Britain has a scarcity of moustached males as ladies turned off by lip fuzz

Britain has been hit by a moustache shortage – as handlebars halve as beard mania and female snubs kill off top lip hair.

As Movember kicks off, just 500,000 men – down from around million a decade ago – sport moustaches according to YouGov studies. Many are snubbing looking like Freddie Mercury or actor Tom Selleck as fellas follow the trend for full face fuzz.

They are also getting of taches as polls show one in five women hate them. Men’s tache snub comes despite the Army earlier this year lifting its moustache and beard ban – in what moustache fans hoped would be a throwback to the Dad’s Army days of moustaches.

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Studies show a moustache is least popular among southerners, with just two per cent having one. Northerners are more in favour with four per cent, while Scotland is the UK’s tache hotspot with one in 10 men sporting one.

Movember organisers said they hope to start the tache fightback by rallying chaps to grow their top lip stubble and raise thousands of pounds for the men’s health charity this month.

Movember UK director Anne-Cecile Berthier said: “We encourage everyone to answer the call and participate this Movember to help prevent men from dying too young.

“We’re driven by a bold mission to change the face of men’s health. So get involved and show your support.”

Celebrities taking part in Movember include Olympic gymnast Max Whitlock, former Love Island contestant Dr Alex George, and England rugby player Henry Slade, who said: “I’m happy to be a Mo Bro and growing something special, raising awareness and supporting innovations for testicular and prostate cancer, and giving mental health the focus it deserves.”

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