Growing a Military Mustache: What Are the Regulations?

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Barbers share how to trim & maintain an inspection-ready ‘stache

Co-authored by Marlon Rivas and Dan Hickey

Last Updated: January 27, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Growing the Stache
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• Maintenance
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• Mustache Regulations
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• Military Reception

|Show more |Show less

Whether you’re in the military or not, sporting a short, clean, precisely-trimmed mustache is always in style. If you’ve been wondering how to shape such a sharp ‘stache, look no further. We’ve consulted professional barbers and men’s grooming specialists to share how to grow and maintain the military mustache, and we’ll even review the exact military regulations that dictate how short and clean it must be. Keep scrolling to learn more!

What is a military mustache?

A military mustache is short, neatly trimmed, and follows strict regulations. The mustache hairs must be no more than ½ inch (0.6 cm) long and cannot hang over the line of your upper lip. The ends of the mustache must also not extend past the corners of your mouth. The ends are sometimes tapered into a chevron shape.

Steps

Section 1 of 4:

Growing a Military Mustache

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1. 
   1
   Let your mustache grow out for at least 4 weeks. According to facial hair specialist Marlon Rivas, “It’s a four-week cycle for hair growth. If you really are interested in growing a beard or mustache, give it at least a month to see how it grows.” This means no shaving, trimming, or shaping during that time (although you can keep your chin, cheeks, and neck clean-shaven to really get that military look).

   • Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see the growth you want after 4 weeks. Barber and men’s grooming content creator Jacob Joseph adds, “It’s going to take a while. Mustaches grow more slowly for most people, so I’d say grow for at least 3 months” to see your true mustache potential.

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Marlon Rivas is a facial hair specialist, barber, and owner of MGX Professional Men's Grooming in San Francisco.

   Jacob Joseph is a barber, men’s grooming content creator, and owner of The Barber Lounge in Turlock, CA.

   Craig Whitely is a master barber, men’s grooming consultant, and the CEO of Burke Avenue, a natural skincare line tailored to sensitive skin and shaving needs.

   Michael DiGregorio is a barber and men’s grooming expert in NYC specializing in barbering, men's hair and style, fine fragrance, styling tips, and more.

   Timmy Yanchun is a professional barber and co-founder of Svelte Barbershop + Essentials in Los Angeles.
2. 
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   Use clippers or scissors to get rid of free or wild hairs. Once your mustache hairs have grown in, it’s time to tame them—the military look is about precision, after all. Master barber and men’s grooming consultant Craig Whitely says to “use clippers with guards (or even clippers without a guard) and go with the grain, which would be downward, basically from the nose toward the lip. That’s going to reduce the amount of free hairs without debulking the mustache.”

   • If you prefer, use mustache scissors to snip away any free or unruly hairs. Barber and men’s grooming expert Michael DiGregorio says, “Using scissors and trimming the middle section [of your mustache] will help keep the shape.”
   • Make sure to check it from all angles, too. DiGregorio adds, “If you look at yourself from the side [in the mirror], you’ll notice more hairs that tend to curl and stick out” than if you’re only looking straight-on at the mirror.
   • How short should your mustache hair be? According to military regulations, each mustache hair should be no more than ½ inch (0.6 cm) long. This length or shorter gives you the real military look, but if you’re just doing this for fun (and not for the actual Army), choose any length you like.
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3. 
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   Clip the ends of your mustache so they don’t extend past the corners of your mouth. Imagine a vertical line stretching up and down at each corner of your mouth. Your military mustache must fit within these lines to be in regulation. So, use a trimmer to buzz any hair outside this area down, then grab a foil trimmer or an old-fashioned razor and shave the remaining stubble away.

   • There’s no specific shape your military mustache has to be. Some let it grow with minimal maintenance as long as it stays within the lines, while others subtly taper the ends into a chevron mustache shape.
   • If you opt to shape your mustache, don’t take off too much hair right away. Gradually “trim off layers of hair on the top of the mustache to get a certain thickness that is complementary to your face,” explains Rivas.
4. 
   4
   Trim the bottom of your mustache so that no hairs extend past your lip line. In the military, mustache hairs can’t cover your lip or even extend lower than the line of your upper lip. DiGregorio says you can just “trim underneath the lip with scissors” to get rid of unruly hairs.

   • Whitely recommends using the “smile technique”: “Make a smile where you’re not opening your lips. You’re able to then trace just above your lip line to get all the free hair off. When you stop doing that smile, it’ll be the perfect amount of hair that has been removed to highlight your lip.”
5. 
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   Shave your chin, cheeks, and neck clean. Now that your ‘stache is groomed and shaped, it’s time to shave the rest of your face clean (beards are generally not allowed in the military unless you have a medical or religious exemption). So, buzz your chin, cheek, and neck hair down and shave everything but your mustache away. Now you’re clean-shaven and ready for inspection!
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Section 2 of 4:

Maintaining a Military Mustache

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1. 
   1
   Trim your mustache daily (or most days) to keep it precisely groomed. A military mustache reflects precision and discipline—AKA, you’ll need to trim and shape it most days of the week, if not daily. Shave the ends of your mustache at least every other day to keep it from growing past the corners of your mouth. Then, DiGregorio says to “trim underneath the lip with scissors, then [trim] any middle hairs that pop out of place or are unruly” to keep your mustache in regulation.

   • Rivas adds, “Maintain the mustache line above the lip so it's not growing into your mouth or growing over your lip. Keeping that hair neat will give your mustache a much more groomed appearance. It only takes about 30 seconds to a minute to do, a couple of times a week.”
2. 
   2
   Use beard shampoo and conditioner to keep your mustache clean and soft. A hydrated mustache prevents itchiness and dry skin, plus it makes your military ‘stache look full and strong. According to professional barber Timmy Yanchun, “If you use a beard shampoo, that's better, but if you have a regular hair shampoo, that's fine. And also, condition the mustache to soften the hairs.”

   • Plan to lightly wash your mustache most days of the week (this is important since it’s easy for food to get caught in it).
3. 
   3
   Use a small amount of mustache wax or beard oil to shape your mustache. If your mustache is a bit unruly, “you could apply some mustache wax to shape it,” Rivas advises. “Or, apply a little bit of beard oil to it just to give it a little bit of a shimmer. But I would stay away from the shiny mustache look, though. I can look kind of gross, like you've been sweating in it all day, so I would go for more of a wax that gives some shape and hold, but no shine.”
4. 
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   Avoid over-trimming and ask a barber for help shaping your mustache if needed. It’s tempting to keep snipping at your mustache while you’re trimming to keep it looking extra-neat, but this can backfire if you take off too much. If you need a sharper look, gradually remove hair until you get the shape or thickness you want. The keyword is “gradually”—you can always remove more hair later, but you can’t add it back until it grows in!

   • If you’re struggling with nailing the right mustache shape, Yanchun recommends “going to a barber, having them do the first one, and then from there, you can always just do the upkeep.”
5. 
   5
   Stay hydrated and eat a facial hair-friendly diet. Drinking enough water keeps both your facial skin and mustache hair hydrated and supports healthy hair growth, so plan to drink about 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day. Then, make sure you’re eating a balanced, healthy diet full of vitamins and minerals to support your facial hair. Some of the most important foods to eat regularly include:

   • Healthy fats (olive and canola oils, Omega-3s from nuts and seeds, plant-based fats like avocado)
   • Lean protein (poultry, seafood, fish, low-fat dairy products)
   • Iron (lean red meat, leafy greens, fortified cereals)
   • Vitamin A (cooked yellow vegetables like sweet potatoes and winter squash, liver, cooked leafy greens)
   • Vitamin E (nuts and seeds, fish)
   • Vitamin D (egg yolks, fish)
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Section 3 of 4:

Military Mustache Regulations

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1. 
   Military mustaches must be short, above the lip, and between the corners of your mouth. The US military does authorize mustaches, but they are required to be neat and closely trimmed. No part of the mustache is allowed to extend below the line of your upper lip (or beyond a horizontal line extending across the corners of the mouth). As of 2025, mustaches must not go beyond a vertical line drawn at the corners of your mouth (previously, they were allowed to go ¼ inch (0.6 cm) past the corners).

   • The hair length is regulated, too. Each individual mustache hair cannot be longer than about ½ inch (1.3 cm) when fully extended.
   • In the Air Force, mustaches must also be short enough not to interfere with the seal of a respirator mask.
   • Long or “flashy” mustache styles like handlebar mustaches that extend below the lip line are not allowed.
   • The rest of your face (chin, cheeks, neck) must be clean-shaven unless a shaving waiver or religious accommodation is granted from the appropriate commanding officer.

Section 4 of 4:

What’s the attitude toward mustaches in the military?

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1. 
   1
   Mustaches are acceptable in the military, but new regulations put them under stricter scrutiny. Mustaches aren’t frowned upon per se, but they are subject to intense regulation to promote uniformity and practicality across divisions. Recently, in mid-2025, an Army Directive made mustache regulations (“regs”) even stricter, saying that the ends cannot extend past the corners of your mouth. The move is meant to raise the Army’s standard of professionalism, discipline, and readiness.

   • In some branches, there is a lighthearted tradition of mustaches. In the Air Force, for example, service members participate in Mustache March to honor legendary fighter pilot Brigadier General Robin Olds (1922-2007), who grew an iconic handlebar mustache in Vietnam (which he claimed was “bulletproof”) to boost morale and challenge the regulations.
2. 
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   Critics say the new regulations target religious minorities and Black service members. Like many things, facial hair regulation is not without nuance. The new regulations direct service members with religious accommodations for longer facial hair and beards (like Sikhs and Muslims) to be deemed “non-deployable,” meaning they cannot be sent overseas or on combat missions. If they’re non-deployable for over a year, they are at risk of administrative separation (having their contract with the military terminated).

   • Similarly, facial hair waivers for medical conditions will be largely nonexistent. This puts strain on Black and dark-skinned service members, who are more prone to uncomfortable razor bumps (pseudofolliculitis barbae or PFB). Like those with religious accommodations, members with medical waivers will be limited to 12 months of accommodation before being evaluated for separation.
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