Believe it or not, the handlebar mustache has been around since the 18th century when soldiers wore them so they could be distinguished from civilians. The mustache style, which features curved ends upward, has a proud history, and now it’s used by men from all walks of life to create a variety of styles.
This mustache is a great choice for men who want a quirky but cool addition to their facial hair. It can be worn thick or thin and with or without a beard. If you’re up for a new mustache, check out our favorite handlebar mustaches to see why you might want to give this one a try!
What is a Handlebar Mustache?
A handlebar mustache is a thick mustache with a neat middle part that curves upwards at the ends. You can achieve this style with or without a beard.
How to Grow A Handlebar Mustache
From the size of a handlebar mustache, it’s obvious you can’t grow it overnight and it takes some time. Usually, you need six weeks to grow facial hair. Use mustache wax to shape it and apply a little hair growth oil to boost its productivity.
Before applying wax on clean hair, you can soften the wax while heating it slightly above room temperature to get optimal results. Never trim mustache hair within the first three weeks and comb it daily for 10-15 minutes.
The key to learning how to grow a handlebar mustache is knowing how to take care of your skin and hair. Make sure to keep the area around your mustache clean and exfoliated.
Don’t forget to moisturize your skin regularly to avoid pore blockage and keep your mustache growing faster. Pick a natural soap to deal with the skin around and under your mustache. Exfoliation ensures that all the dead skin cells are gone and don’t interfere with facial hair growth.
Allow the hair to grow naturally for about 8 to 12 weeks. This is the hard part since it requires some patience. While the hair is growing, you don’t need to trim it, but you must brush it. Purchase a fine-tooth comb and use it to “teach” the mustache how and where it should grow.
Just like the hair on your head, facial hair needs to be styled daily to make the hair growth direction ideal for your needs. You’ll have to use wax to shape the mustache after brushing. You’ll see results after a few weeks.
Once the hair is long enough, you can start shaping the handlebar. After washing your mustache (the best way to do it is by taking a long shower), add some wax to your fingertips and work it through your mustache. Use a comb to make sure the wax is spread all over your hair.
Start combing the mustache from the center outward. Use your fingers to twist the ends of the hair and curl them upward. The thicker the hair, the more wax you’ll need.
Best Handlebar Mustache Styles for Men
Handlebar mustaches can be worn in different styles. Every size and shape can create a new style. Growing a beard with your mustache will make you look more manly. Below are our favorite mustaches.
1. Thick Handlebar With Full Beard
It’s the best option for those who have thick facial hair as a little effort is enough to style your mustache. Grow a beard and get Caesar haircut with it. Thick facial hair also requires more attention in cleaning so always get the services of an experienced barber.
2. Van Dyke Beard
A Van Dyke beard covers only a small patch of the chin and pairs nicely with a handlebar mustache. Wear with a side parted short hairstyle.
3. The Classic
To get the classic handlebar mustache, use a bit of facial styling product and shape the “handlebars” with your fingers. It will look great with a medium length wavy hairstyle.
4. Long and Dramatic
If you’re the type of man who is more interested in bold styles, you’ll love this extra long handlebar mustache. Work it with a mohawk and bald fade.
5. Thin Hair
Having a mustache luckily doesn’t require a certain type of hair. Thin hair looks just as great styled into a handlebar mustache, especially as light blonde.
6. Going Grey
For older men with a thick head of hair and some greys starting to peek through, carry that look into facial hair and wear with a scruffy handlebar mustache.
7. High Fade and Goatee
Connecting a beard or goatee to your handlebar mustache is one very attractive way to sport the trend. A short haircut also helps keep the look trim and dapper.
8. Jumbo Handlebars
Throw some contrast into your look by working your thick facial hair into a jumbo shapely handlebar mustache and pairing with a short cropped beard.
9. Stubble Beard
A stubble beard or five o’clock shadow doesn’t have to decorate your lower face area on its own. Wear it with a handlebar mustache and natural textured hair.
10. Full Beard
If your hair is thick and coarse, rock a full beard with a handlebar mustache. Dye the hair dark to match your haircut.
11. Round Faces
Emphasize a round face shape by shaving or trimming the beard area and wearing with a handlebar mustache. A funky hat adds a pop of detail.
12. Thin Handlebar
If your face shape is long and slender, a thin handlebar mustache will look best on you. Try this one, which has a pronounced divet in the middle and curves upward at the ends.
13. Ginger Overall
Red-haired fellows take notice: a full beard with a full handlebar will be quite handsome on you. Keep the sideburns thin and trimmed short, but the hair at the chin full.
14. Balbo Beard
If you have little to no hair on your head, a Balbo beard will be a nice addition to your curved mustache. The Balbo beard extends along the jaw line, so it will flatter the angles of your face. Use a bit of wax to define your mustache.
15. Goatee + Mustache
Black men with thick afro hair look very handsome with goatees, but add a mustache and it’s a winner. Completely shave the sides of your face for a nice, neat look, and be sure to keep the goatee trimmed.
16. Gray Handlebar Mustache
Older men often resort to the handlebar mustache for the rough and rugged look it can give. Here we see it styled with a stubbly beard, and a scruffy goatee. The mustache is neatly combed and curled at the ends.
17. Young Men’s Mustache
On young men, the best version of a handlebar mustache is one that is pencil thin. This one has pronounced curly ends, which you can shape easily with a little wax, and a shaved beard.
18. Long Full Beard
If you prefer classic looks, style a long full beard with your mustache. If you have a short or shaved haircut, the contrast of a long beard will look great. Just brush it neatly with a little beard oil to prevent a ragged look.
19. Handlebar Walrus Mustache
Named for its similarity to a walrus’ whiskers, a walrus handlebar mustache has hairs that come over the lips, but the ends of the mustache still have the handlebar shape. Wear it with no beard or just with short, thick sideburns.
20. Blonde Mustache
If you have blonde hair and happen to prefer a neater, more low-maintenance look, then you’ll like this short and trim mustache style. It will be a cinch to buzz your beard and use a small pair of scissors for ‘stache trims.
21. Edgy Handlebar Mustache
It’s easy to create a punk or edgy look with a handlebar mustache. With a mohawk, shaved or faded hairstyle, rock a full beard with a long thin mustache that juts out away from the face so it is most noticeable.
22. 90 Degree Handlebar
Both ends of this mustache are lifted upward and it’s difficult to handle. More care and waxing are required to style two sides into a 90 degrees angle while it covers a big part of your mouth that makes it annoying at the start.
23. Classical Handlebar
It’s another amazing yet classical mustache style that is easy to wear and effortless to clean. The twisted ends are shorter and don’t spread on the major part of your face. Add some accessories with it and get an outstanding heroic look.
24. Beveled Ends
Beveled ends to portray the gentleman in you and never disturb you because of the balanced size and shape. The sides of this mustache aren’t curled but upward and erected. Go for this style if you have dark and thick hair.
25. Slight Twist
Stand out from the crowd and get a slight twist mustache to turn every head. It maintains zest and elegance simultaneously by keeping both slightly twisted. To avoid extreme wild look and uphold manly appearance, a slight twist is the best option for everyone.
26. Acute Angle
An acute angle is for those who love leveled and thick handlebar mustaches. It covers a major part of your mouth and you have to take care while eating. The selection of the ends styles absolutely depends on you, i.e. twisted or leveled.
27. English Handlebar
Medium thickness and large size are the basic characteristics of the English handlebar mustache. Wax is used to attain the symmetrical shape of a mustache and maintain a straight bicycle handle. If you have white or bold hair, then never go for this style as it will never suit you in any way.
28. Mustache and Straight Beard on Chin
It’s another elegant and classic mustache that is straight and horizontal from the chin. The style is only good for those who have thick hair on the chin and have a fair complexion. It’s necessary to keep mustache thin and erected.
29. O’ Curved
The mustache makes O shape at both ends. Medium thickness and curved shape are the main features of O’ curved mustaches and while it looks best when the dark shade is used to highlight the grayish shade.
30. Bushy Handlebar with Chinstrap
Get an extremely fashionable look by contrasting your mustache with a chinstrap. It seems bushy when gets combined with short chinstrap. This combination will look fantastic and impressive to both young boys and middle-aged men.
31. Natural Handlebar
The natural handlebar doesn’t need any artificial shape or curls. Let your hair grow in their natural way and maintain natural curls. Never use different mustache products available in the market and avoid excess trimming to get the exact style.
32. Cape Buffalo Style
Do you love hunting and expeditions? Portray it through your style and get a mustache style that gives an illusion of cape buffalo. The curved shape of the mustache gives an exact look of buffalo horns while the hair present under the lower lip makes V shape when get combine with a handlebar mustache.
Confused How to Grow The Perfect Mustache? Watch the below video.
Facial hair distinguishes a man from a woman and every man should accept it wholeheartedly. Grow a handlebar mustache to look stylish, manly and fearless.
Maintenance Tips
The handlebar mustache is pretty easy to maintain. There are several tips to follow that help achieve the perfect mustache.
- Patience is a crucial part of growing and maintaining a handlebar mustache. Growing the mustache until it is thick and full may take some time. Do not trim until it fully grows in, as tempting as it may be.
- Wash the mustache at least 3 times a week. Use natural soaps or cleansing oils. Don’t forget to exfoliate the skin under your mustache at least once a week.
- Trimming your handlebar mustache is crucial to maintain once it’s fully grown. Your mustache should be thick but trimmed and lined up neatly. Use a beard trimmer to keep the length and any hairs growing outside the edges of your mustache.
- Wax is a vital part of maintaining your mustache. Choosing a wax that works for your beard is very important. Wax helps keep your mustache looking great and feeling healthy. To apply the wax, use a generous amount to smooth over your mustache as you style it.
Handlebar Mustache vs. Imperial Mustache
Handlebar mustaches and imperial mustaches are very close in style. Both types are thick, parted in the middle, combed towards the sides, and turned up at the ends. The main difference in these styles of mustache is in length and formalness.
Handlebar mustaches are more formal. These mustaches are typically more stiffly combed and twirled up at the ends. It also tends to be a bit thinner than the imperial.
Imperial mustaches are a little more casual than the handlebar mustache. Imperial mustaches are longer than handlebars. They also have a more relaxed curl at the ends.
FAQs
Here are some commonly asked questions about handlebar mustaches.
Mustache popularity continues to rise and decline with time. Handlebar mustaches have also seen waves of popularity. King Charles, I rocked a handlebar mustache in the early 1600s. They became popular in the U.S. in the 1920s following the 1st World War.
Beards were a hazard in the war because gas masks could not seal well over them, so they trimmed them into mustaches. This mustache grew in popularity as it symbolized brave soldiers.
Growing a handlebar mustache could take up to three months, depending on how quickly you grow facial hair. Handlebar requires a full, thick mustache. You will want to continue to grow it until all patches fill in and there is enough length to style it into the proper shape.
A handlebar mustache grows on the upper lip and curls upwards at the ends. It does not hang further below the mouth. The length of the mustache typically does not grow below the upper lip.
Fu Manchu is a much longer mustache. This mustache starts on the upper lip, just like the handlebar mustaches but continues down past the lips and chin. The ends do not curl upwards but are left hanging down off the face.
A handlebar mustache needs to be long and full enough to comb to the sides. It is up to you how long you want it to be beyond that requirement.
However, at a certain point, your handlebar mustache will turn into an imperial mustache due to its length. You may also want to think about what length will be flattering for your face.
Never miss an opportunity to look stylish and trendy as it’s no less than a blunder to waste your thick and natural facial hair when you can make different styles from them and experience different looks at a time. Handlebar mustache provides you with outstanding ways to get a style in 2024.