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.

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.

Moustache in the sunlight

Sunlight shot

No,  I don't have a face-spanning mustache - I just had the camera in real close to show the individual hairs. 

The hairs in the center now have enough length that they grow to the side and form the nice mustache shape without any waxes or glues. Here it is just brushed to the sides and pinched and pulled up a little at the tips. 

As it grows up, it seems to be better behaved.  Had I given into the temptation to trim the center, I am sure that I would have regretted it and would now either be battling those hairs as the lengthened again, or having to trim again.  For any of you considering growing a handlebar, resist the urge to trim until you see it grown out.  You can always trim latter, but you can never untrim.

"Mr. Follicle" says that he can't grow a mustache like mine! Really?

Close up shot - no wax or other product used



I walked into a conversation that two of my restaurant coworkers were having about my mustache.   One of them, whom I will call Mr. Follicle,  was saying how he could never grow a mustache like mine - he just didn't have the genetics.

I could hardly keep a straight face since he is not some smooth-faced cherub, but one of these men who develops a heavy 5 o'clock shadow by noon.  Usually, however, he wears a couple of days growth and clearly he has no lack of facial hair including that on the upper lip.   I jokingly told him that he had more hair on one of his cheeks than I do on my whole body.  I told him that I had virtually no sideburns and whiskers were as common on my cheeks as trees in the Sahara.

Handlebar Mustaches Grow Twice as Fast as Other Hair - Let Me Explain

37 days ago vs now

Last night I arrived home freshly back from the family reunion where the my appearance received a whole lot of attention - all of it positive.  Everyone seem to love the mustache.  My one nephew who can grow facial hair, even decided to groom his scruff and start pursuing a new look for himself.

Coming in fast

Current look - tips with natural curly wave, undergrowth getting incorporated better

This thing is really growing.  Every day I am noticing more length and thickness.

First Waxing - Clubman Mustache Wax

Mustache after my first waxing.  

A visit to a larger city today allowed me to finally purchase and apply some mustache wax.  As you can see in this picture, using wax really controls the hairs and starts developing points (though too short for curls yet).

Growth Update - Still Off of the Lips

Here's tonight's view:

Shaving to Grow a Thicker Mustache? How about a Cousin It Mustache?

Question: If I want to grow a thicker beard/mustache should I shave what I have and start from scratch?

The answer is no.

Current Mustache Measurements - Baseline Data

Facts, figures, and numbers are not usually something that you associate with mustaches.  But, since this blog documents my mustache experience, measurements let me document exactly where I am in this journey.  I am aware of no other such documentation of mustache growth generally available.  If it interests you – read on -  otherwise skip to my next entry.