Mustaches, no doubt, illicit strong opinions from people. Most of the time the opinion is, that’s awesome! But sometimes they anger people to their soul. Josh Gondelman is one of those people. He claims to like mustaches, just not shitty or ironic mustaches. He writes:

From Salvador Dali’s malleable ‘stache to Captain Morgan’s boozy crumb catcher, all viable mustaches share one trait. They all accomplish the mustache style that they attempt. Not so with hipster mustaches. They’re patchy and too blonde. They have gaps in the middle that make it look like a motorcycle could jump from one side to the other.

Later on he argues that if you can’t grow a good ‘stache, you simply shouldn’t grow one. This is where I think he’s wrong. I agree that a good mustache accomplishes the style it attempts, but how can you know what style a mustache is attempting? Mustaches take different forms on different faces and there’s little control one has over the shape, area and thickness of his facial hair. How do you know that hipsters aren’t attempting a patchy, blonde mustache with gaps? Perhaps they want a Dali or a Captain Morgan, they just can’t grow one.

I think if a man wants a mustache, he should own it and grow what his mama gave him. If it sucks, sure he can play it off as ironic, but there’s no need to in my book.

Do women like mustaches? It’s the age old question. Not that I really care, but I’ve found they either love ‘em or loathe ‘em. There are a lot of factors to be considered: Who is the man behind the mustache? What is the type of mustache?

It’s common knowledge that woman are attracted to some sort of facial hair. A little stubble I think most women will agree is sexy. Beards, perhaps a little less so but women aren’t outright disgusted by them. But mustaches—boy, are there some polarized opinions about them. I think it’s obvious why women would like mustaches so let’s take a look at some reasons why they wouldn’t:

• Shows too much interest/investment in appearance; it’s akin to plucking eyebrows
• Seen as an attempt by boys to look like men
• Reminds them of their fathers
• Fucking hipsters

Jezebel published a post about the European Beard and Mustache Competition and in the comments are some samples of the opinions women have about mustache:

My boyfriend recently decided to grow a handlebar mustache with the twisty sides along with his beard. My only qualm is the smell of mustache wax.

It’s wierd, I love stubble on some guys, but heavily groomed facial hair bothers me.

I was out on Saturday night and I saw a hipster with a mustache like this …I spent the rest of the night talking about how I wanted to smack his pretentious mustache off his face.

I am married to a mustachioed man, and I approve!

Jezebel isn’t an unbiased sample, however, the comments appear to be more positive than negative. It also appears that mustaches are most hated on hipsters—mustaches of the ironic variety. To which I argue, ladies, don’t hate the mustache; hate the hipster.

A study about how facial hair can either help or, sadly, hinder a man’s perceived trustworthiness has been graphically depicted by artist Matt McInerney. Facial hair rated includes beards, mustaches and just sideburns.

The different face-dos are aligned from “Very Trustworthy” to “Disastrous.” Interestingly, “Neutral” trustworthiness is not in the middle because there more styles of facial hair that fall beneath it. A man with a full trimmed beard is deemed to be trustworthy and the most “disastrous” facial hair is the infamous Hitler stache.

See it on Laughing Squid and an interview with Matt at the LA Times.

See all the styles and their ratings after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

“Why would you do something to make yourself less attractive?…”

“It’s horrible; it is only worn by old men.”

“I do not find it attractive and I feel it is a way for boys to make a statement that they are men. I think it’s stupid.”

These hateful words were uttered by female students at BYU-Hawaii.

While some women dig the ‘stache, there are some that utterly loathe it. My last (female) roomate was one of them. Fortunately for me, I don’t dig women who don’t like mustaches. In a sense, the mustache is sort of a filter.

I asked her what made her hate the mustache so much and she alluded to the fact that it was socially acceptable for men to walk around with untrimmed faces while women were required to be trimmed downstairs.

WHAT???

I understand it may not be your bag, but why the intense repulsion? If anything, it just makes me like it more.