Every year, the same thing happens. Guys commit to Movember, grow mustaches for charity, then December 1st rolls around and they're stuck with this thing on their face wondering what to do with it.
Some mustaches turned out better than expected. Others are exactly as bad as you feared they'd be. And most are somewhere in the middle—not terrible, but not great either.
Here's how to actually decide what to do next, and how to handle whatever you choose.
The Honest Assessment
Before you do anything, you need to actually look at what you've got. Not what you hoped you'd have—what's actually on your face.
Is it even across your upper lip? Or are there obvious gaps and thin spots? A patchy mustache doesn't magically get better. If it's patchy now, it'll stay patchy.
Does it connect properly to your face? Some mustaches look like they're floating above the lip. That's not a good look. A mustache should look like it belongs on your face.
What's the density like? Thin, wispy mustaches rarely look good once you move past the growing phase. If your mustache is see-through, that's a problem.
How's the color? Some guys have mustaches that are way lighter than their head hair. Super light mustaches need to be really full to show up properly. If yours is light and thin, it's barely visible.
Does it make you look older or younger? Some mustaches add maturity. Others make you look like a teenager trying to look older. Be honest about which camp yours falls into.
What do people actually say about it? Not "it's coming in nice" (that's polite encouragement). I mean real feedback. If nobody's complimented it and a few people have made jokes, that tells you something.
Take a photo from the front and the sides. Look at it like you're seeing someone else's face. Would you tell that person to keep the mustache? Be brutally honest.
If It Actually Looks Good
Some guys get lucky and their Movember mustache actually turned out well. If you're one of them, here's what to do next.
Get it professionally shaped. What you've got right now is a month of growth with no real maintenance. A barber can clean up the edges, define the shape, and make it look intentional instead of experimental.
Trim the length if needed. Mustaches that hang over your lip are annoying to eat with and can look unkempt. Trim it so it's full but not in your way.
Clean up your cheek lines and neck. If you're keeping the mustache, everything else needs to be clean. Sloppy edges ruin even a good mustache.
Decide on the style. Are you going for a classic natural look? Something more shaped? A handlebar? The style matters, and now's the time to commit to one instead of just having "whatever grew."
Get the right products. Mustache wax if you want to shape it. Beard oil to keep it soft and healthy. A small trimming scissors for maintenance. You'll need these things if you're keeping it.
Set a maintenance schedule. Mustaches need regular upkeep. Every week at minimum, you'll need to trim stray hairs and keep the shape clean. Book regular barber appointments to maintain it properly.
If your mustache genuinely looks good and you like it, keeping it is a solid choice. Just commit to maintaining it properly.
If It Looks Terrible
Let's be real—a lot of Movember mustaches don't look good. And that's fine. Movember is about raising awareness and funds, not about looking good for a month.
If it's patchy, shave it. Hoping it'll fill in more isn't realistic. You gave it a month. What you see is what you've got. Patchy mustaches don't improve with time.
If people keep asking if you're okay, shave it. When your mustache makes you look sad, stressed, or ill, it's not doing you any favors.
If your partner genuinely hates it, shave it. Some people will say keep it anyway, but come on. If your girlfriend or wife really doesn't like it and you're not deeply attached to it, why keep it?
If it's affecting your professional life, shave it. Some workplaces and industries are more accepting of facial hair than others. If your mustache is causing issues at work, it's not worth it.
If you hate looking at yourself in the mirror, shave it. Seriously. Your facial hair shouldn't make you miserable. If you've spent a month uncomfortable with how you look, end the experiment.
If it just looks silly, shave it. Some mustaches work. Some don't. If yours falls into the "doesn't work" category, there's no shame in admitting it and moving on.
Shaving off a bad mustache isn't quitting or failing. It's recognizing that not every style works for every face. That's just reality.
The In-Between: Modify It
Maybe your full mustache isn't great, but parts of it are decent. You've got options besides all-or-nothing.
Go to a goatee. If your chin and mustache area grow well but your cheeks don't, a goatee might work. It uses the good parts and eliminates the weak spots.
Try a Van Dyke. Mustache plus goatee, no connecting beard on the cheeks. This works if your mustache is solid but you don't have great cheek coverage.
Keep the beard, lose the mustache. Some guys have the opposite problem—good beard growth but weak mustache. A beard without a mustache is a specific look, but it can work.
Trim it way down to heavy stubble. Sometimes the issue is length. Your mustache at one month might look scraggly, but at one week of growth it might look fine. Try trimming everything down to 3-5mm and see how it looks.
Shape it into something more intentional. A chevron, a pencil mustache, something with defined edges. Sometimes the problem isn't the hair, it's the lack of shape.
Get a barber's input on this. They can look at what you've got and suggest modifications that might work better than either keeping it as-is or shaving it completely.
The Practical Reality of Keeping a Mustache
If you're thinking about keeping your mustache past December, here's what you're actually signing up for.
Food gets stuck in it. Constantly. Soup, coffee, anything saucy—it all ends up in your mustache. You'll be wiping your face more than you ever have before.
Drinking is different. Beverages hit your mustache before they hit your mouth. You'll develop new drinking techniques to minimize the mess.
It requires daily maintenance. At minimum, you're trimming stray hairs and combing it. More likely, you're using product, shaping it, and keeping the edges clean.
People will comment on it. Some comments are compliments. Others are jokes. You need to be okay with your mustache being a conversation topic.
It changes how you look significantly. Your face is different now. Some people will prefer it, others won't. You need to be comfortable with that change.
Professional settings might be weird. Depending on your industry, a mustache might make you stand out (good or bad). Consider whether that's something you want.
Seasonal considerations matter. Mustaches in Toronto winter mean dealing with frost, runny noses making it wet, and general cold-weather grossness.
Keeping a mustache isn't just about whether it looks good in December. It's about whether you want to deal with all of this long-term.
How to Shave It Off Properly
If you're shaving it, do it right. Don't just hack at it with a razor and hope for the best.
Trim it down first. Use clippers or scissors to remove most of the length before you shave. This makes the actual shaving way easier and prevents clogging your razor.
Soften the hair. Hot shower or hot towel first. You've got a month of dense hair growth—it's tougher to shave than your regular stubble.
Use good shaving cream. Not the cheap canned stuff. Get actual shaving cream or use hair conditioner. You want lubrication and protection.
Shave with the grain first. One pass with the direction of growth to remove most of it. Then, if you want it really smooth, carefully go against the grain.
Take your time around your lip line. It's easy to cut yourself here. Go slow and be careful.
Moisturize after. Your upper lip hasn't been exposed to air in a month. It's going to be sensitive. Use aftershave balm or moisturizer.
Expect some irritation. You might get some redness or bumps. That's normal. It'll settle down in a day or two.
Your face will feel weird. You got used to having a mustache. Your bare upper lip will feel strange for a few days. That's normal.
If you're not confident doing this yourself, book a barbershop shave. We'll take care of it properly and you won't risk cutting yourself up.
The Compromise: Keep It For Now
You don't have to make a permanent decision on December 1st. You can keep your mustache for a while longer and see how you feel.
Give it two more weeks with proper maintenance. Get it shaped professionally, maintain it properly, and see if you like it better when it's actually groomed instead of just grown.
See how it photographs. Take some good photos. Mustaches can look different in photos than in mirrors. See how you look in pictures before deciding.
Get honest feedback. Ask people you trust what they actually think. Not "does this look okay?" but "should I keep this or shave it?"
Try it in different settings. How does it feel at work? At the gym? On a date? See how comfortable you are with it in your actual life.
Check in with yourself. Do you like having it? Or are you just keeping it because you put in the work to grow it? Those are different things.
After two weeks of actually living with a maintained mustache, you'll know if it's for you or not. If you're still unsure or uncomfortable, shave it. If you like it, keep it.
The Annual Movember Cycle
Here's what usually happens: Guys do Movember, grow a mustache, shave it off December 1st, then do the whole thing again next year.
That's fine. Movember isn't about keeping the mustache forever. It's about raising awareness for men's health issues and having some fun with it.
Don't feel pressure to keep it. The point was participation and fundraising, not permanent facial hair changes.
You learned something. Now you know if you can grow a decent mustache or not. That's valuable information.
Maybe next year will be different. If your mustache was patchy this year, it might be better next year. Facial hair continues developing into your 30s.
Or maybe you'll do it again anyway. Even if your mustache looks terrible, participating in Movember is about more than appearance.
The post-Movember decision happens every year. Some guys keep it, most don't, and that's completely normal.
What Your Barber Actually Thinks
You're probably wondering what we actually think when you come in with your Movember mustache.
We've seen them all. Good ones, bad ones, weird ones. We're not judging. We've done Movember too and know how it goes.
We can tell if it's working. One look and we know if your mustache is something you should keep or something you should shave. We'll tell you honestly if you ask.
We can make it better. Even a mediocre mustache looks way better with professional shaping. Sometimes guys think they need to shave it when they really just need it properly groomed.
We appreciate the cause. Movember raises money and awareness for important stuff. Even if your mustache looks ridiculous, we respect the participation.
We want you to make the right choice for you. Not for your friends, not for social media, not to prove something. Whatever makes you comfortable and confident.
If you're genuinely unsure what to do, come in and ask. We'll give you an honest assessment and help you figure out the best move.
The Bottom Line
December 1st doesn't have to be judgment day. You can keep your mustache, shave it, modify it, or just give it more time to decide.
The only wrong choice is keeping something that makes you uncomfortable or unhappy just because you put in the work to grow it. A month of effort doesn't mean you're obligated to keep it forever.
Be honest with yourself about what you've got. If it looks good and you like it, keep it. If it doesn't, shave it. If you're unsure, get it professionally shaped and give it another week or two.
Movember is about men's health awareness, not about forcing everyone to have a mustache they hate. You participated, you probably raised some money, you learned whether you can grow a decent mustache. That's success regardless of whether you keep it.
Not sure what to do with your Movember mustache? Book with Jded Barbershops and we'll give you an honest assessment and help you either shape it properly or shave it off cleanly, whatever makes sense for your face.
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