The 10 Best Mustache Styles to Try

One of the perks of staying inside more means you have plenty of time to grow out your beard and mustache. Not all men are aware that this traditional facial hair style boasts dozens of different variations, each one filled to the brim with its own unique personality and flair. We love mustaches, whether they're adding a touch of texture to a clean-shaven face or incorporated into a beard.

These 10 mustache styles cover everything from the most classic dad moustache to the ultra-classy and artistic pencil mustache.

Natural Mustache

All mustache styles bear a natural ease that bestows their timeless testament to masculinity everywhere. How many men discovered they could grow thick hair on their upper lip and carried it with the same regality with which a lion wears his mane? The natural style is what you grow on your top lip with little to no grooming in between. You trim here and there to keep hair out of your mouth, but the straight line above your lips is the natural mustache at its finest.

It's the Honest Abe of mustache styles. It can become a walrus mustache if you let it grow long enough, or you can curl or twist it past the corners of the mouth for a little razzle dazzle. Natural looks make excellent bases because you can always grow or trim them to suit your fancy.

Pencil Mustache

In the 1930s and 40s, cinema was new to the world, and the stars gracing the new silver screen made the popular pencil mustache the sophisticated, devilish style it is today. For men who have high cheekbones or a thin face, pencil mustaches are the perfect accoutrements to their naturally sculpted appearance.

This look is best suited for men with darker hair because its thin style is harder to see in lighter shades. If you're a refined, vintage connoisseur who wants to channel the likes Errol Flynn and Clark Gable, this is the style for you.

Van Dyke Mustache

Interested in the best goatees for every face shape? See our post on ultimate goatee styles.

Mustache With Soul Patch

The soul patch adds a little more depth to the face when you feel like a typical mustache just doesn't cut it. Men who prefer a rounded look to their facial hair or feel like their face looks too asymmetrical with hair on just their upper lip may opt to grow these types to give their stache some company.

Handlebar Mustache

To create the signature look of bicycle handlebars on this mustache, you'll need some high-quality mustache wax. Growing a handlebar mustache takes time, typically about six months. Once you've reached the appropriate length and density, you'll use wax to curl the handles outwards and back toward your cheeks.

One of the most impressive displays of this style can be seen by Rollie Fingers, the professional baseball player whose handlebar mustache was so important to him that he chose to retire rather than shave it off. Respect.

Walrus Mustache

Think about a walrus for a moment. Do they seem like the type of animal you'd want to mess with? Not at all. You respect a walrus, and people respect men with walrus mustaches, like Tom Selleck. There's an air of indifference and gruffness to this moustache style that makes us think of school principals and non-nonsense football coaches. Cool ones, though.

For the man who isn't afraid to let his facial hair make a statement, this look speaks volumes. You'll need plenty of time and a good beard care routine to grow a decent walrus, but the good news is that with a fine-toothed comb, all you really need to achieve this look is patience.

Horseshoe Mustache

The horseshoe mustache looks like an upside down U extending from the top lip to the base of the chin. It belongs to the biker gang of mustache styles and doesn't accept anything less than excellence. Don't confuse these mustaches with the Fu Manchu or a long walrus; both of these styles do not include the cheek hair that affixes the horseshoe moustache to a man's face. This one isn't going anywhere, fellas. If you ever find yourself in a comedy sketch where someone accuses you of having a fake moustache, just dare them to try and pull this one off.

Chevron Mustache

Freddie Mercury brought the chevron mustache styles into the spotlight in the 80s, and we've been a fan of this natural mustache style for just as long. It's a simple, honest look that no one can argue with. Really, what criticism could you possibly have for this moustache? It's the type of insurance salesman that shows up at your door on a Saturday afternoon and you trust. And you know what? He gets you an amazing deal. You love this guy.

The chevron makes old school feel young again, and you'll spot it on many young hipsters who want a facial hair style that pairs well with beanies, French roasts and flannels. The easiest way to grow a chevron moustache is to just let your full beard grow for a few months before shaving everywhere but their upper lip.

Cop Stache

The infamous cop stache might make you want to salute someone who walks by, but it really is a lot friendlier than its name implies. The moniker actually derives from the strict grooming regulations of United States servicemen. Military regulations dictate that facial hair cannot extend above the bottom of the nose, lower than the top lip and it may not extend longer than the edge of the mouth. This means men in the force had to choose between rocking this strict moustache or going barefaced.

Today, this look still seems a bit harsh, but it can be worn well if you style it into the signature lampshade shape. If you work in law enforcement, don't want to spend a lot of time in the mirror or just want something easy to style, this look might be your match. You could pair it with some stubble or a thin beard to make it less harsh.

Fu Manchu Mustache Styles

A straight, thin mustache with a significant part on the upper lip makes the Fu Manchu one of the most difficult mustaches to pull off. It's similar to the Dali mustache, but its handles extend straight downward rather than pointing up. It isn't connected to the face except at the mouth corners, so although it bears resemblance to the horseshoe in some regards, it does not share the cheek growth or fullness.

You'll need daily grooming to keep your Fu Manchu mustache clean and precise. It's not the easiest look to grow or maintain, but you're guaranteed to be unforgettable with this look.

History of the Mustache

Mustaches predate most things. They're that epic. From the time men realized they could style the hair on their face, mustaches have been in style. Although they were pushed to the backburner of fashion in favor of the goatee and full beard in recent years, they're making a resounding comeback that we're here to celebrate.

The word mustache derives from the French "moustache," which is still in use today. From there, it dates back to the Italian "mustachio," which dates back even further until you're in the Medieval Ages. The Ancient Greeks are the earliest people to wear facial hair on their upper lip, though we'll never know for certain who the first people to style the hair on their face were.

Mustache styles have mostly been largely influenced by popular figures throughout history. Take the Dali mustache, named after the surrealist painter Salvador Dali in the 1930s. Then there's the walrus, which we've covered, one of the biggest mustache styles brought into the mainstream by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and 26th United States President Theodore Roosevelt. With so many iconic mustache styles out there, it can be hard knowing where to start growing yours. But don't worry about living up to the icons now. You rmustache will take time, and who knows, maybe one day we'll be writing about your epic facial hair.

How to Grow A Mustache

For men who are new to growing facial hair, a moustache is the easiest style to grow. You can let your shaving habits fall to the wayside for a few months and nourish your beard daily with some beard oil and beard balm, before taking a razor and beard scissors and shaping your mustache however you please.

Longer mustache styles will require a beard comb and mustache wax to look their best. Lucky for you, The Bearded Chap offers all the beard care products you need to grow the mustache dreams are made of. Keep in mind that different mustache styles require different levels of grooming; we suggest opting for something easy and low-maintenance in the beginning, then branching out into more daring territories later if you're up to it.

Celebrity Mustache Styles

We all look to the stars for guidance. No, not those stars! The ones in Hollywood. Celebrities set the trends, and while we encourage every man to make his own way in life, there's no denying that these men have given us some pretty damn epic mustaches to model our own after.

Any man who wants a thick, voluminous mustache style need not look further than Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott for inspiration. Their walruses conjure up the same energy as a high falootin' sheriff in the most iconic Western film of all time. We can never quite remember exactly what film that is, but you'll feel like the star of it everyday with a mustache like theirs on your face.

For gentlemen who find themselves drawn to thinner mustaches but aren't sure how to pull them off, take an example from the likes of Brad Pitt, who sported the pencil mustache paired with a goatee beard.

Right in the middle of the two, we have the epic Henry Cavill mustache. It's sturdy, reliable and suitable for just about any job or face. We can't guarantee that growing a Henry Cavill mustache will bring you any closer to becoming Superman, but it certainly can't hurt, right?

Iconic Mustaches

The mustache is always a classic look in and of itself, but there are some staches that were so memorable they've become immortalized. Take the "Ron Swanson stache," one of the most glorious, manliest mustaches we've ever seen. Ron Swanson's mustache wasn't just a magnificent display of a well-groomed stache; it was an extension of his personality.

Comedian Charlie Chaplin popularized the toothbrush mustache. Donning a sturdy sliver of facial hair on his upper lip, this flamboyant style became a trademark of Chaplin. Several decades later, Hollywood continued to trailblaze mustache trends with likes of Clark Gable.

Let's not forget the horseshoe mustache that adorns the face of Hulk Hogan. During his wrestling years, the Hogan mustache was a force to be reckoned with. Although he's retired from the arena, there's no way you can think of the horseshoe look without Hulk coming to mind.

Last, but certainly not least, we have Freddie Mercury with his classic chevron style mustache. The singer grew his facial hair in the mid-80s, and it immediately became one of the most popular looks of the decade. Over 40 years later, the Freddie Mercury mustache look is coming back as one of the most easy to grow, low-maintenance mustache styles.