By Jason
September 16, 2023
9 minutes
Did you just start growing a mustache and looking for a guide on how to shave your mustache teenage? Or are you an adult who wants to go for a variety of mustache styles? Or just someone tired of failing to master the technique of shaving a mustache?
Well, we have a step-by-step guideline for shaving the perfect mustache in different styles for every man out there. In this article, you can find information on several mustache styles, how to shave a mustache, and ways to achieve a well-groomed beard look.
So, let us get started.
Table of Contents:
- Part 1: Mustache Styles
- Part 2: How to Shave a Pencil Mustache
- Part 3: How to Shave a Handlebar Mustache
- Part 4: How to Shave a Horseshoe Mustache
- Part 5: How to Shave a Chevron Mustache
- Part 6: Tips for Smooth and Safe Mustache Shave
Part 1: Mustache Styles
One of the basics before knowing how to groom a mustache is determining what are different styles of mustache are. It helps give you an idea of what you want and how it can be achieved. So, below are the most popular mustache styles of 2023.
1. Pencil Mustache
The pencil mustache has its origins in the 20th century and has been popular among men in the 1930s and 1940s. It is a thin mustache just above the upper lip going no farther than the lip corners.
This classic vintage mustache style is for men who like to dress up often and look calm and authoritative. It suits all face shapes and adds to the appearance of men with thin hair.
2. Handlebar Mustache
Also popular in the 19th century the handle mustache style is finding its way back into society because of its fierce appearance yet masculine appearance.
In this stylish mustache, the central part of the mustache just above the lip is thick hair while the ends are outgrown from the corners of the lips and twisted into an upward direction.
So, it resembles the upturned handlebar of a bicycle. Handlebar mustache looks good on men with a square face because their checks are broad giving enough area for it to look flattering.
3. Horseshoe Mustache
The Horseshoe mustache style has been associated with strong and rebellious men for a long time. The outlook on this big mustache is still the same.
In horseshoe mustache style, a full thick mustache is grown just above the lips, and hair is grown downwards on the cheeks extending from the outer corners of the mouth below to the chin. It resembles a French beard without its chin part and is suitable for round and square face shapes.
4. Chevron Mustache
Chevron is an inverted V symbol with a widely separated end. When used as a mustache style, this thick mustache mimics the appearance of a chevron.
It involves letting the beard grow around the contour of the upper lip and letting it beyond the margins of the lips in a slightly downward direction. This commendable style of mustache looks good on most face shapes as long as your face is not too small.
Part 2: How to Shave a Pencil Mustache
A pencil mustache is one of the most sophisticated mustache styles. Let us find out more about it below.
What Does a Pencil Mustache Look Like?
A pencil mustache looks like a thin line of hair drawn just above the upper lip meticulously with no berserk hair on the sides. The picture given below can give a better idea of what a pencil mustache looks like.
Step-by-Step Guide to Shaving a Pencil Mustache
Here is your step-by-step guide on how to cut a mustache in a pencil shape.
Step 1: Prepare your Shaving Tool
You would need a shaving tool like an electric razor which comes with multiple heads to allow shaving of the beard and trimming of the mustache at once. So, get an electric razor having different combs.
Step 2: Trim the Extra Hair from the Face
As the face has no beard in the pencil mustache, the first step is to get rid of the extra facial hair. For this, set your shaving razor with a regular blade and remove the hair from your chin, sideburns, and cheeks. Ensure that you leave the mustache intact here.
Step 3: Wash and Prepare the Skin
After shaving the face, wash the hair remnants and exfoliate the skin from the face with water and face wash. You can also use a facial scrub here for better results.
Step 4: Shave the Mustache Make an Outline
Apply a facial shaving gel on the mustache area. Then take your facial trimmer and remove the hair in the area between the nose and the mustache in a way that a straight line is achieved. Try to ensure that you trim the hair on both sides symmetrically. Furthermore, check out the difference between shaving gel vs. cream vs. foam here to know why we use shaving gel instead of cream for a pencil mustache.
Step 5: Add Precision to the Mustache
Take a straight single-blade trimmer, pull the skin a bit tight just above the mustache, and shave upwards for precision. Additionally, shave the edges of the mustache meticulously for precision.
Step 6: Rinse and Moisturize the Face
Lastly, wash your face, moisturize the skin and you are good to go. These steps might be difficult if you want to know how to shave a mustache for the first time. So, watch our recommended YouTube video to make the process easy for yourself.
Part 3: How to Shave a Handlebar Mustache
Let us learn how to groom a mustache in a handlebar style here.
What Does Handlebar Mustache Look Like?
A handlebar mustache looks like the handles of a bicycle with twists in upward directions. Below is the picture to illustrate the look.
Step-by-Step Guide to Shaving a Handlebar Mustache
Here is your step-by-step guide on shaving the handlebar mustache.
Step 1: Decide How you Want the Mustache to Look
Handlebar mustache can be worn with or without the beard. The length of its handles also varies. So, make up your mind about how to want your handlebars to look.
After deciding that, wait for your mustache to grow long enough to have a handlebar style.
Step 2: Gather Your Supplies
To trim a handlebar mustache, you need a facial hair trimmer or a razor, mustache combs, scissors, mustache wax, and an optional hair spray.
Step 3: Trim the Beard
If you decide to go clean shave, shave your beard completely with a razor leaving your mustache. You must leave a hair on the outer corners of the mouth. And if you like it with the beard, groom your beard with an electric trimmer and scissors.
Step 4: Groom the Mustache
Comb your mustache with a comb in a downward direction and divide it into a middle and two lateral sections. Then take scissors and cut the hair in the middle section along with the outline of your upper lip.
The hair on the mid area should be short while the hair on the sides should be long for it to be styled right.
Step 5: Style the Mustache
After grooming the mustache, comb it again. Take a mustache wax on your fingers, melt it a little, and apply it to your outgrown mustache. Then comb it in the outwards direction allowing it to look well-groomed.
Take the wax again and apply it only to the edges of the mustache this time. While applying the wax, pinch and twist these sections from the inner to the outer zone. Here, you also need to move the hair in a curved upward direction to form the handlebars.
Step 6: Set the Mustache
This step is optional if you want the mustache to stay perfect all day. Take a pencil and twist the edges around it. Then spray it with a hair-setting spray and you are ready. Below is a YouTube video recommendation that explains all these steps with visuals.
Part 4: How to Shave a Horseshoe Mustache
A horseshoe mustache might look a little difficult to try. But trust me it becomes easy if you use the correct method for grooming it.
What Does a Horseshoe Mustache Look Like?
Have you ever seen a cowboy with a mustache covering the upper lip and extending downwards to the chin in the shape of an upside-down U? If yes, that is what a horseshoe mustache looks like. It also resembles the footprints of a horseshoe.
Step-by-Step Guide to Shaving a Horseshoe Mustache
You can follow the simple steps given below to achieve a horseshoe mustache seamlessly.
Step 1: Grow the Hair
The hair in your beard and chin area must be longer than half of an inch for you to trim them into a precise horseshoe shape. So, let them grow for about a month.
Step 2: Prepare Your Tools
You need a trimmer, a shaver, a razor, and shaving gel for shaving a horseshoe mustache. So, you can prepare all these tools separately or buy a 3-in-1 product like a Gillette styler to make it more feasible for yourself.
In addition, check the difference between an electric shaver and a razor here.
Step 3: Trim and Shave the Beard
Let us now start trimming the beard with the help of an electric trimmer or a safety razor in a way that about 1 finger finger-thick strip of hair is left on both sides of the chin.
First, shave the cheeks and sideburns. Then move to trim the hair on the chin and neck area.
Step 4: Work on the Mustache
Once you have gotten rid of the most hair on your face, it is time to add definition to your mustache. For this apply a shaving gel on the face and shave the area on the sides of your mustache in a way that you achieve a straight line.
Step 5: Do a Close Shave
To add to the appearance of the horseshoe mustache, do a close shave. It clears your skin and makes the mustache the focus of attention.
Step 6: Edge the Mustache
The last step is to edge the mustache with a single-blade razor precisely. The video tutorial of the steps explained above is available in the video given below.
Part 5: How to Shave a Chevron Mustache
Chevron is the easiest mustache style to try. So, let us find out more about it here.
What Does a Chevron Mustache Look Like?
A chevron is a decent-looking regular beard with sharply shaped edges as shown in the picture below.
Step-by-Step Guide to Shaving a Chevron Mustache
Here are some simple steps on how to shave a mustache with a razor to get a perfect chevron mustache.
Step 1: Shave the Beard
Just like with other beard styles, you have to ensure that there is no beard on the face. So, shave the facial hair leaving only the mustache behind. You can also customize how you want the facial hair to appear with a chevron mustache.
Step 2: Comb the Mustache
Once you are done with the beard, the next step is to comb the mustache in a downward direction. It helps give you an idea of how much you need to trim it.
Step 3: Cut the Hair Diagonally
Hold your skin tight, make an imaginary diagonal line extending from the nose to the outer edge of the mustache, and trim the hair in according to that line with an electric trimmer.
Step 4: Cut the Hair Above Lip Line
Again comb the hair, and cut it with the help of scissors at the level of the lip line. Also, cut the ledges of the mustache symmetrically. The YouTube tutorial explaining how to shave a chevron mustache is given below.
Part 6: Tips for Smooth and Safe Mustache Shave
Below are some general tips for ensuring your skin stays safe, appears smooth, and suffers no injury during the shaving process. These also help in achieving a precise mustache.
1. Steady Hand with Light Pressure
Unlike what many people assume, you do not need to press the razor down to achieve a closer shave. Rather, put a light pressure and let the sharp razor do its job flawlessly.
Moreover, do not stress and keep your hands steady so that your mustache is symmetrical at the end of the shave.
2. Small well-controlled Strokes
Instead of going for long and straight strokes, it is better to shave the hair in small strokes. It offers better control and prevents injury. Consequently, you achieve better results.
Furthermore, find out which type of blades can work better for you by giving straight razor vs. safety razor a read.
3. Keep the Skin Taut
Pull the skin taut with your fingertips as you are shaving the area around your mustache. A taut skin provides a smooth surface for the blades to work, allows close shave, and reduces the risk of razor burns.
4. Be Extra Careful on Tricky Areas
The area around the corners of your lip and above the lip line needs special attention for two reasons. First, it is mandatory to cut these areas precisely to maintain symmetry. Secondly, these areas are close to the most delicate part of your face, the lips. So, you would not want to injure the lips.
Conclusion
With so many mustache styles becoming popular, you must want to give a few of them a try. So, we talked about the trendiest mustache styles and a simple guide to get those.
The basic steps include preparation of the tools, shaving the beard, working on the particular style you want, and finally edging the mustache. These steps become simpler as you try them.
We encourage you to go for new looks without the fear of injuries or hesitation of grooming the mustache perfectly. Moreover, you need to grow hair for some of the styles mentioned above. So, given how long it takes to grow a beard a read.
