Walrus moustache
The Big, Bushy Moustache Style
A walrus moustache is thick, long and grown out until it hangs over the top lip, often covering the mouth entirely. It is the largest moustache in this directory and the one that asks least of you once it is grown, because the whole point is that it is not shaped.
At a glance
- Also known as
- Nothing else in common use
- What it is
- Thick and overhanging the top lip.
- Length
- Long, three inches and up
- Growing time
- 4 to 6 months or more
- Trim how often
- Every 3 to 4 days
- Best face shapes
- Any
- Moustache
- Yes
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The moustache does what it likes. The rest of your face has to be immaculate to carry it.
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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.
| Oval | Ideal | No shape to correct, so anything from a pencil to a handlebar sits well. |
|---|---|---|
| Redondo | Works | Go wider than the mouth rather than heavier, so it does not add bulk. |
| Cuadrado | Ideal | A strong jaw carries a heavy moustache without looking top-loaded. |
| Oblongo | Ideal | Horizontal weight across the lip breaks up the length. |
| Heart | Works | Draws the eye down from a broad forehead. |
| Diamante | Works | Adds width across the middle of the face. |
How to cut one, in four steps
- Grow it out4 to 6 months or more. No trimming at all in that time, including the hairs hanging over your lip.
- Set the shapeComb it down and flat, then cut to your outline. Never cut it wet, it dries shorter than you cut it.
- Clear the lipTrim along the top lip line so it does not end up in your mouth. Scissors give more control than a trimmer here.
- Wax and trainWarm the wax between your fingers first, work it in from the centre out, then shape the ends.
Full detail, tools and the common mistakes are in the guide below.
What makes a moustache a walrus
Volume and overhang. The hair is grown long enough to fall over the lip line rather than sitting above it, and it is left thick rather than thinned or tapered.
There is no waxing, no curling and no training. A walrus moustache falls where it grows, and that is the difference between it and a handlebar, which is the same length worked into a shape. The bushy style is the style.
Length varies. Some sit just over the lip, others cover the mouth completely. Both are walruses.
Growing a walrus
Six months at minimum, and a year for a substantial one.
Facial hair grows at roughly half an inch a month, and a moustache that overhangs the lip needs real length. There is no way to shortcut it and no product that changes the rate.
The hard stretch is months two and three, when it is long enough to sit in your mouth and not long enough to hang past it. Trimming the lip line through that period is the only intervention that helps. Cutting anything else sets you back weeks.
Keep the cheeks and chin shaved throughout, unless you are growing a beard alongside, so the moustache reads as intentional.
Do not trim the ends at all while growing a walrus. Every trim is a month.
Who it suits
A walrus adds substantial horizontal weight across the middle of the face.
Long or oblong. The best fit. The width breaks up the vertical.
Square. Very good. A strong jaw balances the moustache above it.
Oval. Works.
Round. The hardest. A large moustache on a wide face can overwhelm it, so keep it closer to mouth width rather than letting it spread.
The real requirement is density. A walrus moustache is defined by bulk, and thin facial hair will not produce it however long you grow it. If your upper lip growth is sparse, a chevron or a pencil moustache is a better use of the same six months.
Trimming it
Very little, and less than you think.
The lip line only. Comb the moustache down and trim the hair that hangs into your mouth. Scissors, not a trimmer. This is the one cut a walrus needs regularly.
Stray hairs, individually. There will always be a few going their own way, and cutting those is different from trimming the moustache.
The ends, occasionally, once fully grown, and only to keep both sides the same length. Sharp lines are not what this style is about, so avoid cutting a hard edge across the bottom.
That is the routine. Everything else is combing.
Keeping it
Comb it daily, downward, with a moustache comb. A walrus moustache that has been slept on and left will look like a mess, and combing is what separates the style from neglect.
Wash it two or three times a week. At this length it is more like hair than stubble, and daily washing leaves it dry.
Beard oil once it is long, worked through the hair rather than into the skin. It keeps the moustache lying flat and helps healthy hair growth by stopping the ends going brittle.
Trim the lip line every few days. That is the only regular cutting.
Eating takes some adjustment, and there is no dressing that up. A moustache hanging over the mouth gets in the way of soup and pints, which is why some men keep it just short of full coverage.
What goes wrong
It gets trimmed into a shape. A walrus is not shaped. Cutting sharp lines into it turns it into a badly grown chevron.
The lip line is neglected. The hair goes into the mouth, which is uncomfortable and looks unkempt.
It is judged at month three. The awkward stage is long on this one. Six months is when it starts being a walrus.
Combing gets skipped. More than any other moustache, this one depends on it.
It is grown on thin facial hair. Length does not create bulk. If it is sparse at four months it will be sparse at eight.
Questions we get asked
How long does it take to grow a walrus moustache?
Six months minimum, a year for a full one. Facial hair grows about half an inch a month and this style needs real length.
Do you wax a walrus moustache?
No. It hangs rather than holds a shape. Wax is for a handlebar, and on a walrus it looks greasy.
How do you stop it getting in your mouth?
Trim the lip line every few days with scissors, taking only the hair that hangs below the top edge of your lip.
Can you grow a walrus with thin facial hair?
Not really. The style is defined by bulk, and length will not create density that is not there. A chevron suits finer growth better.
How often does a walrus moustache need trimming?
The lip line every few days. Everything else is left alone, apart from evening the ends occasionally once it is fully grown.
Is a walrus moustache high maintenance?
Low, once grown. The growing is the hard part. After that it is a daily comb and a trim at the lip line.
Other moustaches
Same shape, different length or moustache.
If this one is too much work
Same idea, less of your morning.
Browse by what matters to you
The same directory, cut a different way.