shaved and washed my face and all was lost.  While repeating the technique gave me a very nice center, the tips were wonky and no amount of wax or glue could completely fix them.

Today's picture shows no curls - just a gentle sweep, with the mustache behaving just drawn out to the sides with no product.  I am meeting a client shortly, and have not shaved.  Hmmm, do I dare get the mustache wet and face yesterday's debacle?  No,  The client will just have to live with me unshaved this morning - as he is bearded I don't think that this will be a problem.

Mustache and the Eldridge Knot

Mustache and necktie with Eldridge knot

As mentioned in my last post, I make myself unique among the staff at the restaurant by wearing and awesome handlebar mustache and using fancy knots for my necktie.  Here is how I looked at the restaurant tonight with the mustache in curls and the necktie in an Eldridge knot.

After Sam's rather brutal suggestion that I lose the mustache earlier in the day, I was starting to ask questions of myself.  Does wearing both unusual facial hair and strangely tied neckwear make me look cool or eccentric?  Have I crossed a line to where I am weird and a freak show which cannot be taken seriously? 

Lose the mustache

This morning's mustache - au natural - after being told to lose it

 

 

When dropping of a key at another office, Sam who works there saw me from the desk and said, “Is that John with a handlebar mustache?”

“Yes, this is John with a handlebar mustache.”

“Lose the mustache." he frankly said, "It puts you in the league of those who wear ascots and Tam o' Shanters.” (I had to Google these to see what these even were).  “Keep the goatee but lose or trim the mustache?”

My Three Monthstache

My mustache at three months

If May 10 is the day that I consider to be the start of my mustache, this is how it looks at three months of age. 

Today I used clubman on the center and Firehouse Wacky Tacky on the tips.  When I couldn't get the tips exactly how I wanted, I used glue stick.

Many searches online say that somewhere between three and four months are needed to grow a full handlebar.  If that is the case, I have arrived.

For comparison purposes, here are is how it looked one and two months ago:

One month ago at two months of age

Two months ago at one month of age.

Facial recognition software does not recognize me with the new mustache

Screen on my computer after attempting to log in using facial recognition.

The facial recognition feature of my computer thinks that am a different person since I grew my mustache.  Here's the message that I got this morning after attempting to log on using my webcam.

One more try with the waxes - lessons learned

This morning's lightly waxed mustache - what a beaut!

After my previous post, I was just about ready to shove my waxes in bottom drawer and forget about them for a very long time.  But then today came along and, well and with minimal effort and with no styling product, all the forces came together to magically form a beautiful mustache.  Rather then immediately going for the Got2B Glued tube, I decided to give the Firehouse Moustache Wacky Tacky wax another try but just using a really light coat and I ended up with the mustache that you see above which I am quite happy with.

Closeup shot

Frustrated with mustache waxes, loving glues

Today's mustache using Got2B Glued and glue stick

I am getting very frustrated with mustache waxes.  I don't know if it is my technique, the wiry nature of my whiskers, the present length of the hair, or if I just have unrealistic expectations.  Perhaps it's a combination of all of this.

Yesterday I spent about twenty minutes trying to get my mustache to behave using wax.  I was using Firehouse Wacky Tacky - which many claim is the very best wax and having no luck getting the ends to come close to sticking together.  I preheated the tin, and did everything that I was supposed to do.,  Finally my wife started giving me grief hogging the bathroom as we got ready for church so I let it go and decided that it was as good as it was going to get and I was going to have to live with it.  It shouldn't be this difficult.

How are your fabulous mustaches today?

This morning's mustache styled with only a little bit of glue stick just over the lips to keep my mouth clear.

I briefly saw my friend Diane when we were both at the bank today.

"Good morning Diane"

"Good morning John,  How are you and your fabulous mustaches today?"

"We're just fine thanks,  how are you?" as I smiled.

"I'm good too.  I think that it is funny that in England or some other places they say 'mustaches' like if you have two of them.  Maybe one for each side?"

"I have never heard that.  But I know that in Spanish you have 'butts' instead of 'a butt'.  Perhaps it's the same kind of thing."

(Loud laughter):"Have a great day"

"You too.  Bye."

   ---

Any day where I am asked about my "fabulous" mustache or mustaches must be a good day.

Prussian Mustache

Today I decided to go to the opposite extreme of the day before and wear the mustache with the ends tightly curled.  Among the comments that I received was that looked "very Prussian" with the mustache.
 

I replied by saying "thank you" not knowing if a Prussian appearance was a good thing or not.  Though in the context it would be very unusual to be anything but complimentary.  The conversation then switched to my ancestry and if I was of Prussian decent.
 

When I got home I decided to look up Prussian mustache online to see exactly what one looked like. All I could find was articles stating that Hitler preferred a big "Prussian mustache" to the toothbrush style that he wore, but made the change during World War One to enable him to wear a gas mask with a tight seal.  Thankfully he did not corrupt and permanently destroy this style the same way he did with his iconic mustache even though the articles did show a picture of a young Hitler wearing a handlebar.
 

Beyond that, I still don't know what a Prussian mustache looks like beyond perhaps the way I looked tonight.

Five-and-one-half-inch spread

Today's experiment with the English style provided me the opportunity to get a measurement of my mustache span.  When I took my measurements on May 29, 2013, my mustache width with was 4.25 inches.  Now two months later is is 5.5 inches - or an increase of an 1.25 inches.  If these figures are accurate, my hair growth rate is sightly faster than most at .625 inches a month while the average for most human hair is .5.

Update - the growth information is actually incorrect - based upon my July 5 blog entry, since the hair at the tips is growing in opposite directions, the growth is rate of individual hairs is half of the growth of the mustache.  This means that the hair growth rate would be .3125 inches a month, not the .625 I posted above.

In reality, I don't think that these growth numbers are accurate.  I think that one English style measurement can only be compared to another of the same style.  Although the hairs are styled in an erect fashion, they still are not perfectly straight.

Since many sources say that it takes most men a minimum of 3 months to grow a true handlebar mustache I can use that as a benchmark, (and I am still over a week away from the milestone).  With this photograph showing the graspable extremities approaching the width of my face, it shows at least an average - if not an above average - rate of growth.

From the looks  of this picture, I have a face spanner when styled this way, though just barely - and if the camera was a bit farther away, perhaps it would show that I am not quite there yet.  It certainly is not large enough to allow both sides to be viewed from behind my head. 

English Style

While I did receive complements today on my mustache, including one from an older man who said, "I tried to grow a mustache like yours a long time ago, but could never get it to work",   I think that the English Style is much better suited towards longer mustache where it can be truly awesome.  I also see it as kind of a special occasion style rather than something for every day.  But I will certainly style it this way occasionally.  It's fun and different and a great way to flash the stache.

English Style Handlebar

My first time in with the English style - Using Firehouse Wacky Tacky and glue stick

This morning I styled my handlebar mustache for the first time in the English Style.  This dramatic style sends the ends straight out to a narrow sharp point.

It takes length to pull of an English style and up to this point I did not have it.  Last night after taking a shower, I deliberately messed up the mustache and went to bed to see how it would look in the morning.  It did not look as scarey as I thought it would, but since it really didn't have much curl, I thought that I would give it a try.

My wife laughed as I worked at it.  She is convinced that this is a phase and evidence of a midlife crisis.  "At least it's cheaper than a red convertible" she said.

Not the type of mustache that I was expecting

When I started my mustache journey,  I was expecting a mustache that looks like this:

Image copied from http://www.firehousemoustachewax.com/Photos2.html

As I have narrow space between my nose and lips, and relatively thin facial hair this is the mustache that I thought that I could expect.

But instead after two and a half months into my journey, I believe that my destiny will probably be more like one of these guys: