How Should I Set About Growing a Handlebar Moustache?

Today its not so much a fact as it is groming advice.

Advice: The problem for most of our members when trying to answer this question is that it is many years since we started to grow our moustaches, and we find it hard to remember how we went about it. I think that at first I only grew the hair on my upper lip, then as it started to get longer I let the "growing area" spread outwards! But it is entirely up to you. The important thing is that you should feel "comfortable" with the way it looks (even if the itchiness is a bit uncomfortable!)

The biggest decision will come when the hair in the centre of the lip starts to grow long and begins to get messy whenever you are drinking soup. At that point some people trim it to keep it short in the centre. However, if you can survive the messy stage (that is when the hair is starting to grow but isn't long enough to brush to the sides), it is worth letting it all grow so you can train the hair to grow out sideways in order to achieve a more traditional shape.

Similarly with the beard around the sides - it's a matter of choice. The perfect moustache grows only on the upper lip, but many of us allow it to spread to the sides in order to achieve a more "bushy" effect. If you find you can get a good growth of moustache on the lip alone, that is ideal, but if it looks better with a bit more "support" so to speak, then go for what you think looks best for you. When people see a group of members of the Handlebar Club they often remark on how all of our moustaches are different from each other.