pencil moustache: whisker length

[Patricks]

Here's a question for those who manage to pull off* a nice pencil moustache: how long do you keep the hairs? Simply as bushy as it grows, limited by the upper and lower edges, or do you trim it? If so, to what length?

I'll try it out myself, and everybody's beard growth is individual anyway, but I was curious how that is "typically" done. (Or any printed instructions from the 1920s-40s?)


* not literally

 

[dmshaver]

Great question! Who can advise?

 

[APBinNCA]

Every time I type something about moustaches, somebody comes along with better advice. At this point, I am happy that my position is to get them into the discussion.

That said, looking at historic examples, I can't see how any hair in the bulk of the moustache is much over an inch in length. It's all well and good to apply plenty of wax, but random hairs are going to pop out and eventually hang over your mouth. That seems completely incompatible with the look. I spend a lot of time shaping the ends so they can come to a point as much as possible and those end hair are closer to two inches for me. Mine is cut around a 30 degree taper to reduce bulk so the upper hairs aren't so much longer than those closest to my lips. I use a razor to shape both the top and bottom of the moustache to shape and I feel that is the most important thing for this style that sits well above your lip. If there are any random uneven spots, they are going to show when it's waxed and shaped. I know some of the competition people have ridiculous length hair and shape them like a pencil, but I have to wonder what that really looks like by the end of a business day!

 

[NorthernSoul]

OK, this is my opinion only...

Pencil mustaches need to be groomed often to look good, like as often as you normally shave. The hair should be short, an even length and decently thick, not bushy or scraggly. The length would be somewhere around two weeks to one month of hair growth. Don't let the hair extend down past the top of the upper lip. I'd suggest using an adjustable beard trimmer to keep the hair length even and short. Use scissors over comb to trim the length to follow the top of the upper lip. You do not want a geometric line, but a soft feathered edge that generally follows the curve of the upper lip.

 

[GR5233]

Great question! Who can advise?

Salvador Dali?

 

[JCoulter]

It seems there is some confusion about what a pencil mustache is. My father wore one most of his life, as did many of the movie stars of his era, including Clark Gable.

Here's Don Ameche:

The basic method is simply to shave down from the top to create a straight line. Some men have zero hair growth on their philtrum, creating a "hair gap" that divides the mustache into left and right halves, and a pencil mustache cannot hide this as bushier styles can: those men may choose to have the two halves bend upward at the middle and follow the philtrum ridge toward the septum.

The top is pretty easy: the only mistake is to shave the top down more than you think flatters you (too thin of a pencil). The bottom edge should be straight.

The OP's concern is about trimming: should the hairs at the top be let to grow all the way down to the bottom, or should all the hairs be trimmed more or less to the same length?

I think if you have the follicle density, you get a better result if you trim all hairs to the same length (except of course for the bottom rows of hair, which will need to be trimmed shorter to create a straight bottom edge). If you don't have the density, you'll have to let the top hairs grow a bit longer for coverage, but this is a short, tight, controlled look, not a bushy look, so that will only work to a certain degree. You'll have to figure out what works best for you.

Of course it can all be done with a good pair of trimming scissors, but an electric trimmer can come in handy here, esp. one with a narrow comb (cutting width).

Looking at Ameche's pic, I realize I need to double up on the Brylcreem.

 

[malocchio]

REAL CLASS ..... we used to trim ours with a naked razor blade, hand held ..... Errol Flynn .... Robert Donat .... Fred MacMurray ...... Vincent Price ... Little Richard

 

[DesertIguana]

I like pencils on other people, think they are difficult to keep looking sharpe.