A mustache is facial hair grown in the space between the nose and the upper lip. For years now, mustaches have been worn in different styles, depending on different individuals’ tastes and preferences. It is the general belief that keeping a well groomed mustache and beard around the neck enhances a man’s attractiveness.
Growing a mustache and hair around the neck is the easy part; what about shaving it? Mustaches, as we discussed earlier, are simply facial hair, which means that it keeps growing as the days and years go by. If you are a mustache lover, you may want to know the best way to shave it, and specifically whether you should shave it up or down.
The truth is, there is no particular direction to shave your mustache and neck. What is most important is knowing the direction of your hair growth or its “grain” and then shave in that direction first.
Find out more about how you should shave your mustache and neck and some useful tips to help you.
What Happens If I Shave Against The Grain of My Mustache and Neck Line?
I have mentioned earlier that shaving in the direction of the grain may be the most suitable method for your mustache and neck because it reduces the chance of cuts, ingrown hairs, razor burns, and skin irritations. However, shaving in the opposite direction of the grain has its advantage too. It provides faster results and gives a cleaner shave.
For someone who has mastered the art of beard grooming, shaving in the grain’s direction can still provide the same results as shaving against the grain’s direction, without any consequences.
So, How Do I Shave My Mustache?
Shaving your mustache and hair around the neck can be very tricky because these places are sensitive areas. First, you need to equip yourself with the right products for shaving, which I will share with you shortly.
Should You Shave Up or Down?
There is no particular direction to shave your mustache and neck. Although to achieve good results, you have to know the direction of your hair growth or the “grain.” Once you know this, you can then shave in that direction. You can figure out the direction by using your fingertips to stroke your mustache and beards in different directions. The direction that feels smoother than others is the direction of your beard grain.
Tips For Shaving the Neck and Mustache
After figuring out the right direction to shave your mustache and neck, you will need these helpful tips for a good shaving experience.
- Understand how your mustache and hairs around your neck grow using simple techniques like stroking your hairs with your finger, a credit card or stiff piece of paper.
- Make the necessary arrangements before you start shaving. This can be done by cleaning your neck and mustache with hot water, applying pre-shave oils to the specific areas, and then applying your shaving cream.
- After using warm or hot water for the pre-shave, use cold water to shave to prevent nicks and redness.
- Lather the mustache and neck and wait a bit to give the stubble enough time to soften and hydrate. It will guarantee a better shave.
- Resist the urge to put too much pressure on the blade and take shorter strokes.
- Clean the shaved areas thoroughly before applying any aftershave products.
Growing a Healthy Mustache Is Important
Men who have never experimented with facial hair before may require a lot of patience because a healthy and thick mustache does not grow overnight. The first thing you need to do is allow the facial hairs to grow out for a long time. This will ensure that the mustache grows thicker. Then, when you have enough hair on your face, you can then start shaving.
Most people prefer to grow a mustache than to grow hairs around their necks. Some would even prefer that the mustaches grow faster. To make that dream come true, you only need to do a few things:
- First, ensure you have enough minerals and vitamins in your food as they promote hair growth.
- Use good beard oils such as the Honest Amish Classic Beard Oil or the Mane Tame Beard Oil. They contain vitamins and biotin, which nourish hair follicles and strengthen the hair strands from the inside
- Exfoliate your face often to remove dead cells, which may be preventing the hair from growing.
- Most importantly, hydrate your facial hair and keep your face moisturized.
Mustache Styles to Try Out
Even though the hair between the nose and the upper lip is generally called mustache, there are different mustache styles with different names. Here is a list of the common mustache styles:
- Chevron mustache
- Walrus mustache
- Pencil mustache
- Handlebar mustache
- Horseshoe mustache
- Cowboy mustache
- Fu Manchu mustache
- Dali mustache
- Scruffy mustache
How Does One Keep the Beard Neckline?
Leaving hairs on the neck is not really a common practice, but the important thing to note when trimming a beard neckline is if your beard is short, you can make the neckline higher. If your beard is long, you can allow the hairs to grow a little lower down your neck.
To find the neckline, all you have to do is look in the mirror; you will see it. It is where the crease is. After locating it, you can now decide how high or low you want the hair, depending on your beards’ length. Ultimately, it depends on preference.
Are There Any Mistakes To Avoid?
If you are growing a beard, you will want to maintain it as best you can. To maintain it, you need to avoid some of the mistakes shared below:
- Keeping a very high neckline: This is especially bad if you have a full beard and fully shaved your neck. This will make your beard look weird and incomplete.
- Making your mustache too short: If you do this, you may appear creepy, and nobody wants that for themselves.
- Keeping it untidy and dirty: Facial hairs should be washed just the same as you wash the hair on your head (though with different products) because they are prone to catching food particles, attracting dust, and may even smell. So keep a clean and tidy beard. It makes your face more presentable and guarantees healthier hair growth.
- Not being careful while shaving or trimming: Nobody likes a patchy beard because it sends the wrong message. It is always better to be careful while trimming all areas of the mustache and neck hairs.
- Not using the right adjustments and settings for your clippers or blades: You can always adjust the settings of the clippers or razors when approaching tricky areas. If you use a razor, you can adjust how you shave these areas to prevent cuts, rashes, skin irritations, and even bumps.
Useful Products for Your Mustache and Beard
Using the right products and tools will properly equip you and put you at an advantage during shaving. What are these tools that you would want to use for a cleaner and better shave? In this section, we will be talking about some of them below.
- Sandalwood Shaving Kit Set For Men: Sandalwood Shaving Kit Set For Men is a recommended product because it is a complete shaving kit that contains aftershave balm, shaving brush, pre-shave oil, and shaving butter. It is also suitable for men of all ages and for every skin type, no matter its sensitivity.
- King C. Gillette Complete Men’s beard Care Gift Kit: King C. Gillette Complete Men’s beard Care Gift kit is a complete shaving kit that contains a double edge safety razor, beard oil, shave gel, beard balm, and even a beard and face wash. All the items in this kit have been carefully made, considering the facial hair’s texture and sensitivity.
- The Shaving Resolution Luxury Shaving Brush Set: The Shaving Resolution luxury shaving brush set includes shaving soap, a safety stand, a shaving brush, and a badger hair shaving brush. The items in it are durable and made of high quality. The shaving soap is specially made with the essential vitamins and minerals needed to nourish the skin and hair.
There are other shaving kits and products out there, and it is always advised that you go for the ones with higher quality and avoid products that will harm you.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you will agree with me that there isn’t a particular direction to shave the mustache and neck. It is highly recommended that you try to shave along the direction of your beard’s grain when you do your first pass with the shaver. Don’t ever shave up too high on the neck, but don’t leave your neckline low unless you have a long beard
With more experience and years of grooming, there is a great chance that you will be able to give yourself a clean shave without any skin trouble, such as nicks and cuts. Just get the right tools and try to avoid some of the shaving mistakes that were shared here, and you should be good to go!
Looking for the best mustache oil? We’ve got you covered! Here is a detailed post on The 10 Best Oils for Mustaches on the Market.