One of the most frustrating parts of having a beard or moustache is the amount of time your moustache spends lingering at the corners of your mouth and on the edges of your lips. There is a very fine line between a suitably trimmed moustache that is comfortable and discreet and a moustache length that is constantly in your mouth.
Keeping your moustache out of your mouth means staying away from middle lengths. Trim it shorter or allow it to grow out so you can hold it to the sides. Using a product with a hold component and heat tools while drying your moustache will also help keep you out of your mouth throughout the day.
It is certainly one of the most annoying aspects of growing a beard, and in a couple of days, it is easy for your moustache to go from just the right length to very annoying.
This article will talk about why a moustache gets in your mouth, the tips for making sure that it stays out of your mouth for more than just a day. And I’ll also include a special tip that I recently learned from an Indian friend.
Why a moustache gets in my mouth
There are several reasons why a moustache may get in your mouth. After having a beard for many years, I have found that it comes down to 3 reasons why my moustache gets into my mouth: while I am talking, eating, or playing with it with my tongue or fingers.
While talking
Talking while growing a moustache means that the moustache moves around quite a lot on the top of the lip. I find that the corners of my mouth and the part of the lips just under my nose get the most irritated while talking.
Quite often, a simple trim is enough to move the bottom of the moustache line above the lip line so that it does not become annoying and accidentally fall onto my top lip.
I have once allowed my moustache to get very long and messy to the point it was touching my bottom lip. The continuous movement of my top and bottom lips touching meant that it would cause me to become extremely aware of my long moustache.
While eating
There is no doubt that eating can sweep some of the hairs from your moustache into your mouth. Unfortunately, it is a reality of growing a long beard and moustache.
Learning to use a knife and fork for foods such as hamburgers and other finger foods is one way to avoid getting food trapped in your beard and sweeping hairs from your moustache into your mouth during the process of eating.
If I play with it
One thing about having a slightly longer moustache is that you start playing with it subconsciously.
I continuously touch my moustache with my bottom lip and use my tongue to play with the hairs in the corner of my mouth.
Playing with it with my fingers or tongue will often cause the hair to become trapped in my mouth, and the only thing I can do is sweep it out of my mouth.
Wearing a mask
In a post-Covid world, wearing a mask is becoming more and more common. While I am wearing a mask, the hairs on my face get pushed against my skin, resulting in moustache hairs being pushed closer to my mouth and lips.
Wearing a mask is an extra catalyst for getting hairs in between your lips while talking. And can make it very uncomfortable to talk for a long time. I always feel like I am pushing hair out of my mouth while I am wearing a mask.
Here are all of the things you can do to ensure that your moustache stays out of your mouth throughout the day.
Stay away from middle lengths
One of the most important aspects of keeping your moustache out of your mouth is to stay away from the intermediate moustache lengths.
Having a long moustache means that you can wax it and start to the side. Having a short moustache means the hairs are not physically long enough (even with a mask depressing the hairs) to reach your mouth.
That means you only have two options to escape the awful middle length conundrum. Trim it or grow it.
Trim it
Trimming your moustache bottom line will ensure that no hairs end up in your mouth.
You have to remember that you need to keep the hairs at the corner of your mouth short as well. This part of my face is an area where a lot of hair manages to enter my mouth.
How to trim your moustache
If you want to trim up your moustache, you will need to, firstly, collect all the appropriate tools to do it like a professional.
Gather together:
- sharp scissors
- beard trimmers
- comb with narrow teeth spacing
- a mirror
- a bucketload of confidence!
The first question you to ask yourself is how bulky you would like your moustache to look? I have a particularly long nose, so my face allows me to have a relatively thick moustache. However, you may want to thin out your moustache, which you can do with scissors and clippers.
Thin out your moustache
Thinning out your moustache requires you to use a comb to limit the amount of hair you are moving with scissors or a set of trimmers.
Place the comb into your moustache and move away from your face until only a few hairs are poking through. These are the hairs that you want to remove with a sharp pair of scissors or some electric trimmers.
Alternatively, you can use a guard on your trimmers to evenly cut the hairs on your upper lip to the same length.
As with other beard trimming tips, remove a small amount of hair at a time, so you do not over-trim.
Trim up the bottom line
The next part of the moustache and I like to trim is the lower portion. The length of the moustache depends on your style, but I like to have my moustache finish at the line between my two lips as they are touching together because I have a relatively big beard.
Earlier in my beard growing journey, I decided to have a much shorter moustache where the bottom line was touching and running alongside my top lip. The shorter length made it much easier to keep the beard hairs out of my mouth.
Grow it
If you want to grow a much bigger moustache to keep the hairs out of your mouth, you have two decide to commit to the length required and go through an even more torturous phase to get to a point where you can completely sweep your moustache to the side.
Growing out your moustache will take approximately 3 to 6 months to get to a length where it no longer enters your mouth.
The ideal length is when the middle hairs of your moustache are long enough to sit parallel with your lip line. This length requires dedication and push through having more hair in your mouth before you can hold it to the side.
Once you have pushed through this awkward phase, you are in a much better position and can style your beard hairs to one side using a product with beard wax or another hold component.
Wax it to the side
Using a product with a significant hold component is important for holding your beard hairs to one side.
There are several beard products and wax ingredients specifically made for holding moustaches to the side.
Moustache wax is primarily made from strong wax such as beeswax, and you need to ensure that it does not melt throughout the day.
Ensuring that the wax does not melt throughout the day is easier in cold climates.
However, in places with much higher average temperatures, you will need to double-check the melting temperature before putting it on your beard and moustache.
There is nothing more embarrassing than putting in a stronghold moustache wax only to have your hair droop throughout the day and not be able to perform its primary purpose.
Use heat to help hold style
While drying your hair after a light soaking or a deep shampoo, you could use heat tools to help hold the moustache to the side.
The shape of our hair and how it lays throughout the day can be manipulated using heat treatments. You have the option of using a hairdryer or a heat tool such as a heated beard brush to help persuade your hairs to sit on one side or the other.
Heat can disrupt the bonding in the proteins of beard hair. As soon as the hair cools down, the bonds become stronger, and they will sit in their new position until you get your hair wet again.
It is the same process that can be used to straighten hair using hair straighteners.
I have found that heat treatments combined with a product containing beeswax can provide a long-lasting hold to my moustache and other parts of my beard.
If you want to know more about using heat to help hold your moustache style, check out my YouTube video below.
Don’t forget the corners
The corners of my mouth are where the majority of hairs seem to enter.
I spend a lot of time worrying about the bottom line of my beard and forgetting to focus on the extremities of the mouth.
In the corners of your mouth, you have hairs surrounding the opening. It is very easy for hairs from any part of that area to enter your mouth.
I have found that I need to push the lip line out a fraction further than I think it needs to go to keep my beard hair out of my mouth.
At first, I was worried that trimming my moustache bottom hairline too far out would look strange, but I have found that it doesn’t look strange at all, and it is the perfect way of keeping hairs from making their way into my mouth throughout the day while talking or eating. I also find myself playing with my hair, much less if I cannot reach it with my tongue.
A secret tip from my Indian friend!
I regularly bump into people while walking my dog in the neighbourhood. I have become friends with an Indian man with a glorious beard.
He has a full moustache, and it is always perfectly swept to one side, keeping it out of his mouth.
I asked him what his secret was, and this was it.
In the mornings, he ties a piece of material (such as a handkerchief) around his moustache and head to keep it flat against his face and swept to the sides. This simple intervention means that even though he has a full moustache, he can train it in the mornings to not fall into his mouth throughout the day.
This news was revolutionary to me as I would normally use heat and product.
He told me that he does it every morning for at least 15 minutes to control his moustache. I like this approach because it is free and available for every bearded and moustached person to use.
The reality of growing a beard/moustache
Even though we would prefer that our beard hairs stay out of our may threat the day, the reality is that no matter what you do, you will end up with some beard hairs in your mouth and frustratingly touching your lips.
It will get in your mouth
Using all of the techniques mentioned above, you will minimise the amount of time you are annoyed by hairs entering your mouth.
Learning to live with the slight annoyance is all part of growing a beard.
Keep a hanky handy
I find that I need to have a handkerchief ready at all times to clean up my moustache while eating and allow me to sweep hairs out of my mouth should they get in.
Keep it clean
Keeping your beard nice and clean means that when it does enter your mouth, you will not have to deal with any hygiene issues.
Use a knife and fork while eating
to stop your moustache hairs from entering your mouth while eating, you need to become an expert at using a knife and fork for the simplest foods.
Even when I am eating and hamburger or another easy to consume food, I always ask for a knife and fork to cut it up into smaller pieces to get it into my mouth without sweeping any hairs in.
Sometimes people look at me strangely when I ask for a knife and fork for a simple sandwich or focaccia, but I always find myself using them.
Summary
This article has gone over everything you need to know and the secrets behind keeping your moustache out of your mouth.
Staying away from the middle hair lengths and learning the best ways to keep your moustache styled and away from your lips will be the number one way of ensuring the moustache hairs don’t annoy you throughout the day.
