Moustache

Edgar Allan Poe had a simple moustache.

A moustache (sometimes spelt mustache in the United States) is facial hair usually grown on the upper lip and below the nose. Often the term implies that the wearer grows only the upper lip hair and chooses to shave the hair on his chin and cheeks, whereas growth of all facial hair would constitute a beard.

Etymology

The word Moustache comes to the English language via the Middle French Moustache which in turn is derived from the Old Italian Mustaccio which originates from the Middle Greek Moustaki, a diminutive of Greek mystak-, mystax upper lip, mustache.

Vernacular names

Some common vernacular terms for the moustache are stache, tache, tash, pushbroom and mo. There are numerous others mostly reflecting the moustache's resemblence to a variety of animals, its tendency to retain food and drink, or its supposed aid in sexual activity.

History

General Lew Wallace wore a full moustache and long goatee; this was the style during the American Civil War.

Historically, moustaches have been worn by military men and the number of nations, regiments and ranks were equalled only by the number of styles and variations. Generally, the younger men and lower ranks wore the smaller and less elaborate moustaches. As a man advanced in rank, his moustache become thicker and bushier, until he was permitted to wear a full beard. For a glimpse into this colourful and noble past, refer to the works of famous military artists.

In Western cultures women generally remove facial hair, though many are capable of growing it and have done so, usually in the form of thin moustaches. The artist Frida Kahlo famously depicted herself with both a moustache and a unibrow. This tradition is followed by some contemporary women in the arts.

An English moustache was formerly used in melodramas, movies and comic books as a shorthand indication of villainy. Snidely Whiplash, for example, was characterized by his moustache and his cape. It should be noted that stock character 1920s male attire is generally a top hat, a handlebar moustache, and a monocle.

In some countries, it was obligatory for soldiers to grow moustaches. The British Army, for instance, forbade the shaving of the upper lip by all ranks from the 19th century until the regulation was abolished by an Army Order dated 6 October 1916.

The moustache in male adolescence

The moustache forms its own stage in the development of facial hair in adolescent males. There is a definite order in which facial hairs usually appear on the male face during puberty :

• The first facial hair to appear tends to grow at the corners of the upper lip,
• It then spreads to form a moustache over the entire upper lip,
• This is followed by the appearance of hair on the upper part of the cheeks, and the area under the lower lip,
• It eventually spreads to the sides and lower border of the chin, and the rest of the lower face to form a full beard.

As with most human biological processes, this specific order may vary among some individuals.

Moustache care

Most men with a normal or strong beard growth must tend it daily, by shaving the hair of the chin and cheeks, to prevent it from soon reverting to a full beard. This necessity has engendered the invention of quite a wide variety of accoutrements designed for the care of a gentleman's moustache, including moustache wax, moustache nets (snoods), moustache brushes, moustache combs and moustache scissors. The moustache cup is a drinking cup with a partial cover to protect the upper lip from froth in the drink.

Moustache styles

This man sports a distinctive white moustache.

• Dalí - narrow, long points bent or curved steeply upward; areas past the corner of the mouth must be shaved. Artificial styling aids needed. Named after Salvador Dalí who was known to sport such a style later in his life.
• English - narrow, beginning at the middle of the upper lip the whiskers are very long and pulled to the side, slightly curled; the ends are pointed slightly upward; areas past the corner of the mouth usually shaved. Artificial styling may be needed.
• Fu Manchu - long, downward pointing ends, generally beyond the chin;
• 'Pancho Villa' moustache - similar to the Fu Manchu but thicker; also known as a "droopy moustache", generally much more so than that normally worn that the historical Pancho Villa.
• Handlebar - bushy, with small upward pointing ends. See baseball pitcher Rollie Fingers. Also known as a "spaghetti moustache", due to it being stereotypically associated with Italian men.
• Imperial - whiskers growing from both the upper lip and cheeks, curled upward (distinct from the royale, or impériale)
• Moustachio or mustachio - large luxuriant moustache, with hair sometimes growing down the sides of the mouth. Also known as a Nosebeard.
• Pencil moustache - narrow, thin, closely clipped, outlining the upper lip, with a wide shaven gap between the nose and moustache. Also known as a Mouthbrow. See John Waters.
• Toothbrush - thick, but shaved except for about an inch (2.5 cm) in the center; associated with Adolf Hitler and Charlie Chaplin
• Walrus - bushy, hanging down over the lips, often entirely covering the mouth.

Moustache growing competitions

In North America, many groups of men (co-workers, friends, and students) sometimes partake in moustache growing competitions. They are usually fun in nature and offer a bonding experience for groups of young men. The ultimate goal is to grow the most full and well-groomed moustache in the least amount of time, or over a fixed period.

In more serious competitions, as moustaches are seen as a symbol of male virility, the winner is usually seen as the most manly of the competitors. Many competitions exist at any given time, for example the North Bay Moustache League.

Some competitions are run as charity fund-raising events, with participants being sponsored for their moustache-growing and the money rasied being donated to a selected cause. The rules for such competitions vary, but often include "forfeits" (eg donation-matching) for competitors who shave of their moustaches before the end of the compeition.

"Movember" is one such event. Held each year in November, it aims to promote and raise awareness of Men's Health issues, notably prostate cancer. [1]

Famous or notable moustaches

Main article: List of famous people wearing a moustache.

File:Hitler from Mussolini Luce photo.png

Adolf Hitler made a taboo of the toothbrush style, for it is rarely seen today.

In some cases, the moustaches are so prominently identified with a single individual that it could be identified with them without any further identifying traits, such as in the case of Adolf Hitler or Friedrich Nietzsche. In some cases, such as with Groucho Marx and Charlie Chaplin, the moustache in question was not even real for most of their lives.

The longest ever moustache belongs to Bajansinh Juwansinh Gurjar. Having not been cut for 22 years it is 12 1/2 feet long

Famous or notable moustaches in art and fiction

Main article List of notable moustaches in art and fiction.

Moustaches have long been used by artists to make characters distinctive as with Dick Dastardly or the video game character Mario. They have also been used to make a social or political point as with Marcel Duchamp's parody of the Mona Lisa which adds a goatee and moustache or the moustachioed self portraits of Frida Kahlo. At least one fictional moustache has been so notable that a whole style has been named after it, the Fu Manchu moustache.

See also

File:Marcel Duchamp Mona Lisa LHOOQ.jpg

Duchamp's parody of the Mona Lisa adds a goatee and moustache.

• Moustaches and military styles: Military uniforms
• Moustache grooming: Moustache wax, Moustache net
• Other facial hair styles: Beard, Goatee and Sideburns
• Whiskers
• Bearded woman
• List of types of facial hair

External links

• MyBeard Community Site
• Moustache grooming with The Chap magazine
• "Splitting Hairs", a documentary film about the 2003 World Beard and Mustache Championships
• Shana Ting Lipton's moustache article for Salon.com
• World Beard & Moustache Championships 2007
• Beard Team USA website
• Fund-A-Stache, a charity moustache-growing competition
• Mustache March, another sponsored competition
• The Glorius Mustache Challenge, film about the under-30 mustache. Rock the Stache!
• A Moustache Adventure
• The World of Beards
• Mustache-A-Thon for 826 Seattle
• Movember, the Month of the Moustache
• Men's Health Movember, moustache growing fundraiser during the month of November to raise money for men's health issues
• Mustaches For Kids -- Raises money for Childrens' Causes