The English

“Long, narrow, and pulled straight out to the sides. The stiff upper lip, literally.”

Difficulty: Hard Maintenance: High Best on: Oval, Oblong, Square, Diamond

The English mustache is long and narrow, with the hairs parted at the center and pulled outward to either side in straight, horizontal lines that extend past the corners of the mouth. The ends are tapered to points and may be lightly waxed, but unlike the Hand…

About History Famous Wearers How to Grow It How to Trim It Grooming Routine

⬆ I Wear This Stach ✂ Stach Care Guide 📖 Read the full How-To Guide →

📌 The English at a Glance

Style: The English mustache
Difficulty: Hard
Maintenance: High
Best face shapes: Oval, Oblong, Square, Diamond
Famous wearers: Karl-Heinz Hille, Jimmy Edwards, David Suchet, Terry-Thomas, Lord Kitchener

About the English

The English mustache is long and narrow, with the hairs parted at the center and pulled outward to either side in straight, horizontal lines that extend past the corners of the mouth. The ends are tapered to points and may be lightly waxed, but unlike the Handlebar they are not curled upward — they simply extend, straight and true, like a well-mannered pair of antennae.

It is a style of restraint and precision. The English says you could have curled it, but that would have been showing off. Popular among British military officers, aviators, and a certain type of comedian, it now lives mostly in competitive circles and among men who enjoy a mustache with rules.

History of the English

The English mustache descends from the long, waxed officers' mustaches of the Victorian and Edwardian British Army, where regulations for a time actually required officers to wear a mustache. The horizontal, pointed form was easier to keep tidy under a helmet strap and looked properly severe in photographs. Royal Air Force pilots carried the tradition through the Second World War, often in a fuller "wings" variant.

In post-war Britain the style found a champion in comedian and musician Jimmy Edwards, whose vast, waxed mustache (a hybrid of English and Handlebar) was so central to his persona that he helped found the Handlebar Club in London in 1947 — a club that still meets today. Fictionally, Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, and especially David Suchet's television portrayal, gave the world the definitive tidy, pointed, horizontal mustache.

The style has a second life in competition. Germany's Karl-Heinz Hille won multiple world championships in the English category, and the World Beard and Moustache Championships' English rules — narrow, long, pulled to the sides, tips pointed, not curled — remain the formal definition everyone uses.

Famous English Wearers

Karl-Heinz Hille
Jimmy Edwards
David Suchet (as Hercule Poirot)
Terry-Thomas
Lord Kitchener

Face Shapes That Suit the English

OvalOblongSquareDiamond

Face-shape guidance is general. Every face is the right face for a mustache if you commit hard enough.

🌱 How to Grow the English

Growing an English

Grow long. The English needs length — at minimum 3 months, ideally 6 — so the hairs can extend past the corners of your mouth when pulled straight out. Leave the entire upper lip untouched.
Keep it narrow. Unlike the Imperial or Hungarian, the English should be slim top to bottom. From week 4, keep the top edge tidy just below the nose and do not let cheek hair join in. Shave everything outside the lip area.
Part in the center. Starting week 3, comb the mustache outward from a center part every morning. This builds the distinctive split that defines the style.
Pull, do not lift. When the ends are long enough (month 3 or so), apply a little wax and draw them straight outward, horizontally, toward the ears. Resist the urge to curl; the tips should taper to a point and stay level with the lip line or slightly above.
Taper the tips. As the ends lengthen, twist them lightly between thumb and forefinger while waxing so they narrow to a fine point rather than a blunt brush.
Length goal. In competition, the English should extend well past the mouth; a total span of 6 to 8 inches is respectable, more is remarkable.

Allow 6 to 9 months for a clean, convincing English.

Read the full How-To Guide →

✂ How to Trim the English

Trimming an English

Ends are sacred. Never cut the tips unless removing a split end. Length is the entire point.
Center lip line. Comb down and trim the center third along the top of the upper lip so the part is visible and your mouth is free. Use scissors and remove a little at a time.
Narrow the body. The English should be slim. Every 2 weeks, trim the top edge just beneath the nostrils to keep the vertical height modest; 1 to 1.5 cm of height at the center is typical. Shave strays above.
Outer boundaries. Shave any hair beyond the corners of the mouth on the cheeks. The extension past the mouth should be pure mustache hair pulled sideways, not cheek hair.
Thinning. If the body becomes bushy and fights the horizontal shape, thin lightly from underneath with thinning shears.
Symmetry. Trim with the mustache dry, combed, and unwaxed. Check that both halves have the same length by measuring from the center part to each tip with a tape.

The English is unforgiving of a lopsided part. Work in good light and go slowly.

🧴 Recommended Grooming Routine

English Care Routine

Morning

Wash, towel to damp, and apply 2 to 3 drops of beard oil.
Comb outward from the center part with a fine-tooth mustache comb.
Warm a pea of firm wax. Work from the part outward, then pinch and draw each side straight out, twisting the last inch into a point. Hold for 10 seconds per side.
Check that both tips sit at the same height.

Midday