The journey to get the best-looking mustache is not one that should be undertaken lightly, and if you are showing up to work with the best curls every day, things can go south when your wax runs dry. Many people find themselves in this predicament when they start styling the mustache, with some reaching for anything close to them to style their facial hair.
You cannot use hair gel on your mustache. The synthetic material clogs up skin pores and damages facial hairs. Hair gel does not work well if larger hairs such as facial hair require that you spend extra time washing the gel out of the hair follicles, with extra time spent cleaning the gel off your skin.
Hair gel is one of the worst hair products you can use even for your normal hair. The damage it can cause when used on your facial hair is almost immeasurable. You should be doing many things to style and take care of your facial hair; these will usually make your skin and mustache look better without causing any extra damage.
Here’s how you get ready to take care of and style your mustache!
What should you use to style your mustache?
You can use two substances in your mustache without causing your face to erupt in a fountain of displeasure. But these are not the only things you should be using, and they will only be able to provide so much help.
Keeping a beard and mustache styled requires having the right tools and knowing when to apply what.
- Wax: The stylist’s choice when making a mustache look much more fantastic, wax. These can be bought in the supermarket or ordered online from a boutique maker high in some long-forgotten country’s hills. Either way, it will be made from beeswax and will allow you to expertly style your mustache into some of the most iconic styles ever seen by man.
- Beard Oil: Having a beard that is both stylish, feels amazing, and does not create beard dandruff is not a lost art to the ages. Instead, it is available almost anywhere, and if you have a mustache or beard, you should be actively applying some daily. Beard oil should not be mixed with wax but should be worn more often as the oil keeps the beard healthy even when you aren’t going out.
- Trimming: The hardest thing to learn when you are a new beard owner is to style it correctly by trimming the beard. Many first-time beard and mustache owners get frustrated and give up on the entire endeavor, walking out of their first trimming session completely shaven. Getting a shaping scissor or electric hair trimmer will allow you to control the wild tufts of your beard easily.
- Brushing: The last thing you need to do, especially as your mustache and beard continue to grow, is constantly brushing it. A brush after a shower, a brush after trimming, and a brush after trimming will mean your mustache and beard will never get tangled. Having a nicely combed beard is the ultimate way to have your look be complete.
What does gel do to facial hair?
When you grab for the gel and remember that it won’t help to make your mustache look good or even be styled properly, it is important to know what else the gel does. Many stylists of even hair will be angered by the common use of gels in hair. It is a product that should be used sparingly but usually ends up being slathered onto any hair follicle that misbehaves.
Hair gel is a synthetic material that contains damaging agents that can leave long term damage to even the strongest hair. When used in your hair, the gel would usually be washed away by shampoo, with the hair treated afterward by conditioner. However, if you are using gel on your mustache, the chance is likely that you do not wash your mustache or beard with shampoo.
This will damage your facial hair and make it a lot harder to style as time goes on, leaving hair that is split, bent, and shaped in all the wrong ways. However, these are not the worst things that using gel on your facial hair will cause. The skin under your mustache and beard is a lot more sensitive. The gel will clog your pores, causing severe acne and infection.
When should you start styling your mustache?
Your mustache will grow faster and slower than you could ever expect, many times you will leave the styling up to the natural growth that it will have. Forgetting to trim the overgrowth when it eventually starts showing up, some of the weirdest mustaches and beards are results of no styling being applied to them.
Styling your mustache and beard starts as soon as you decide to grow them, with small trimmings and combine them into a style, all helping you down the line. A mustache is not equal length throughout the entirety of their styling. Knowing which hairs to trim and which ones to let grow when the hair is still short can be incredibly helpful.
The trimming of beards and mustaches takes a lot of practice, and learning how to do these things properly as your beard grows means you can make the mistakes early. Allowing you to get the style perfect when your mustache does grow to the right length, and you need to style it into all the shapes required. Styling starts the moment you grow the first long hairs on your face, with the first hairs already giving you the chance to learn something new.
What are the most popular mustache styles?
When you start growing your mustache, you will need to know what style to grow it. Trust us, letting it just grow wild only ever means you get hairs in your mouth while eating. Knowing what style you are going for in the early stages of your mustache growing lifestyle will mean you can get the required tools and waxes ready long before you need all of them.
Here are some of the most famous and good looking mustache styles you should know about:
- Chevron: One of the most iconic mustache shapes for anyone growing up with popular sitcoms is the Chevron mustache. Tom Selleck is one of the most famous people that wear this mustache; however, he might be beaten by Freddie Mercury. Both men popularised the style, and men around the world have been trying on the Chevron mustache since.
- Walrus: A much more pronounced mustache, the Walrus allows for slightly more natural growth in your mustache. Worn by the likes of George Clooney and Jamie Hyneman, it easily blends into beards and other styles without requiring hours of styling each day.
- Pencil: A much older mustache style. The style was popular among World War 2 fighter pilots that enjoyed the more refined and stylized look the mustache provided. Requiring some daily maintenance, the style came back into favor recently thanks to movies like Dunkirk and Fury where, where a lot of men wore the style with poise.
- Handlebar: The mustache style that requires a lot of work and patience, the Handlebar mustache has become popular with many younger generations. Usually being worn in hipster crowds and rightfully linked to their style. With some trimming required, the biggest part of the handlebar mustache is that you need to use some wax to make the ends of the mustache curl.
- Cowboy: Probably the most rugged type of mustache, the Cowboy is a gruff looking mustache that stands on its own, only accompanied by a clean-shaven face. This mustache is worn by both Rons in the popular series Parks and Recreation and has since been associated with older, wiser mustache wearers. There is little maintenance done to the Cowboy, and only requires minor trimmings throughout the week.
For more styles, check out our post “35 Men’s Facial Hair Styles: The Ultimate Guide.“
Conclusion
The gel will never be good for your mustache or beard. In fact, avoiding the substance altogether will mean your hair will look a lot better. If you need to style your mustache, just use the natural beeswax that will allow your mustache to look healthy and smell quite amazing when you eventually manage to attract that special lady.
Just remember, even if that special lady is your significant other, there’s nothing wrong with being the most stylish dude in the room!