How to Trim Mustache? Step-by-Step Guide for Perfect Styling

Maintaining a neatly groomed mustache is essential for those aiming for a polished appearance. It’s a critical component of the personal grooming regimen to ensure that your facial hair remains well-kept and stylish. However, everyone talks about trimming the beard, but no one talks about trimming a mustache.  So we thought, why not make your lives easier by making a detailed guide on How To Trim Mustache?

Trimming your mustache is as important as trimming your beard using a good beard trimmer.  Though one might think it to be a simple task, trust me when we say it is not.  When it comes to this aspect of grooming, several considerations must be made: ‘The selection of trimming tools, Deciding on the length to which the hair should be cut, and The method of styling the mustache.’ 

Besides, mustaches need proper care, which is possible with the use of products available for mustaches.  So, without wasting any time, let’s jump into this exciting topic of trimming a mustache.

Why Should You Trim Mustache?

Before knowing how to, you must know why because you cannot simply pick a trimmer or scissor and trim your mustaches. There has to be a reason for doing so, and we have got you covered for those reasons.  So let’s check it out:

Prevents Hairs from Entering Mouth

It might have happened to you, or your partner might have complained to you after close encounters, which is an embarrassing situation.  Trimming avoids such situations, and you can look good.  The hair/beard growth varies from man to man, which is you must trim as soon as you notice hairs hanging on your upper lips.

Prevents Clogging of Pores

A well-trimmed mustache prevents clogging of skin pores and restricts dirt, grime, and bacteria from entering the skin.

Detangles Hair

The mustache area is not as big as the beard, which tangles hair and makes it difficult to trim.  Plus, the density also contributes to hairs tangling up.  Even beard care products fail in detangling or keeping the whole beard in position.  That’s where trimming comes to the rescue in such situations.  Use a scissor or trimmer and cut unwanted mustache hairs.

Trimming Ensures Fuller Appearance

When you grow a mustache, it doesn’t grow equally from all sides; you may leave the portion to be thicker and the right to be thinner.  To make mustaches look even and uniform, you need to trim them regularly.  Trimming is the only solution for even a mustache.

No Split Ends

Trimming keeps split ends at bay, which deters your hair growth.  It can also make your mustache unkempt and rough.

Attracts Women

A well-trimmed mustache is proven to attract women.  You must know how to trim a mustache, but before that, you must also know what tools you will require to trim your stache.

What Accessories You Will Require To Trim Mustache?

We know how trimming beards and mustaches works.  But is it possible without tools?  No, it is not possible without the important tools.  So, here are a few tools that we think to be the best in the market:

Philips Norelco 5100

It is a beard trimmer meant for all different lengths of mustache, beard, and body grooming.  This trimmer will also make it possible for us to get a 45-degree angle cut, straight-line cut, and much more.  It also comes with different length setting tools that will help you get rid of appropriate bulk.

Kent A 81T Pocket Comb

A key tool behind trimming a beard or mustache hair is a comb.  It is a small-size comb that is no less than any other size comb.  You can use it with beard razors, mustache trimmers, or beard scissors.  It is a must-have tool along with other grooming products.

Mustache Scissors

In our opinion, it is one of the best mustache scissors which you can add to your grooming arsenal.  It also comes with a comb that will help you sort out unwanted or stray hair, which you must cut before it becomes an embarrassment.

From the above discussion, we hope you know what things to gather before trimming.  Now let’s see how you put those tools into action.

How to Trim Mustache? (Accessories-wise Distribution)

As you know, two accessories can trim your mustache, but it is important how is it possible.  So let’s know each of them individually.

Firstly, we will be discussing:

How to Trim a Mustache with Scissors?

Step 1: Let The Mustache Grow To Make Trimming Easier

Alright, we know what you have to say! It is the most basic step, and it’s mostly common sense.  How would you trim a mustache without good hair growth? But that is not the only part of it.  

Let us think about why growing is such an important first step. 

Growing a mustache is important because it will make the mustache maintenance part easy.  Think about it, will it be easy to trim a few excess hairs here and there, or will it be easy to trim a well-grown thick mustache? If we were at your place, we would go with the second one because it will make it easy for us to style and shape our mustache.  Let it grow and get the best results. 

Step 2: Gather the Best Tools For Mustache Trimming

It is the most crucial step in trimming your mustache.  Make sure that you have the right tools to trim your mustache.  We have highlighted a few of the best mustache-trimming tools in the market.

Here is a list of tools that you will need to know how to trim your mustache in six steps- 

• Mustache Comb
• Beard Trimmer
• Beard Scissors
• Mirror

The best place to trim your mustache would be your washroom, where there will be a mirror available with a sink.  Speaking of the sink, it might be a good idea to wash your mustache and beard, just to get rid of dirt and any small particles stuck in your beard or mustache that can cause tangles. 

To trim a mustache the better way, we suggest that you start to trim your mustache with scissors that work well with a mustache, and then use beard trimmers. This way, you can get rid of initial mustache hairs first to achieve perfection with beard trimmers. Precision scissors can achieve perfection by getting rid of stray hairs, which a trimmer won’t be able to.

Step 3: Comb Mustache And Untangle Mustache Hairs

This step is somewhat optional, but we will explain it in detail, and then it will be up to you to decide whether you should follow this step or not.  

Combining a mustache using a mustache comb will help straighten the hairs and treat the stray hairs.  A beard comb will not do a satisfactory job because of the difference in teeth widths.  Mustache combs cater to small hairs, and their teeth width is compatible with a pair of scissors.  

One more thing, you might want to use good beard shampoo and conditioner if your facial and mustache hair is too rough, and it is not possible to comb without pulling it.  Using shampoo will smoothen your hair and will make it easy for you to trim it.  

Step 4: Cut Above Your Upper Lip

That’s what we have been waiting for for quite some time now, the ultimate key to the treasure!

Now, a successfully trimmed mustache like a handlebar mustache requires one to two hours of trimming followed by regular maintenance.

It is a crucial part because of many reasons.  You have an option over here- trim with an electric trimmer or use a pair of scissors.

Using a pair of scissors is totally fine if you are a perfectionist and new to the job.  Just take a comb and start to cut the hair above the upper lip.  The right way is to cut from the outer part of the mustache and then come towards the center.  It will create fine lines.  

Why is this step important? It keeps your mustache in shape without any stray hairs.  

Note: Length is your preference, and it is you who will decide what is your desired length. You don’t need to have the same length every time! 

Step 5: Cut Upper Areas Of Mustache

This step is very similar to the trimming process of the hair above the upper lips.  But in this case, we are trimming the hair below the nose and not the nose hair. Trimming the upper lip line is one of the most important parts because the lip line is the border of the mustache, and that is what people observe first!

It is necessary because you don’t want your facial hair to seem just an extension of nose hair, which looks disgusting!

So, scissors or trimmers are your choices; it depends on the level of perfection that you want and the right tools for the job.  The length is also a judging factor on what tool to use.  

If you choose to use scissors, then grab a comb and start cutting it.  This time we don’t want a fine line, but rather an angled cut, almost at 45 degrees.

Using a mustache trimmer is also a good choice, and this time you just start pressing the trimmer against the mustache to cut.  Again the angle and length of the cut are your choices.

Step 6: Reduce The Bulk Of Your Mustache

Until now, we have learned about trimming the facial hairs above the upper lip and below the nose.  The next step is to reduce the bulk of the mustache.

Before we start to reduce the bulk of the mustache, we want to comb it properly, which will make it easy for you to finalize the mustache upward desired bulk length.  Start combing away from the mustache until your facial hairs extend towards the end of the mustache comb’s fine teeth.  As said, now you can decide on how much bulk you are willing to have.

If you decide to use trimming scissors, you can get rid of the hairs until they reach your desired length.  But if you decide to use an electric trimmer, then don’t stress too much about it.  These days, the trimmers come with guard replacements that you can change easily to alter the trimming length.  The rule of thumb is to start with a bit longer settings and move to shorter ones if you need them. It will make sure that you don’t end up cutting your entire mustache or facial hair.

Bonus Step 7: Final Touch Ups

This step is just to make sure that you have not missed any parts of the mustache.  For this step, we would prefer to use beard scissors because we have already completed trimming part of the mustache and are doing the perfect job.  So, it starts with combing the mustache downward toward your upper lips and cutting stray hairs using a pair of scissors or any unwanted hairs that are spoiling the look.

How to Trim a Mustache with a Beard Trimmer?

A trimmer/clipper is a versatile tool, which both beginners and experts can use.  If you are one of them, you can go through the following steps.

Step 1: Wash & Dry Your Beard

Usually, mustache hair is coarse, rough, and thick, which requires softening before trimming.  Softening makes the trimming tool glide easily through your facial hair without applying pressure.  You can wash your facial hair with beard wash or shampoo to deeply clean your facial hair.  After washing your facial hair soft enough, use a towel to dry out your wet hair to make the trimming easier.

Step 2: Comb Your Facial Hair

It is advisable to comb your hair after drying it out as it detangles and smoothens hair.  Also, combing gives an exact idea of hair length.

Step 3: Properly Trim the Corners

Always begin trimming the corner first to get a well-groomed look.  Start trimming through the lip line and cut all the hairs that exceed the lip line.  

Step 4: Trim Below Nose

You should also trim hair below the nose to shape your mustache.  You should look for stray hairs and trim them.  Trim mustache hairs at an acute angle to achieve a complete look.

Step 5: Trim Overall

Start trimming the mustache to reduce the thickness.  Comb hair and trim the extra hair strands.  You can use an electric shaver to shave off the hair that doesn’t come under the comb.

Step 6: Double Check for Any Stray Hair

You might miss any hair strand even after trimming the entire mustache, which is why after trimming, you must check for any leftovers. If you find any, trim it gently using a comb.

Now let’s see how to style a handlebar mustache or any other mustache style.

How to Trim A Handlebar Mustache? How To Shape A Mustache?

People always think that styling a handlebar mustache is a complicated job but trust me when I say it is not that complicated.  It is just the right tools and skills that make the work easy.  

Here are the steps needed for the handlebar mustache style-

Trimming And Shaping The Corners

Handlebar Mustache is all about corners, so this step is the most crucial part of this guide.  

So start by picking one of the corners and give it a little roll.  Then after pinching in between your fingers, trim the rest of the light facial hairs/stubble under it.  It will give the handlebar mustache a more sharp look.

Note: The corner should be long enough to wear a handlebar mustache.  Some people have too short corners, which makes it impossible to achieve a handlebar mustache style.  

Cut The Unwanted Length

After trimming the corners, give it a roll one more time.  After doing this, if you feel that the rolled part is longer than you expected, use beard scissors to cut the unwanted parts.  

The key is to have an even mustache on both sides.  So we recommend that you cut a little bit of each side one after another, avoiding any huge loss of facial hair.  

This step is optional and is more of a personal decision because everyone has different facial hair lengths.

Application of Mustache Wax

After getting a good trim on the corners, it is time to shape them in handlebar mustache style.  

Take a pinch of mustache wax in your hands and rub it on your fingers evenly. If you want to learn more about the best mustache waxes, how to apply them, and additional topics, then click on the link above now.  

After rubbing wax on your fingers, start patting it on your mustache.  Do not stack up the mustache wax in one part.  

If you do have a beard oil or beard balm at home, that will also do the job.  But the only issue is beard oil does not give the required hold for handlebar mustaches.  But you can give it a shot!

Style and Shape It

After applying, mustache wax will look like a flat table.  So, it is important to shape it.  Grab a mustache comb and divide your facial hair into two halves considering the tip of the nose as a center.  

After combing it, roll the corners one last time for perfection.  One can also use extra hold beard balm or mustache wax for extra hold if their facial hair length is long.  

With this, we end the journey of styling a handlebar mustache.  Hence, a professional barber, key consideration is that you need to apply products regularly to maintain a good shape and promote face hair to grow in a specific direction. Facial Hair follicles grow in a direction you train them to grow.  It is like your dog, who is trained not to do his business inside the house.

Things to Keep in Mind Before, During, and After Trimming Mustache

These are the things that you must keep in mind before, during, and after trimming your mustache-

• Let the mustache grow fuller and longer to achieve the best results
• Keep hydrating your facial hair and the skin underneath it
• To grow a mustache, buy a high-quality mustache wax and comb
• Do not buy an abrasive cleanser.
• Avoid using electric razors when trimming.
• Avoid touching mustaches to prevent bacteria from entering.

Conclusion

So what do you think? Do you think that our guide on mustache trimming is perfect? Contact us with all the changes you would bring to your routine so we can know what gets you most excited. To be honest, beard and mustache-trimming routines are different for everyone! Some like to try new stuff with their mustache, while some people play safe! It depends on what you like, and our guide delivers general experiences! If you have a round face, you can have a look at this article.

In this blog, we also gave you a list of tools to use for trimming a mustache perfectly.  These tools are a key to achieving any beard, and so we recommend getting these tools.  That said, it is time for goodbyes, but before you go, don’t forget to subscribe to our website to get more information on product reviews and different guides like this one.