Hungarian moustache
walrus bulk with the ends swept up
A Hungarian is a large, thick moustache grown to walrus proportions and then trained outward and upward at the ends rather than left to hang. It is one of the biggest moustaches there is, and one of the longest commitments in this directory.
Also worn as the Yosemite Sam, which is the same shape grown wider and heavier still.
At a glance
- Also known as
- Nothing else in common use
- What it is
- Walrus bulk with the ends swept out and up.
- Length
- Long, three inches and up
- Growing time
- 8 to 12 months
- Trim how often
- Every 1 to 2 days
- Best face shapes
- Long, Square
- Moustache
- Yes
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The variations
The same shape, worn differently. What changes is length, density and how much you take off at the edges.
Will it suit your face?
Where a style puts weight, and where it takes it away, is what decides whether it suits you. The table below is the short version.
| Long | Ideal | The widest style here, and width is exactly what a long face wants. |
|---|---|---|
| Square | Ideal | A big jaw is one of the few that can carry this much moustache. |
| Oval | Works | Sits well on a larger oval, and swamps a fine-featured one. |
| Round | Avoid | Adds width to a face that is already as wide as it is long. |
| Diamond | Avoid | The outward sweep sharpens an already pointed chin. |
| Heart | Avoid | Too much weight above a narrow chin. |
How to cut one, in four steps
- Grow it and leave itEight to twelve months. Do not touch the sides. The only cutting in that time is the hair that reaches your mouth.
- Train the direction dailyComb outward from the centre every morning while damp. The direction is set by repetition over months, not by wax in one go.
- Wax the endsA firm wax, warmed between the fingers, worked from the middle out. Sweep the tips out and slightly up rather than curling them.
- Keep the lip clearTrim the underside back to the lip line every day or two. At this bulk it grows into your mouth faster than you expect.
Full detail, tools and the common mistakes are in the guide below.
What makes it Hungarian rather than something else
Three moustaches sit near each other and get confused.
A walrus is bulk with the ends hanging down over the mouth. No training, no wax.
A handlebar is narrower, and the ends are curled into loops with wax.
A Hungarian has walrus bulk with the ends swept out and up. Not curled into a loop, not left hanging. It is the most substantial of the three and needs the most hair to work.
What it requires
Coarse, dense growth on the upper lip. More than any other moustache here. The shape is carried by mass, and fine or sparse hair will not hold the sweep or fill the width.
Eight to twelve months. That is the honest figure. You need three inches or more before the ends can be trained anywhere, and hair grows about half an inch a month.
Daily maintenance forever. Combing, waxing, and training the ends. This is not a style that settles down.
It suits long faces and square jaws, because the width runs horizontally across the middle of the face. On a round face it widens what is already wide.
Growing it
Months one to three: leave it entirely alone. Do not trim the ends, do not tidy the shape. Every cut sets you back weeks and the length at the corners of the mouth is what you are waiting for.
Months three to six: keep it out of your mouth along the lip line and nothing else. Start combing it outward daily so it learns a direction.
Months six onward: begin training the ends upward with wax. This is where the style starts to exist.
The awkward stage here is longer than anything else on the site. For roughly four months you have a moustache that is too big to be tidy and too short to be shaped.
Training and keeping it
Comb it outward from the centre every morning, while it is slightly damp. Damp hair takes a direction; dry hair fights you.
Wax from the middle outward, working the ends last. A firm wax, not a light one, because you are holding real weight against gravity.
Trim only the lip line. Anything that reaches your mouth comes off. The ends are the style and should be left.
Wash it two or three times a week. At this size a moustache catches everything you eat and drink, and it discolours before any other facial hair does.
Where it goes wrong
Trimming the ends. The single most common way a Hungarian quietly becomes a walrus.
Giving up at month four. The awkward stage is genuinely long, and most people stop in it.
Light wax. It will not hold this much hair.
Growing it fine. If your moustache hair is thin, a handlebar or an English moustache achieves a trained shape with far less mass.
Other moustaches
Same shape, different length or moustache.
If this one is too much work
Same idea, less of your morning.
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The same directory, cut a different way.