Date:	2005-02-17 01:49
Subject:	Days of Growth: 47
Security:	Public
Mood:	touched

[Final Entry]



Well, folks…After spending less than a week with my darker, fuller, more pronounced moustache, I began to grow tired of it. The hairs were uncomfortable and the glares I received were unfavorable. A few weeks ago I could stroke it and gain a sense of comfort, but now whenever my hand came in contact with it, I was overwhelmed with disgust.

What was wrong with me? I had finally gotten what I wanted. Why did the accomplishment of the mustachioed dream leave me feeling empty? Perhaps it was just the chase I was after…Maybe deep down inside, I’m not a “moustache” type of guy. (I guess god was trying to tell me that anyway).

So I decided to shave it.

I have to admit, my hands began to tremble as I applied shaving cream to the hairs I had grown and groomed for the past month and a half. I soon came to my senses and began to shave…And it felt really good.

Do you remember when Alex Trebek, Montel Williams, and Hurricane Schwartz shaved their moustaches? Remember whenever you saw them you’d be like “Who is this creep?”. Well, that’s the sensation I felt looking into the mirror tonight.

But that feeling should pass…I can fondly recall most of my moustache memories…Ah, yes…They’re all here on this livejournal. Great. That’s easy, then…

To sum it up, it’s been a wonderful [moustache] ride. My ‘stache has provided me with both joy and sorrow. It’s been a source of comfort and distress…Hey, it has even inspired others, which is something I’m not too proud of...And in case you were wondering, I won't be displaying any post-moustache images as I feel they would demean the project.


Thanks for reading.

Yours truly,
Topher Grace

Look at this pathetic mug. When I first started this project, I had dreams of photographing moustache "action shots", which would be, basically, pictures of my mustachioed self doing various activities, like driving, playing tennis, holding a gun, etc...But the only suitable activity for this moustache seems to be the act of crying into a pillow.

I had to do something...Now, the next couple of pictures will probably be controversial to some of you, but you have to keep in mind. This is a project, and a loose, experimental project at that. I looked upon the help of my recently purchased Just For Men moustache & beard package.



What they should have called this was "Just for Men Who Can Speak Spanish", because it had more writing in Spanish than in English. Luckily, though, the instructions included pictures to help me through what would be a complicated process.

First of all, it included gloves, a tiny spatula, and a cute little black brush...When I laid all of these tools upon my bathroom sink, I knew I was getting into something that was Just For Men.



See, there are two different tubes. One is white and one is brown. You put them both in a little plastic tray and then you use the spatula provided to mix them together. What with the gloves and all, I felt like I was doing a science experiment.



Once the two solutions are mixed together, you apply it to the areas that need touching up. This stuff has a strong odor and even though I did it thirty minutes ago, I still kind of feel high off of the fumes. Once it's in your hair, you have to wait for about five minutes...After the five minutes are up, you wash away everything with warm water and soap.

After drying, you are free to stare into the mirror for hours at your glorious results.

Date:	2005-02-09 22:58
Subject:	Days of Growth: 39
Security:	Public
Mood:	sore

Today I had my wisdom teeth removed. My moustache remained.

Oh, and guess what Happy Harry's was having a sale on?



Hm.....

Date:	2005-02-08 13:49
Subject:	Days of Growth: 38
Security:	Public
Mood:	disappointed

Yesterday my moustache had a breakthrough. This was achieved with the help of a razor.



I have to say...Shaving this much progress made me really nervous, but I knew it was something I had to do...For the sake of the moustache. I prepared by taking miniature scissors and trimming the outer layers of my beard...Then my parents wanted to take my brother and I out to eat so I kind of felt embarrassed, walking around with a spotty beard...Then after that I got out the shaving lotion and a new razor and went away at it. I shaved everything except the moustache and the sideburns (which I wanted to save for later)



I'll be the first person to admit that it looks pretty terrible. The thing is, when the beard was surrounding the moustache, it provided transitional hairs from dark to light, making the moustache seem less blonde [read: pathetic]...But after shaving its support system, I don't think my moustache can handle going solo.

I can't believe I have to walk around like this. I'll try not to think about it.

Date:	2005-02-05 10:33
Subject:	Days of Growth: 35
Security:	Public
Mood:	thirsty

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but me and my moustache have been busy. I did some trimming today, but unfortunately have no new pictures. I do have a good moustache experience to relate, though:

On Thursday night, I noticed an acquaintance of mine, M, had grown a fine moustache (waxed and everything). He is a member of the wonderful Mini Band. Apparently, one of his bandmates, S, had a big problem with it. She "hated the shit out of it", as he said. I told him to ignore her, continued to sing his praises and ask for advice. Well, anyway, they took the stage and began to perform. During the last song, he announced that he wanted to give a gift to S, and so he took out a razor and began to shave his moustache, right there on stage. It was both marvelous and appalling.

I'll also take this time to reply to a comment made by B(?), who urged that I shave the beard...Well, I think we're both on the same page. I think it's going to have to come off in a couple of days. This will probably be the most shocking transformation yet, as it will be sudden.

If anyone sees this record, they should buy it...for me:

It's been a month.

Date:	2005-01-30 14:00
Subject:	Days of Growth: 29
Security:	Public
Mood:	cold

If the hairs upon my upper lip were darker, I'd probably look like this:



Pretty awesome, right? Here's what I really look like. I'm digging the beard thing that's happening. It's kind of fun to stroke while I'm pondering something, or just "chilling". Yeah, anyway, in the moustache-related humor department, Here's an image of artist extraordinaire David Barnes shedding some light on the moustache:



Also, In the new issue of Entertainment Weekly (which I never officially subscribed to, but somehow they're now charging me for, those ratbastards), includes the much acclaimed "Shaw Report", by Jessica Shaw, who is IN THE KNOW of what's IN and who we should all count on for guidance in trends and styles. This week's Shaw Report:

Date:	2005-01-27 23:17
Subject:	Days of Growth: 26
Security:	Public
Mood:	giggly

Shaving day!

 

I knew this day would come! Here's the list of what made it and what stayed (if you can't tell from the pictures)

Gone is the "soul patch", which was really more like a troll patch! It was pretty out of control and I really didn't want my moustache to be associated with that kind of rubbish. Also taken off the roster was the weird neck hair...This is where it got a little tough, because I really wasn't sure when to stop. At first I just shaved the weird ends that were almost touching my chest (yikes!), but then that just looked weird, because it was such a clean, awkward cut in the middle of my neck. I kept on shaving but then decided to stop in fear that I'd ruin the entirety of the beard.

I tried to remember other famous beards, in order to recall where their beards stopped and started...For the life of me, I couldn't figure it out. Anyone care to share your thoughts on this? Now that I'm not in the bathroom I guess I could do some research

I also trimmed various areas of the facial hair, to make the whole thing a little more consistant. It was pretty tough, because I don't really have moustache scissors. I also tried to define the little "gap" in the center of my moustache, but it's still not dark enough for anyone to even tell the difference. Oh well.

Date:	2005-01-24 16:27
Subject:	Days of Growth: 23
Security:	Public
Mood:	chipper

Oh my! It's been just over three weeks since I began growing my moustache and it's going quite well, with the exception of the blondeness. Take a gander at this dandy:



That's not skin I'm pinching, my dear readers! 'Tis 100 percent pure moustache! It's almost to the point where I have to start trimming the thing, which is quite a big step. I've been seeking advice from the Beard Community's FAQ, who are quite helpful with some of the social etiquette (and intolerance!) involved with facial hair. For example:

If you’re interviewing for a job where facial hair is allowed and tolerated, showing up qualified and confidently bearded is probably a better strategy than showing up qualified, bare-faced and unhappy because you think you look stupid without your beard. On the other hand, shaving only long enough to get a job and then trying to regrow your beard later could leave some employers feeling manipulated and mistrustful, especially if you both know facial hair isn’t favored in that particular workplace.

And also, January is probably the wrong time to be growing a moustache.

Date:	2005-01-21 02:22
Subject:	Days of Growth: 20
Security:	Public
Mood:	restless

It's still growing.

Date:	2005-01-19 12:48
Subject:	Days of Growth: 18
Security:	Public
Mood:	exhausted

Here's the latest picture (with detail on the "soul patch").



This should give you an idea of where hair is growing and...where hair is not growing. It should be pretty clear that I have no chance of growing a full beard, but then again, that is not what this project is about. I examined the growth with a magnifying glass and found that there are still little sprouts of hair growing in places. For some reason I thought all hair would be growing at the same rate, but I guess it's pretty inconsistant. When I do a little trimming it should look more professional.

Great Movie Moustaches

Date:	2005-01-17 00:42
Subject:	Days of Growth: 16
Security:	Public
Mood:	curious

In the past, whenever I let myself go unshaved for an extended period of time, it would always start to get a little itchy. I've gone 16 complete days so far and I've had none of those problems. I believe this is a sign from my body telling me that I'm ready for a moustache.

I consulted my father, T, about my facial hair and asked, based on his own personal experience, if he had any predictions on mine. He had told me that he had similar difficulty when attempting to grow youthful moustaches. I actually remember seeing pictures of him in his 20s and sure enough, he had a sleazy "crustache" kind of thing that I'm probably going to attain. Damn these genetics.

I also was talking to M (who helped instigate this project) about my dilemma and she seemed to be vehemently opposed the idea of dying it in any way. If I do, I've decided that it will be done as a last resort. Anyways, from the progress I've made, it seems like the hair gets naturally darker anyway, so there might not be any need to. If any of you readers have any thoughts on moustache dying, feel free to chime in.

So far, we've got:



I was starting to think, "You know, this is my first moustache, I'm doing pretty good for myself, you know?"...I then encountered the website of the World Beard and Moustache Champions. Christ, look at these bastards:


It should be obvious that I'm jealous of these men.

Though, I guess instead of being discouraged, this gallery should inspire (and not only in regards to moustache growing!). The website gives new insight into the life of the mustachioed. For example, the country with the most facial-hair associations and contests is Germany (I guess that's not really surprising). They have an (incomplete) list of beard and moustache categories. If only I had the ability, I'd love to churn out something that looks like what they categorize as "sideburns" (though we all know that look is called the "Chester A. Arthur").

Date:	2005-01-12 00:45
Subject:	Days of Growth: 11
Security:	Public
Mood:	grateful

An overall scope of hair upon my face:



I've acquired a "scruffy" look due to the overall lack of grooming, but I'm far from gaining the amount of dignity that comes with a moustache. I havn't really had much trouble with my unshaven face until today, when I was cleaning out some things in my basement. I think some of my hairs came in contact with a couple of cob-webs, causing a little bit of itching afterwords.

Even though I'm sure that this winter just hasn't been as cold as ones in the past, I like to think that the source of my warmth has been my [pathetic excuse for a] beard.

Date:	2005-01-08 00:11
Subject:	Days of Growth: 7
Security:	Public
Mood:	pleased

You're looking at a full weeks' worth of moustache growing, my friends. There is actually a lot of hair on my upper lip, but my problem is (and will be something I'll have to deal with) that most of it is blonde. This has been an issue I've pondered for many a years' now. What is it that makes some mens' moustaches more pronounced than others? I couldn't find any answers, but I did find support from the website, Team Moustache. Within their "FAQ" section, they clearly state:

 "...a blond stache is also very acceptable and manly...".

Also on the site were instructions for dying your moustache, which they approved of. I don't think I'll embark on that sort of procedure yet, but further down the line I might give it a whirl.

Date:	2005-01-04 19:04
Subject:	Days of Growth: 3
Security:	Public
Mood:	optimistic

From the looks of it, I'd say that everything is coming along pretty well. Here's a close-up of the general growth thus far:

 

As you might be able to tell, the moustache area is far less pronounced than the chin strap area (there are probably scientific terms for these, and I will know them next time I post). I stated in the first entry that I wouldn't be shaving for a long time. I will, however, have to do some sort of hair maintenance, so 'trimming' will probably be involved...though, apparently, I'm not allowed to dye it.

Date:	2005-01-02 19:38
Subject:	Days of Growth: 1
Security:	Public
Mood:	excited

Yesterday I shaved for the last time, once and for all.

Actually, I'm probably going to shave again, but it won't be anytime soon, mind you, for I am growing a moustache. Here is a photograph taken a few moments after yesterday's shaving (this will be the "before" picture)



As you can see, there is no evidence of facial hair. My skin is soft and clean. I am going to have to part with this sort of lifestyle. I have experimented with the moustache and its cousin, beard, in the past, but I think the longest I've gone without shaving them off was less than two weeks.

If all goes as planned, I will have a moustache in two months.