Mustache facts for kids
The hair that grows on the upper lip of some men is called a mustache. The hair that grows on the sides of the face and the chin of some men is called a beard. Some men have a lot of hair and a big mustache, and some have very little. In the modern world, many men shave part or all of their mustaches, or cut their mustache so it does not get very long. A chin beard with no mustache is called a goatee, whilst a chin beard with a mustache is known as a Van Dyke.
Mustache in United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations is spelled moustache.
Some animals such as walruses also have hair like this, and people sometimes also call this hair a mustache.
Contents
Etymology
The word "moustache" is French, and ultimately originates as a diminutive of Hellenistic Greek μύσταξ (mustax, mustak-), meaning "upper lip" or "facial hair", probably derived from Hellenistic Greek μύλλον (mullon), "lip".
An individual wearing a moustache is said to be "moustached" or "moustachioed" (the latter often referring to a particularly large or bushy moustache).
History
Earliest depictions of moustache trace back to Ancient Egypt old kingdom era (ca. 2649–2130 B.C.)
On the left: statue of prince Rahotep wearing a moustache, 27th century BC
On the right: Hesy-Ra wearing a moustche, 27th century BC
One of the earliest document of the usage of moustaches (without the beard) can be traced to Iron Age Celts.
Moustaches would not go away during the Middle Ages. One prominent example of the moustache in early medieval art is the Sutton Hoo helmet, an elaborately-decorated helmet sporting a faceplate depicting the style on its upper lip. Later on, Welsh leaders and English royalty such as Edward of Wales, would also often wear only a moustache.
Moustache popularity in the west peaked in the 1880s and 1890s coinciding with a popularity in the military virtues of the day.
Shaving with stone razors was technologically possible from as far back as the Neolithic times. A moustache is depicted on a statue of the 4th Dynasty Egyptian prince Rahotep (c. 2550 BC). Another ancient portrait showing a shaved man with a moustache is an ancient Iranian (Scythian) horseman from 300 BC.
In ancient China, facial hair and the hair on the head were traditionally left untouched because of Confucian influences.
Styles
The World Beard and Moustache Championships 2007 had six sub-categories for moustaches:
- Dalí – narrow, long points bent or curved steeply upward; areas past the corner of the mouth must be shaved. Artificial styling aids needed. Named after Salvador Dalí.
- English moustache – narrow, beginning at the middle of the upper lip the whiskers are very long and pulled to the side, slightly curled; the ends are pointed slightly upward; areas past the corner of the mouth usually shaved. Artificial styling may be needed.
- Freestyle – All moustaches that do not match other classes. The hairs are allowed to start growing from up to a maximum of 1.5 cm beyond the end of the upper lip. Aids are allowed.
- Hungarian – Big and bushy, beginning from the middle of the upper lip and pulled to the side. The hairs are allowed to start growing from up to a maximum of 1.5 cm beyond the end of the upper lip.
- Imperial – whiskers growing from both the upper lip and cheeks, curled upward (distinct from the royale, or impériale)
- Natural – Moustache may be styled without aids.
Other types of moustache include:
- Chevron – covering the area between the nose and the upper lip, out to the edges of the upper lip but no further. Popular in 1970s and 1980s American and British culture. Worn by Ron Jeremy, Richard Petty, Freddie Mercury, Bruce Forsyth and Tom Selleck.
- Fu Manchu – long, downward pointing ends, generally beyond the chin.
- Handlebar – bushy, with small upward pointing ends.
- Horseshoe – Often confused with the Handlebar Moustache, the horseshoe was possibly popularised by modern cowboys and consists of a full moustache with vertical extensions from the corners of the lips down to the jawline and resembling an upside-down horseshoe. Also known as "biker moustache". Worn by Hulk Hogan and Bill Kelliher. Recently re-popularized by Gardner Minshew and Joe Exotic.
- Pancho Villa – similar to the Fu Manchu but thicker; also known as a "droopy moustache". Also similar to the Horseshoe. A Pancho Villa is much longer and bushier than the moustache normally worn by the historical Pancho Villa.
- Pencil moustache – narrow, straight and thin as if drawn on by a pencil, closely clipped, outlining the upper lip, with a wide shaven gap between the nose and moustache. Popular in the 1940s, and particularly associated with Clark Gable. More recently, it has been recognised as the moustache of choice for the fictional character Gomez Addams in the 1990s series of films based on The Addams Family. Also known as a Mouth-brow, and worn by Vincent Price, John Waters, Little Richard, Sean Penn and Chris Cornell.
- Toothbrush – thick, but shaved except for about an inch (2.5 cm) in the centre; worn by Adolf Hitler, Charlie Chaplin, Oliver Hardy, and Michael Jordan in his commercials for Hanes.
- Walrus – bushy, hanging down over the lips, often entirely covering the mouth. Worn by Mark Twain, David Crosby, Joseph Stalin, John Bolton, Wilford Brimley, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Sam Elliott, Albert Einstein, Jamie Hyneman and Robert Johansson .
- Moustache styles
-
"Dalí" moustache style
-
"English" moustache style
-
"Fu Manchu" moustache style
-
"Handlebar" moustache style
-
"Horseshoe" moustache style
-
"Imperial " moustache style
-
"Mexican" moustache style
-
"Natural " moustache style
-
"Pencil" moustache style
-
"Toothbrush" moustache style
-
"Walrus" moustache style
-
"Freestyle" moustache style
Images for kids
-
Sergey Sergeyevich Kamenev, Soviet military leader who reached Komandarm 1st rank and member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR from April 1924 to May 1927.
-
A moustache spoon, dated 1904, used in Edwardian England to protect the moustache while eating soup.
-
Time-lapse animation of a moustache grown for 30 days.
-
Self-portrait of sculptor Friedrich Hammer, 1542 (Musée historique de Haguenau)
-
Amish man
-
Abhinandan moustache, named after Abhinandan Varthaman, wing-commander in the Indian Air Force, during the 2019 India-Pakistan standoff; the style is similar to a combination of an old, horseshoe-style gunslinger moustache and mutton chops worn by Franz Joseph I of Austria.
-
Military personnel with moustaches, at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
.jpg)
See also
In Spanish: Bigote para niños
