Father’s Day Special: The Ultimate Dad’s Guide to Growing a Smashing ‘Tash!

Facial furniture, cookie duster, crumb catcher or face lace…Call it what you like, the moustache is back in fashion! For Father’s Day we’re doing some special hairy deals – and to kick it off, here’s our ultimate ‘tache style guide for Dads (and even Mums)…

A brief history of the ‘tache

In many places in the world, from India to the Balkans, moustaches have long been a sign of strength and virility. When a boy’s facial hair grew in, the bushier and wilder it was, the more untamable his masculinity was believed to be.

After the Elizabethan period in England, men abandoned their beards for moustaches which were deemed to be more regal. King James I is always wearing a moustache and goatee in his portraits – and so is his son, King Charles I, but with an extra rakish glint in his eye.

In 1698 the Russian Tsar Peter the Great established a beard tax, which men side-stepped by growing fine moustaches instead.

However, beware of misleading facial hair. One of history’s greatest moustache wearers was Groucho Marx, but guess what? His caterpillar moustache was a fake. What a fraud! Years later he did grow one, though it was never as thick (or as funny) as his falsie.

Show us your mo!

In honour of Father’s Day, we are running a 20% off promotion for everyone, hairy-lipped or not. When checking out, just use the code DAD20.

Or better yet, why not show us your dad-tash (or beard) on Instagram? Just snap a pic, post it, and tag it with #TCFCFUN – and you can win a £25 voucher. Real or false is fine, and mums are welcome to enter too! (Details and T&Cs are at the bottom of the page). We can’t wait to see your pics!

With that in mind, here is some style inspiration for your facial furniture…

Mo’ Inspiration: Eight magnificent moustache styles to try

1) Chevron Moustache

Big in the 1970s and 80s, chevron moustaches conjure up men on the covers of saucy romance novels or Tom Selleck in Magnum P.I. Other famous examples include Burt Reynolds, Freddie Mercury, and Ned Flanders from The Simpsons. But perhaps the greatest chevron wearer was Dr. Martin Luther King, fighting for freedom and looking dapper at the same time. To get the look, trim hairs beyond the width of the upper lip and keep them relatively short. 

2) English Moustache

You might call this dastardly style the Cad’s Moustache. The trick is to let your whiskers grow, then when you have to trim, make sure not to cut the whiskers growing above the corners of your mouth. These need to remain long so you can twirl them and set them in place with wax. Terry Thomas, cinema’s greatest cad, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are quintessential examples. Disney’s Captain Hook and Surrealist painter Salvador Dali took it too far (Dali’s seemed to change direction with his mood.)
 

3) Handlebar Moustache

According to The Handlebar Club, this moustache is “a hirsute appendage of the upper lip with graspable extremities.” Similar to the English except the handlebar curls upward instead of straight out. Comb it, wax it, twist and shape it. Poirot as played by David Suchet has possibly the most famous handlebar on telly (the attention to detail is nothing less than what you’d expect from a top Belgian sleuth). The ‘Pancho Villa’ is a more rough and ready variation: don’t twist or wax your handlebars, let them go as rogue as the Mexican general who inspired this style.

4) Horseshoe Moustache

So called because it looks like an upside-down horseshoe. It’s generally associated with bikers like The Hell’s Angels, The Village People, and professional wrestler, Hulk Hogan. To grow this, you first need a thick solid beard and then get trimming.

5) Imperial Moustache

The World Beard and Moustache Championships defines the Imperial as a bushy moustache with the tips curled upward. It’s a style as glorious and ridiculous  as the now defunct Austro-Hungarian Empire. The moustaches sported by Kaiser Wilhelm II and Archduke Franz Ferdinand are prime examples.

6) Pencil Moustache

This says: Steady, ladies! In the Golden Age of Hollywood, this was the moustache to have. Think Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, David Niven, Sammy Davis Jr….It was shorthand for sophistication and charming nonchalance. This style requires perfect symmetry and daily tending with a straight razor. Be warned, though, if you wear it incorrectly, you’ll look louche and nobody wants that, so probably best to have a professional look after it.

7) Toothbrush Moustache

Another one you need to be very careful with, for obvious reasons. The most endearing version was Charlie Chaplin’s. Legend has it that this style was brought to Europe by the Americans and  was embraced during World War I because soldiers couldn’t fit their imperial moustaches into their gas masks. To get the look, shave all hair beyond the width of your nose and trim any whiskers touching your lip.

8) Walrus Moustache

Modelled after the marine mammal, this wide bushy style was popular with many an army general in the 1800s. The bushier it was, the higher your rank. Famous examples include Yosemite Sam, UK Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, Otto von Bismarck, Wyatt Earp, General Kitchener, and, the greatest exponent of all, The Swedish Chef from The Muppets.

Grow it out and condition it often. A strong look but take care when eating: apparently it’s difficult to dine elegantly with a walrus.

Fancy a go at one of these? Share your snaps and win…