So my wifes pet peave is a stash that is trimmed and ends up picky because of the way the barber trims it back.....what is the proper way to trim it? Anyone know?
Proper way to trim a stash?
- Thread starter 6Cuda6
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So I have a little trick. For years now I use a bic or any cheap two blade razor. Learned it while somewhere that you didn't have trimmers . I get a cleaner look than than when I did try trimmers. Can't explain how I do it but twice a week I clean it up.
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- #3
Do you use a comb as a guide or just free hand it?
Free hand. For me it's about looking from angles. If it's just the line I'm looking at from front I may still end up with a ned Flanders look.
What do you mean by picky? Does it look a little too over done and pencil thin, or do you mean it feels prickly?
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
The proper way is whatever way gives you the look you (and the wife) are happy with. There is no universal correct method. If there was, we would all sport the same styles - and we don't.
I usually freehand it with scissors and make sure to use a good conditioner and beard cream to keep it soft for the lady of the house.
I don't know about there being a proper way, but I've always used hair clippers, then a beard trimmer, and now some high end mustache scissors. What I do, is I just cut the hairs right above my lip. This makes the higher hairs longer, and in my mind softer?
When the whiskers get long enough, you simply gnaw off the ends that hang down...
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- #10
Me too but when the stash starts filtering my coffee its time to trim.....when the barber does it they seem to draw the top back making it picky outwardly (if that makes sense) and the wife hates it.... I like when my wife kisses me so im trying to avoid this....lol.
I used a nice set of small grooming scissors and trimmed to the lip line. Daily. But it still ended up driving me nuts, and thus I now have the goatee.
First, I lather it up and comb it into position. I use a small Wahl clippers with a #3 guard and go against the grain to thin out the bulk. Then I take the guard off and use the bare clippers to get what is sticking past the lip into my mouth. (Be very careful here, just do a half-inch at a time, and make sure the final result is symmetrical.)
I trim it about once a month. It takes me 5 minutes tops and I get the same result that my barber charges $16 for.
I trim it about once a month. It takes me 5 minutes tops and I get the same result that my barber charges $16 for.
Sounds like he's trimming it a little shorter than your wife likes. You may want to only trim at the lip line. Comb it and trim right to the lip. This can be done with either scissors or a trimmer. Here are two different ways of doing this.
The first is to open your mouth slightly and start in the middle and follow the slope of your upper lip down. You can do it at the top or bottom of your lip depending how you want it to look and how much it it drives you crazy if/when it gets in your mouth.
The second also starts by combing it down. Then make a big smile and just trim it straight across, when you relax your mouth the edges will be longer than the center and follow your lip nicely.
If only trimming the bottom leaves you with too busy of a mustache you can thin it down with clippers and a comb guard. Always start with a longer comb than you think you will need and remember going with the grain will leave it longer than going against the grain.
Sometimes I will trim the top half of the stache a little shorter than the bottom. It just depends how much of a beard I'm sporting and the look I want to go for.
There is really no right or wrong way to do it as long as you get the results you want. With a little practice you'll have the look you want dialed in.
The first is to open your mouth slightly and start in the middle and follow the slope of your upper lip down. You can do it at the top or bottom of your lip depending how you want it to look and how much it it drives you crazy if/when it gets in your mouth.
The second also starts by combing it down. Then make a big smile and just trim it straight across, when you relax your mouth the edges will be longer than the center and follow your lip nicely.
If only trimming the bottom leaves you with too busy of a mustache you can thin it down with clippers and a comb guard. Always start with a longer comb than you think you will need and remember going with the grain will leave it longer than going against the grain.
Sometimes I will trim the top half of the stache a little shorter than the bottom. It just depends how much of a beard I'm sporting and the look I want to go for.
There is really no right or wrong way to do it as long as you get the results you want. With a little practice you'll have the look you want dialed in.
one note to those that want to grow a handlebar mustache, you have to avoid all urges to trim at all. it can be difficult letting it grow out over your lip, but it is important to have the middle grow out long enough to incorporate into the handlebars. some trim over their lip, and that will always hold you back. once it gets long enough it is a lot easier to keep out of you mouth by just combing it over to the sides.
any trimming i do is with the small scissors. i did trim about an inch off of each side because i had been trimming over my lip at one time and the sided were a bit longer, but also thinner because the middle did not fill it out. now i need to just let it go with no more trimming.
any trimming i do is with the small scissors. i did trim about an inch off of each side because i had been trimming over my lip at one time and the sided were a bit longer, but also thinner because the middle did not fill it out. now i need to just let it go with no more trimming.
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- #15
Thanks for the info....do you trim this way wet or dry?
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- #16
Thanks for the tip! I have a trimmer and guards.....
Definitely not wet, but maybe a little damp. I usually trim after I've washed, towel dried, and combed a bit of oil through the beard. You want it to be laying and acting the way it will be. If it's still short it probably won't make a lot of difference, bu the longer it is the more water it will hold and be weighed down. Trimming when wet will leave you with the hair being shorter than you though after it is dry.
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- #18
Okey Dokey!!
I don't think there is any one way to trim a mustache. If you want handlebars then don't trim at all...ever. Just let it grow and use wax to tame it. If you want a trimmed mustache then it will depend on the length you want and the general style you desire. For years before I grew handlebars I just trimmed until the hair wasn't hanging over my lip and getting into my food. Once I decided to grow handlebars and once I got over the middle-miserable-length issue it is much easier to manage.
