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From Hollywood to Hinge: Why a Bushy Moustache Is the Hottest Look for Men Right Now
Leonardo DiCaprio sent fans into a frenzy when he recently appeared with a bold, bushy moustache. As this style soars in popularity, we examine the surprising reasons behind the facial hair comeback that is dominating both red carpets and dating apps.
Hollywood's New Facial Hair Champion
While Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another won best film at the Oscars last week, the real winner of Hollywood's biggest night was arguably Leonardo DiCaprio's prominent moustache. Loud and proud, it adorned his upper lip, giving the 51-year-old actor an unapologetic swagger not seen in years. "I haven't found Leo attractive for decades, but with this moustache..." one fan wrote on social media, alongside a clip of the actor nodding at jokes from host Conan O'Brien before gazing directly at the camera.
Another shocked fan declared: "He looks HOT, probably for the first time since 2001." This reaction highlights how a moustache—long a symbol of masculinity, strength, and maturity—can dramatically transform perception. In contrast, Pedro Pascal appeared alarmingly clean-shaven at the Academy Awards, suffering the inverse effect. "Someone pick the shaved hairs up from his sink and glue it back again QUICK," one fan pleaded, while another claimed to see "regret all over his face" at his tache-less state.
The Evolution of the Modern Moustache Movement
Moustaches have been gaining momentum for some time. The "dirtbag" tiny tache—sported by Jacob Elordi, Harry Styles, and Timothée Chalamet—has been slowly returning since the pandemic, often paired with a mullet. Now, we're witnessing the resurgence and celebration of the full-throttle, unapologetically present mouth-framer from a bygone era: you can either grow one, or you can't.
Early adopters like 27-year-old teacher Cam grew his moustache three years ago, suspecting his dark hair would suit the style. "It transpires that I am exceptionally good at having a moustache," he says. "I was stopped by a gallery attendant to ask for advice on growing one. I take particular pride in my thick moustache standing out against the hordes of wispy and pallid imposters."
Similarly, 30-year-old fund manager Chris grew his moustache ahead of the trend two and a half years ago. "Originally I started it in Movember to see if I liked it," he explains. "It was when I was working at an investment bank; the uniform there is relatively strict, so it was a way of bringing in a bit of individualism. I got compliments on it and decided to keep it ever since as a bit of a streak of rebellion." Chris notes that many compliments came from women, who seemed drawn to him like never before.
The Dating Dynamics Driving Facial Hair Popularity
Studies suggest that when men face difficulty finding partners due to competition among single men of marrying age, they're more likely to grow facial hair like moustaches or beards to stand out and appear more attractive. And it works. According to Office for National Statistics data, less than half (49.5 percent) of adults are now married, with predictions forecasting that 45 percent of women aged 25 to 44 will be single by 2030—the largest share in history, up 41 percent from 2018.
While upper-lip hair won't solve plummeting birthrates, many women are drawn to moustaches. Twenty-six-year-old Ella first realized her attraction to facial hair when she noticed Kings of Leon lead singer Caleb Followill. "He had that long hair and porn star tache," she says. "It's very attractive, and moustaches can hide a multitude of sins like a thin upper lip; they mask that if it's something you struggle with. They're just really cool and make you look like a cowboy or a sheriff. That's the fundamentals of it... It's quite manly, isn't it? It enhances a guy's look. We use makeup, why can't they grow a moustache to indicate a sense of self or style?"
Confidence, Masculinity, and Political Undertones
Maxwell Oakley, founder of luxury barbershop Supply 91, observes an uptick in confidence among customers who grow moustaches. "It's a bit of a gradual progression," he says. "We get a lot of guys who do a kind of cowboy moustache, where they have stubble or a grade one beard and then a moustache that's really full. That's a pretty cool look, then sometimes they shave the rest and leave the tache as a statement."
Christopher Oldstone-Moore, author of Of Beards and Men: The Revealing History of Facial Hair, suggests this "long-term overall trend towards facial hair" could indicate a masculinity crisis. "Gender—and in particular masculinity—is constantly up for negotiation," he explains. "Men are more and more interested in facial hair because it helps them explore or define their own group's masculinity. It's becoming more important for that reason. I don't see it abating any time soon because I don't think we'll come to a collective agreement on what masculinity is supposed to look like or how it's meant to be." Another study found that men who grow facial hair tend to care more about living up to masculine expectations.
The evolution of facial hair perception is evident in the monarchy. In his 2023 memoir Spare, Prince Harry recounted how "livid" William was that he was allowed to keep his beard for his 2018 wedding to Meghan Markle, despite army regulations ordering him to shave it. The Prince of Wales—forced to shave for his 2008 wedding to Kate Middleton—now sports a full beard that Kate reportedly loves. In politics, while clean shaves were once the norm, vice president of the United States JD Vance is the first vice president since William Howard Taft in 1913 to have facial hair. "What's striking to me is that it crosses ideological grounds," says Oldstone-Moore. "There's just as much—maybe even more—interest in facial hair on the right as the left."
The Future of the Facial Hair Trend
Upon further investigation, DiCaprio's moustache might have initially been grown for a role. The actor is set to star alongside Jennifer Lawrence in Martin Scorsese's gothic horror What Happens at Night, an adaptation of Peter Cameron's 2020 novel. So, the tache might get trimmed after filming—but if DiCaprio takes Pascal's plummet in allure as a warning, he might realize that the best thing a man in Hollywood or on Hinge can have right now is some upper-lip hair.
Just ask this year's Best Actor winner Michael B. Jordan, who even joked about setting up an OnlyFans account just for his moustache: "His name is Murphy," he said. "It's going to get wild." As moustaches continue to frame conversations about masculinity, style, and attraction, this trend shows no signs of fading, proving that sometimes, the smallest facial feature can make the biggest statement.
