You’ve tried to grow a mustache, but to your dismay, it has a gap! Welcome to the world of mustaches! Sometimes, this small patch of hair under our noses can erode our self-confidence, making us feel rather self-conscious. But is this suffering necessary? Is a mustache gap really a problem?
A mustache gap is a natural feature in some men. It occurs in the cupid’s bow or philtrum, which is the shallow groove between the nose and upper lip. Those with a more apparent mustache gap usually have a large philtrum. Styling mustaches differently could hide the gap in those with a smaller philtrum.
If you’re worried about your mustache gap, there are a couple things you can do about it. None of the suggestions here include any drastic measure: no transplant, vitamins, micro-needling, or anything extreme really.
This post will share some simple solutions that can make your mustache appear fuller. You’ll also get to learn some inside pro tips that other beardsmen with similar problems have used to overcome this problem. The things you can do are simple, but you’ll have to stick around to find those out.
Things to Know Before Resolving a Mustache Gap
Before we delve into the tips and tricks for dealing with a mustache gap, it is important to point out a few things.
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Give Your Mustache Time to Grow
Of course, you know that! Why else would you be reading this if you haven’t tried the “give it time” classic advice, right?
But here’s the thing: how long have you waited? Perhaps a better way to put the question is: how old is your stache? Before you answer that, try to remember the last time you trimmed your mustache. Recently, last week, or 13 weeks ago?
I will explain a little more just to make it clear.
If you’ve only started growing a mustache, it will not transform into your dream stache within a couple of weeks. Whether you think you have a mustache gap or patchy mustache that won’t fill in, you should give it three to four months to grow before you can reach a fairly accurate evaluation.
During this evaluation period, grow your mustache untrimmed; that is, do not trim your mustache unless for minimal clean up trims to prevent hair from getting into your mouth.
If your mustache has seemed to stop growing suddenly when it had only just begun to gain momentum and grow out nicely, don’t panic. These things take time. In fact, this post will explain why that happens and offers some tips on what you can do about it.
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Shaving Your Mustache Won’t Help
There’s a myth that shaving your facial hair will make it grow faster or thicker. Well, it’s nothing but that—a myth. If it were true, there would be no single balm man on our planet! But no matter how frequently a bald person shaves his head, the hairs will never grow.
The same is true for mustaches, too.
Don’t even think about a wet or dry shave. Shaving it won’t make your mustache fill in any faster, cover a gap, or grow thicker. It simply won’t.
The only thing shaving off your mustache can help you accomplish is going mustacheless. It won’t fill any gap. As a matter of fact, it won’t even help with facial hair patches of any kind. As mentioned earlier, your best bet would be to give your mustache a couple months to see its potential.
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Age Can Affect Your Mustache
It is normal to have gaps and patches in your mustache if you are a teenager or in your early twenties. You may not notice, but mustaches have a lot to do with physical maturity for many people.
It may take a while to grow a full mustache and beard after reaching puberty, so relax. Your mustache will likely fill in and grow thicker naturally to cover gaps as you grow older.
However, there is no fixed age when every man must have a fuller mustache. Your genetics will determine how fast your facial hairs develop. In fact, every other thing that makes you an individual ties back to genetics.
You may know what to expect—and set your mind at ease—if you do a little research about the men in your family. Find out how their beards developed over the years. This information can help you know whether you should expect your mustache to fill in completely or not. However, keep in mind that such is not an exact science.
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Some Men Experience Slow Mustache Growth Rate
For some men, mustaches take an incredibly long time to grow. That is absolutely normal.
We may all be men, but we don’t all have the same genetic makeup. Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be boring if we all looked exactly alike? Heck, it can be a bit unsettling to see your face everywhere you look!
It is normal for some men to experience a pretty fast growth when it comes to their beards, but their mustache grows at a snail speed.
If your beard tends to grow rapidly and make your mustache look like a few strands of orphaned hairs, you could trim your beard to scale it back. This will help give your man mane and whiskers a more uniform appearance.
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How You Perceive Yourself Is Important
Here’s a question I suggest you consider critically: is your mustache gap a feature or perceived issue?
The fact is, most people don’t actually think of your mustache as a problem. They don’t even notice it! But guess who notices and frets over it? You! You’re taking the “bald patch” on your upper lip too seriously, and that can affect your overall ego adversely.
Most people think you look awesome the way you are, but if you perceive yourself as having a problem because of the gap in your mustache, you may begin to seek solutions where there is no problem at all.
I know that many guys, especially younger men, who’ve just started to grow their mustaches won’t like to hear this. However, embracing your uniqueness and being comfortable with your facial features will make you manlier.
Here is something else you may not want to hear: a mustache gap is perfectly normal! So you don’t have to be self-conscious about it.
If you have a couple minutes, I suggest you check out photos of these great men online: Leonardo DiCaprio, James Franco, Johnny Depp, and Kit Herrigton. Did you notice the similarities in their mustaches?
They all have a mustache gap! But that didn’t stop them from looking good or becoming awesome. Thus, instead of worrying about any perceived problem, follow the suggestion to let your mustache grow for a couple of months, and then take good care of it.
What You Can Do About a Mustache Gap
If you’re seriously bothered about your mustache gap, it may be difficult to get you to embrace it. That’s okay because there’s nothing bad about wanting to look a certain way. Necessity, they say, is the mother of all inventions. This is also true for good-quality mustache care products.
Men like you, who had problems with their facial hair, have tried to come up with solutions. Today, the market is saturated with lots of mustache and beard care products. So, there’s nothing to be ashamed of or any reason to feel guilty if you want to improve your looks.
Here are a few suggestions that can help you tackle your mustache gap without going overboard:
1. Train Your Mustache with a Brush
It may sound strange if it’s your first time hearing this, but it is true; you can alter the direction that your mustache hairs grow. Indeed, you can train hairs on any part of your body to grow in any direction you want. It also has nothing to do with a hair transplant or willpower—you can’t exactly will your mustache to grow in a certain direction!
All it takes is the regular use of a boar bristle beard brush. One that I particularly recommend is the Seven Potions Beard Brush. It is made with first-cut boar bristles, making it thick enough for training mustache and beard hair. Its oval handle makes it perfect for small patches of hair, like mustaches.
As with anything that requires training, your mustache will not grow to cover your gap overnight just because you used a brush. It does not work that way.
These things take time, meaning that you need to be patient. If you don’t have a lot of patience, I suggest you stay off your mirror for a couple of weeks. Checking how the training is coming along constantly in the mirror won’t help at all!
Luckily, you can begin to see results within a few weeks of consistent training.
2. Use Good-Quality Mustache Wax
Using a beard brush to train your mustache is a great idea, but if you want better results, I suggest using mustache wax together with a beard brush.
Here’s why.
Mustache wax would give you greater control over your whiskers. It keeps your mustache “in check,” even if you have the most unruly of mustache hair.
Other beard care products such as beard oil, beard balm, and beard butter are also good for healthy beard and mustache growth. They help the skin beneath remain moisturized, thereby improving your chances of better hair growth. However, they don’t have the type of hold that mustache wax would provide.
Although those products are great (and you should have them in your beard grooming arsenal anyway), a mustache gap cannot be solved by stimulating hair growth.
First of all, a mustache gap is not a problem. It is not the same as a beard patch or issue of slow growth, so there is no need to try stimulating growth in the gap.
However, what you need is to cover the gap, and that’s where a mustache wax would come into the picture. There are several good mustache waxes available, but I recommend using any of the following two for good reason.
First, consider the Firehouse Mustache Wax. It is a heavy-duty mustache and beard wax that is formulated to withstand all weather conditions. So, even under hot, humid, or windy conditions, you can be sure that it won’t melt and lose its hold on your mustache.
The wax has a natural scent and color, making it blend with most hair colors.
The second option—and one that I like very much—is the Mudstache Wax from Bossman company. A single application will last for 24 hours, unless you wash it off.
Training and taming is a lot easier with Mudstache because of its superior holding properties. It contains no tint, making it perfect for any hair color, including brown, blond, gray, and black.
Its no-fragrance status also means you won’t be chock-full of one particular scent all day.
3. Cover the Gap with Mustache Fixers
Yep! This one is a cool albeit common trick among Indians due to the peculiarity of their untamed facial hairs.
The trick is to use a paste to “glue” the mustache hairs to cover the gap. The paste ensures that the hairs remain in place throughout the day.
Simco Hair Fixer is an excellent choice when it comes to mustache fixers. It’s been around since 1948 and has established itself essentially as a synonym for mustache fixers. It won’t leave you feeling like a phony; rather, it covers your “embarrassing” mustache gap to help boost your confidence.
As a side note, I suggest you avoid anything involved in fake mustaches or hair. A mustache fixer is not the same as using a fake mustache. Whether it is a facial transplant or fake mustache, you’ll still know it is unreal, and that can actually damage your perception further.
4. Trim Your Mustache Low
This is a no-brainer.
The lower your mustache is, the less obvious your mustache gap will be. The challenge here is knowing exactly how to trim without cutting off too much hair.
Many people often make mistakes while trimming their mustache. If trimming your mustache low is an option that appeals to you, it is important to up your trimming techniques.
Here’s a video that demonstrates how to give your mustache a low trim without messing things up:
5. Shave Off Your Mustache!
What?
Yes, you read that right. If your mustache gap bothers you so much that it’s beginning to affect your self-esteem, perhaps it is time to get rid of your source of worry entirely.
There are great beard styles that don’t require a mustache. The most obvious option is a clean shave. You won’t even need to grow a beard with this one.
Simply get a good-quality safety razor like this one. Its extra-thick, heavy-duty short handle and a particularly heavy head make it perfect for getting the closest cut ever. Because it doesn’t use a multi-blade, it will shave your skin without causing any irritation.
Remember to use good-quality aftershave after every clean shave to help eliminate razor burns and protect your skin from inflammation, ingrown hairs, and acne.
If you suffer from flakiness or dryness, a smart aftershave choice would be L’Occitane Moisturizing Aftershave Balm. It contains hydrating, vegetable-based glycerin, shea butter, soothing bisabolol, and other superior ingredients for preventing irritations and skin tightening associated with close shaving. It will leave your skin feeling soft and comfortable.
On the other hand, just because you shave off your mustache, that won’t actually mean you have to go beardless. A clean shave is not the only beard (or non-beard) style if you’re trying to remove attention from your mustache gap. If you prefer donning a full or long beard, there are quite a handful of styles you can try.
You could also ask your barber to suggest some mustacheless beard styles that will suit your other facial features. Some styles that don’t need a stache include the soul patch, chin puff, goatee, chin curtain, and retro sideburn.
However, if you don’t want to shave off your mustache completely, you can opt to grow beard stubble. It will make you look awesome (and sexy!) without a full beard and stache. All you need to do is cut your mustache and beard very low every few days to make sure it doesn’t grow long. Maintaining a beard stubble or 5 o’clock shadow look will make your mustache gap less apparent.
Conclusion
Mustache gaps are just as normal as a gapped tooth. It is part of your genetic makeup, and you should be proud of it.
However, if it is becoming a problem for you, it is best to find safe ways to remove the perceived issue. Proper care and using the right grooming products can help improve the look of your mustache.
If you are still not satisfied, consider shaving off your mustache and adopting a beard style that doesn’t require one. That is an option I would recommend instead of taking any extreme measures.
Remember that taking supplements, opting for medical treatments (especially ones that involve boosting testosterone levels), or undergoing any type of hair transplant can have some not-so-pleasant side effects.