It wasn’t until high-profile stars like Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck popularized the mustache that straight men adopted the look too. Riley says that Selleck was an innovator of the push broom mustache—the technical term for the porn ’stache—and that “because of his incredible looks and constant presence in the limelight as a sex symbol, people of the time wanted what he had: mustache and more.”
Melissa DeZarate, Benson Boone’s groomer, also referenced Burt Reynolds in describing the “Beautiful Things” singer’s facial hair, adding that it works to compliment a look she describes as a “70s’s fever dream.”
Albert Muzquiz, a mustachioed menswear influencer, argues that a similar trend cycle is moving its way through society now. Cis-gendered, hypermasculine men are wearing clothing items like crop tops and mesh shirt, styles once exclusively worn by the gay community.
“Gay men are always on the cutting edge of fashion,” Muzquiz says. “If, for example, you watch Cruising, some of the extras in the gay bars are wearing what today would be considered standard fare for straight guys in Brooklyn and Silver Lake.”
While Riley says mustaches aren’t “exclusively a gay thing,” he does think that straight men adopting styles from gay men “shows them it’s okay to be expressive and even acknowledge a playful sexuality in public.”
“I’ve always found facial hair to be attractive, especially mustaches,” Jonathan Kirby, a menswear social media influencer who’s been sporting a ’stache since 2022, says. “For me, the mustache represents masculinity.”
Beyond being a reference to a previous era, the rise of the playboy ’stache is a sign that men might also be spending more time tinkering with their facial hair.
“It’s not a ‘grow and go,’” celebrity barber Vince Garcia says. “Maintenance matters.” Riley adds that those considering growing the playboy ’stache—or any other offshoot style—should consider their overall fashion taste, as well as their face shape and ability to grow a full, bushy ’stache. But as Garica notes, intent is the defining factor between a good mustache and a bad one, which, left to its own devices, will feel “patchy, uneven, or neglected.”
In other words, invest in a good beard trimmer. DeZarate says she’s also a “big fan” of beard balms and oils.
“Since a mustache is hair don’t be afraid to use a pomade or a hair product to get the look you’re going for,” she says. “Most of the time we’ll use a small brush or a mustache comb to smooth any beard balm or beard oil that will both condition and control wayward hairs.”
And for anyone who’s not yet sure about a mustache, there’s always the trial period. Riley has noticed that some guys will experiment with the look by starting off with a shorter beard while keeping the mustache part thicker.
“If they like the way it looks or start receiving compliments, they will generally cut the rest of their facial hair off,” he says.
That experiment may go the other way, too. The best part of a mustache is there’s an easy exit: You can always shave it all off.
