A moustache is the fastest change you can make to your face without a surgeon. Grow one for a month and you will have a new look, a few comments at work and a fair idea of what your top lip can do. The hard part is choosing which one. Here are the 15 moustache styles worth knowing, with their names, how long each takes to grow from clean-shaven, how much work it is to keep, and which faces each one suits. (In American English, it is a mustache: same thing.)
- Most popular: the chevron, thick and trimmed along the lip line.
- Fastest: the pencil (1 to 2 weeks) and the natural (2 to 4 weeks).
- Best for a month of growing: the chevron or the natural. Anything curled needs months.
- Most dramatic: the handlebar, the Dalí and the Hungarian, all 3 months or more, plus wax.
- The rule behind the times: Facial hair grows about 0.3 to 0.5 mm a day (Wimpole Clinic), roughly a centimetre a month, or half an inch (Jae Pak MD).
Moustache styles at a glance
| Style | Time to grow | Upkeep |
|---|---|---|
| Chevron | 3 to 6 weeks | Low |
| Natural (the standard) | 2 to 4 weeks | Low |
| Pencil | 1 to 2 weeks | High |
| Horseshoe | 2 to 3 months | Medium |
| Walrus | 3 to 4 months | Low |
| Handlebar | 3 to 6 months | High |
| English | 3 to 5 months | High |
| Imperial | 3 to 4 months | High |
| Hungarian | 5 to 8 months | Medium |
| Dalí | 6 months or more | Very high |
| Fu Manchu | 6 months or more | Medium |
| Lampshade | 3 to 5 weeks | Medium |
| Painter’s brush | 4 to 6 weeks | Medium |
| Pyramid | 4 to 6 weeks | Medium |
| Zappa | 2 to 3 months | Medium |
The 15 moustache styles
Chevron
Thick and full, covering the whole top lip, and trimmed straight along the lip line, wider at the edges than in the middle. The default moustache, and the one most men mean when they say they are growing one.
- Time to grow: 3 to 6 weeks
- Upkeep: Low
- Suits: Almost every face, especially long or oval ones
Made famous by Tom Selleck and Freddie Mercury. Trim the lip line every week and it looks deliberate; leave it and it looks like you forgot to shave.
Natural (the standard)
Whatever grows on your top lip, kept tidy and above the lip but otherwise left alone. Lighter than a chevron and not trimmed into a shape.
- Time to grow: 2 to 4 weeks
- Upkeep: Low
- Suits: Anyone, and the easiest place to start
If you are not sure which style to aim for, grow this first. After a month you will see what your hair wants to do, and you can shape it into almost anything else.
Pencil
A thin, sharp line just above the lip, with a clean gap shaved between it and the nose.
- Time to grow: 1 to 2 weeks
- Upkeep: High: shave the edges every day or two
- Suits: Narrow and oval faces; dark, thick hair shows it best
Clark Gable and John Waters wore it. It looks good fast, but the gap above the line has to be shaved often or it blurs.
Horseshoe
A full moustache that runs down past the corners of the mouth to the jaw in two vertical bars, like an upside-down U. The chin and cheeks are shaved.
- Time to grow: 2 to 3 months
- Upkeep: Medium
- Suits: Round and square faces
The Hulk Hogan look. The hard part is the long wait while the bars grow down; shave the chin hard so the shape reads clearly.
Walrus
Big, bushy and long enough to droop over the top lip, sometimes covering the mouth.
- Time to grow: 3 to 4 months
- Upkeep: Low: little trimming, but comb it and keep it clean
- Suits: Large faces and strong jaws
Think Friedrich Nietzsche or Wilford Brimley. It is the opposite of the pencil: you mostly leave it alone, then live with soup.
Handlebar
Long enough at the ends to be twisted with wax and curled up at the tips, like the handlebars of an old bike.
- Time to grow: 3 to 6 months
- Upkeep: High: wax every morning
- Suits: Oval and long faces; it widens the face
The big one. Grow a full moustache first, let the ends run long, then wax and curl. Our handlebar moustache guide covers every step.
English
Narrow and parted in the middle, with long hairs combed out sideways to fine, pointed tips. Usually waxed straight rather than curled.
- Time to grow: 3 to 5 months
- Upkeep: High: wax and comb daily
- Suits: Oval faces
The sharp, military-looking cousin of the handlebar. Keep the middle trimmed short and let only the outer hairs run long.
Imperial
Small and bushy, with the hairs on the cheeks and lip swept up so the tips arch upwards.
- Time to grow: 3 to 4 months
- Upkeep: High: wax daily
- Suits: Wide faces
The competition definition is small and bushy with tips arching up. It needs wax to hold the upsweep.
Hungarian
Very big and bushy, starting from the middle of the top lip and pulled out to each side, much wider than the mouth.
- Time to grow: 5 to 8 months
- Upkeep: Medium
- Suits: Big faces and confident owners
A walrus that has been trained sideways. The ends need wax to keep them pointing out rather than down.
Dalí
Thin and long, waxed hard so the tips point straight up or arch up, often well past the nose.
- Time to grow: 6 months or more
- Upkeep: Very high: strong wax every day
- Suits: Anyone brave enough
Named after the painter Salvador Dalí. Strictly a statement; strong wax is not optional.
Fu Manchu
Long, thin strands that grow down from the corners of the top lip, past the chin, with the rest of the face shaved.
- Time to grow: 6 months or more
- Upkeep: Medium
- Suits: Long faces
Named after a fictional villain from 1910s novels. Different from a horseshoe: the strands hang free rather than following the jaw.
Lampshade
Short and thick, trimmed into a trapezium shape whose sides angle out towards the mouth, like a lampshade.
- Time to grow: 3 to 5 weeks
- Upkeep: Medium: trim the sides weekly
- Suits: Square and round faces
A tidier chevron with angled sides. Keep it well above the lip line.
Painter’s brush
Full and wide, trimmed flat along the bottom like the bristles of a broad paintbrush.
- Time to grow: 4 to 6 weeks
- Upkeep: Medium
- Suits: Most faces
A fuller, wider chevron. The flat bottom edge is what makes it; trim it straight every week.
Pyramid
Narrow at the top under the nose and wider at the bottom along the lip, forming a triangle.
- Time to grow: 4 to 6 weeks
- Upkeep: Medium
- Suits: Narrow faces
Grow a natural moustache, then trim the top corners in towards the nose.
Zappa
A thick, droopy moustache that runs past the corners of the mouth, worn with a small soul patch under the bottom lip.
- Time to grow: 2 to 3 months
- Upkeep: Medium
- Suits: Oval and long faces
Named after the musician Frank Zappa. The moustache and the patch should be about the same thickness.
Which moustache suits your face?
Face shape is a rough guide, not a rule; the hair you can actually grow matters more. As a starting point:
| Face shape | Try |
|---|---|
| Oval | Almost anything: chevron, handlebar, English, Zappa |
| Round | Styles that add length: horseshoe, lampshade, a chevron trimmed narrow |
| Square | Softer, fuller shapes: chevron, horseshoe, walrus |
| Long | Styles that add width: chevron, handlebar, Hungarian |
| Narrow | Pencil or pyramid, which won’t swamp the face |
If your hair is light or sparse, avoid the pencil and the English, which need dense hair to show up. A natural or chevron hides gaps best. If it is patchy, our guide to growing a moustache covers what helps.
The moustache styles judged at world championships
Yes, there are world championships. The World Beard and Moustache Championships judge moustaches in classes, and their definitions are a useful naming guide (Wikipedia):
- Natural: no more than 1.5 cm past the end of the top lip, styled but without aids such as wax.
- English: slender, with very long hairs pulled to the side.
- Dalí: slender with long tips, pointing straight up or arching up.
- Imperial: small and bushy, with tips arching up.
- Hungarian: big and bushy, starting from the middle of the top lip and pulled to the side.
- Freestyle: anything that fits no other class.
How to get any of these
Every style starts the same way: stop shaving your top lip and leave it alone for three to four weeks, trimming only hairs that reach into your mouth. Then shape it. Our how to grow a moustache guide covers the awkward weeks and patchy growth, and our how to trim a moustache guide covers the lip line, the shape and wax.
FAQ
What is the most popular moustache style?
The chevron: full, covering the top lip and trimmed along the lip line. It suits most faces, takes 3 to 6 weeks and needs only a weekly trim.
What moustache can I grow in a month?
A natural moustache or a chevron. A pencil takes only a week or two, but needs shaving every day or two. Handlebars, horseshoes and anything curled take months.
What is the difference between a horseshoe and a Fu Manchu?
A horseshoe runs down past the mouth in two thick bars along the jaw. A Fu Manchu is thin strands that grow down from the corners of the lip and hang free past the chin.
Do I need moustache wax?
Only for styles with shaped tips: handlebar, English, imperial, Hungarian and Dalí. A chevron or natural moustache needs a comb and scissors, not wax. Our trimming and wax guide explains how to use it.
Is it moustache or mustache?
Both. Moustache is the Australian and British spelling; mustache is American.
