Beards have been around since pre-historic times and include mustaches. There are various reasons why men grow beards. In pre-historic times, men grew beards for protection, warmth, and intimidation.
Beards were also a sign of masculinity, dignity, and wisdom among different cultures. Today, men grow beards primarily for aesthetic and style purposes. Mustaches came into fashion in the mid-1500s.
In modern times, mustaches are a reserve of a few men who are bold enough to pull off some of the best timeless mustache styles. To be clear, you can grow a beard, a mustache, or both.
But for many men, this line isn’t usually clear. Knowing whether to grow a mustache or a beard in a world saturated with beard trends that come and go can be challenging.
Table Of Contents
What Should You Grow
Beard
- Beards are more mainstream and naturally accepted than mustaches; they seem like the apparent grooming option for men. There are all types of beard styles, and nobody will raise an issue about whether you decide to grow a stubble or a long beard.
- Beards are much easier to maintain. Mustaches require constant shaping and trimming to look your best. On the other hand, beards require occasional trimming, oiling, and brushing.
- On the downside, beards are a little more challenging to grow than mustaches. Unfortunately, not anyone can grow a beard; genetics play a massive role in how full your beard grows or what color it is. Ideally, you might feel more bothered with a patchy beard than a patchy mustache.
- At the same time, since beards grow in a larger area, you’ll have to deal with irritating beard problems like itchiness, ingrown hairs, and beard dandruff, especially during the early stages of beard growth. Use beard grooming products like beard oil during the early phases of growing a beard and products like beard balm as your beard grows longer and thicker.
Mustache
- Mustaches provide diverse styling options. You can try many mustache types, from the goatee, the Van Dyke, the Fu Manchu, the handlebar mustache, and so many more.
- People tend to love and appreciate mustaches more than beards, mostly because mustaches are not that common.
- Likewise, some people don’t like mustaches. They are much easier to hate than beards because of their association with pornstars.
- Finally, mustaches are tricky, and unlike a beard, you can pull off no matter what; the style you choose for your mustache affects how those around you perceive you.
Main Differences
Here are the main differences between beards and mustaches:
- A mustache typically grows between the nose and the upper lip. A beard, on the other hand, grows on the cheeks, jaw, and chin.
- Beards symbolize a man’s masculinity, sexual prowess, strength, and in some way, their status in society, whereas mustaches mainly symbolize assertive masculinity.
- Mustache styles and beard styles are also different. With mustaches, you have styles like the horseshoe, Dali, Fu Manchu, Hungarian, Zapata, pencil, and English mustaches, among others. With beards, you can choose from various styles like the goatee, Verdi, ducktail, circle, soul patch, Balbo, and sideburns.
- Mustaches usually grow after puberty, while beards are grown by pubescents and adult men.
How to Choose
Face Shape
This should be the primary consideration when growing a beard, a mustache, or a beard-mustache combo. Different beard and mustache styles said different face shapes.
- Square face shapes: circle beard or a goatee.
- Round face shapes: Van Dyke beard, anchor beard, Balbo beard, and sort boxed beard.
- Oval face shapes: chevron mustache, 3-day stubble beard, or a horseshoe mustache.
- Rectangular face shapes: mutton chop, chin strip, chin strap beard, and a Gunslinger beard and mustache.
Facial Features
As mentioned, your beard and mustache style should complement your facial features. For instance, a pencil mustache won’t look good on you if you have a large nose.
Similarly, if you have a tiny nose, avoid big, bushy mustaches since they will make your nose look even smaller. So, if you have a large nose, mouth, chin, or eyes, go for larger, bushier mustaches and beard styles to balance out your facial features.
Consider styles like the chevron mustache, handlebar, or painter’s brush mustache. If you have smaller facial features, stick to shorter styles like the Chaplin mustache and military mustaches.
Hair Growth
Your facial hair growth pattern will determine what style you choose, especially if you prefer beard styles without a mustache. If you can grow a thick 3-month beard, for instance, there are so many beard styles you can choose from.
If your beard grows in patches or is thin, you are limited when it comes to the choice of styles.
Quick Grooming Tips
- When grooming your beard, if you are unsure about the length you want, the safest choice would be to start with a higher guard head and work your way down.
- When trimming your mustache, don’t trim too much that you end up with an unnaturally shaped ‘stache. You want to trim the hairs that grow past your upper lip and into your mouth.
- Always use a beard comb to train your beard and mustache.
- Beard scissors work well when trimming a mustache and spot-checking too.
- Use a beard shaping tool always to make your beard look well-groomed.
- Always trim your beard when it’s dry since that’s how it will look most of the time.
- Invest in quality beard grooming products like beard oil, balm, and wax to groom and style your beard.
FAQ
Why do people grow beards without mustaches?
Most of the time, someone will choose to grow a beard without a mustache for aesthetic purposes. Likewise, people who can’t grow mustaches also decide to grow beards instead.
Do beards look good without mustaches?
You don’t need a mustache to enjoy a luscious-looking mane.
Are beards and mustaches the same?
No, beards and mustaches are forms of facial hair, but they are not the same. Beards grow on the chin, cheeks, and jaw, while mustaches grow above the upper lip.
Conclusion
Facial hair is now more widely accepted in both social and professional settings. You can either grow a beard or a mustache or both.
Beards are more naturally acceptable than mustaches, but you can still pull off dashing styles like an imperial or cowboy mustache with the right grooming tools and products.
Likewise, there are many beard styles you can go for as long as you consider your face shape, facial features, and your beard growth pattern.
Anthony Giannotti is a senior writer and editor for Beardoholic and a licensed barber for more than 13 years. He owns 3 barbershops and has his own hair care product line that is sold in barbershops worldwide. Known for his impeccable technique and skills, Anthony is an expert in hair and beard care and he knows the best products and tools to get rid of all beard problems and have an amazing beard.