Movember: Growing, Shaping and Finishing a Month-Long Moustache

To grow a decent Movember moustache, start clean-shaven on 1 November, leave the lip completely alone for the first two weeks, then tidy only the edges and the line above the lip. Choose a shape that can be achieved with about a month of growth, such as a chevron or a short, natural moustache, rather than a handlebar that needs months. Keep the rest of your face shaved or very short so the moustache reads clearly. On 1 December you can shave it, keep it, or have a barber reshape it into something you might actually wear in January. Below is the month, week by week, with the decisions that make the difference.

What Movember is, briefly

Movember is a men’s health charity that began in Australia in 2003 and runs every November. Participants grow a moustache for the month and raise money and conversation around men’s health, with a focus on prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health and suicide prevention. The moustache is the visible part; the conversation is the point. If the month prompts you to check yourself or talk to someone, the NHS page on testicular cancer is a good place to start.

Before 1 November

• Shave clean on the last day of October. The tradition is a clean start, and it gives you an honest measure of a month’s growth.
• Decide the rest of your face. A full beard with a “Movember moustache” is just a beard. Most people shave or keep very short stubble elsewhere so the moustache stands out.
• Get your haircut sorted. A tidy cut makes an awkward week-two moustache look deliberate rather than neglected.

The month, week by week

Week	What it looks like	What to do
1	Shadow on the lip, uneven, itchy for some	Leave the lip alone. Keep cheeks and neck shaved. Moisturise.
2	Visible but patchy; hairs start touching the lip	Still no trimming of length. Comb it down daily to train direction.
3	A recognisable moustache; shape starts to show	Clean the edges: under the nose, above the lip line, the corners.
4	Fullest it will get this month	Final shaping, ideally by a barber. A touch of wax if you want lift.

Weeks one and two: patience

This is where most people give up or, worse, start trimming. The hairs grow at slightly different rates and in slightly different directions, so the first fortnight looks scruffy whatever you do. Trimming now only makes it shorter and no tidier. Combing it in the direction you want it to lie each morning, ideally after a shower, starts training the hair. Our guide to growing a moustache through the awkward first weeks covers the itch and the patchiness in more detail.

Week three: the first tidy

Now you can clean things up, but only at the edges. Take away stray hairs above the main shape and under the nose. Leave the bottom edge alone unless it is genuinely getting into your mouth when you eat. Most people cut the lip line too high and lose half the moustache they have just spent three weeks growing.

Week four: the final shape

This is the week to see a barber if you want it to look intentional. A barber will define the corners, balance the two sides (most moustaches grow slightly unevenly), and blend the top edge into the skin so it does not look like a stencil. Every visit with us begins with an assessment: the barber looks at what has grown, where the gaps are, and recommends a shape that suits it and your face. Details of what we offer are on the Highgate Cuts barber page.

Shapes that actually work in 30 days

• The natural moustache. Follows your lip line, trimmed just at or above it. The safest bet and the easiest to keep afterwards.
• The chevron. Full and slightly wider, angled down at the corners. Works well with a month of growth if your hair is reasonably dense.
• The pencil. A thin, precise line. Achievable even with sparse growth, but needs careful edging every couple of days.
• The short horseshoe. Extends down the sides of the mouth. Possible in a month if your growth is fast, but it needs cheeks and chin kept very clean.

The handlebar, the walrus and the full English need months, not weeks. If you fancy one, Movember can be the start rather than the finish. There is a fuller tour of options in moustache styles.

Patchy growth or a gap in the middle

Very common, and not a reason to drop out. A few practical fixes:

• Choose a shape that sits on the outer parts of your lip, where growth is often thicker.
• Let the hair grow slightly longer and comb it across the gap.
• A small amount of wax helps sparse hairs hold together.
• Keep the rest of the face very clean. Contrast makes a light moustache look more substantial.

Looking after the skin underneath

Itching in the first fortnight comes from short, coarse hairs and dry skin. Wash the area properly, use a light moisturiser or a drop of beard oil, and resist scratching. If you shave the rest of your face daily for the month, use a sharp blade and a decent shaving cream so you do not end up with irritation right next to the moustache.

On 1 December

Three options:

1. Shave it off. Trim it down with clippers first, then shave. Going straight in with a razor on a month of growth drags and irritates.
2. Keep it. Ask a barber to reshape it for everyday life: usually slightly shorter, cleaner corners, and a lip line you can maintain at home.
3. Turn it into a beard. Let the rest grow and have the moustache blended into it as it fills out.

Or mark the end with a hot towel shave, which takes 20 to 30 minutes with us. Whichever you choose, our barbers on Archway Road can help. We are about five minutes from Highgate tube.

Questions we get asked

Can I start Movember with stubble?

The convention is to start clean-shaven, but nobody checks. A clean start does give a more even result by the end.

When should I trim my Movember moustache?

Leave it for about two weeks, then tidy only the edges. Save the main shaping for the final week.

Can I grow a beard as well?

You can, but it stops being a Movember moustache. Most people shave the rest so the moustache stands out.

Will a barber shape a moustache on its own?

Yes. A moustache tidy is quick, and a barber can balance the sides far more easily than you can in a mirror.

---

Book with The Highgate House

Ready for a proper cut? Email us at [email protected] with the service and the day that suits you, and we will come back to you with times.

Visit The Highgate House · The barbers

The Highgate House, Archway Road, Highgate, London N6.