A moustache (sometimes spelled mustache in the United States) is an outgrowth of hair above the upper lip.

Charlie Chaplin, with his namesake type of moustache

Most men with a normal or strong beard growth must tend it daily, by shaving the hair of the chin and cheeks, to prevent it from soon reverting to a full beard. This necessity has engendered the invention of quite a wide variety of accoutrements designed for the care of a gentleman's moustache, including moustache wax, moustache nets (snoods), moustache brushes, moustache combs and moustache scissors.

Historically, moustaches have been worn by military men and the number of nations, regiments and ranks were equalled only by the number of styles and variations. Generally, the younger men and lower ranks wore the smaller and less elaborate moustaches. As a man advanced in rank, so did his moustache become thicker and bushier, until he ultimately was permitted to wear an ever fuller beard. For a glimpse into this colourful and noble past, refer to the works of famous military artists.

An English moustache was formerly used in melodramas, movies and comic books as a shorthand indication of villainny. Snidely Whiplash, for example, was characterized by his moustache, his cape, and his habit of kidnapping women and then tying them to train tracks, in order to foreclose on their mortgages.

Men known for their moustaches

• Charlie Chaplin
• Georges Clemenceau
• Jim Croce
• Salvador Dalí, whose moustache was influenced by that of Diego Velázquez
• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Albert Einstein
• Rollie Fingers
• Errol Flynn, known for his Pencil moustache
• Clark Gable
• David Lloyd George
• Adolf Hitler
• Saddam Hussein
• Jamie Hyneman
• Horatio Kitchener
• Groucho Marx for many years wore a fake moustache of greasepaint on stage and film, then grew a real one later in life
• Friedrich Nietzsche, famous for his Walrus moustache
• Józef Piłsudski
• Theodore Roosevelt
• Eugen Sandow
• Joseph Stalin
• Mark Twain
• Veerappan, an Indian bandit
• Lech Wałęsa
• John Waters
• Wilhelm II of Germany
• Frank Zappa
• Emiliano Zapata, a Mexican revolutionary
• Mervyn Hughes, Australian cricketer. A handlebar moustache is part of his trademark.

A gallery of pictures is at Pictures of famous men with moustaches.

Moustache styles

• Dali - narrow, with long, steeply upward pointing ends
• English - narrow, with long, slightly curled, sideward pointing ends, stiffly waxed and tightly twirled, like feline whiskers
• Fu Manchu - long, downward pointing ends, generally beyond the chin
• Handlebar - bushy, with small upward pointing ends
• Imperial - whiskers growing from both the upper lip and cheeks, curled upward (distinct from the royale, or impériale)
• Pencil- narrow, closely clipped, outlining the upper lip, with a wide shaven gap between the nose and moustache
• Walrus - bushy, hanging down over the lips, often entirely covering the mouth

See also

• Facial hair
• Moustaches and military styles: Military uniforms
• Moustache grooming: Moustache wax, Moustache net (snood)
• Other facial hair styles: Beard, Goatee and Sideburns
• Whiskers
• Women and facial hair: Bearded women, Depilation

External links

• World Beard & Moustache Championships (http://www.worldbeardchampionships.com)
• Tacheback (charity cause) (http://www.icr.ac.uk/everyman/tacheback/index.php)
• Baseball Beards (moustaches, really) (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/submit/Kates_Maxwell1.stm)
• Moustache Summer (archives) (http://www.mustachesummer.com)
• Handlebar Club (http://www.handlebarclub.org.uk)