If I may blow my own trumpet slightly, I did predict facial hair would stick around this year in a piece entitled ‘Stop Bashing Beards’ that I wrote for Telegraph Men back in January. Even more prescient, though, were the comments made in that piece by Olivier Bonnefoy, founder of Mayfair grooming emporium Gentleman’s Tonic, who identified ‘Beyond Movember’ (ie the retention of moustaches beyond the charity event) as a bona fide trend for 2014.  “We’re finding that our clients, particularly the younger ones, are getting attached to their facial hair and instead of having it removed are requesting a neater, more classic look,” he told me at the time, adding that, as a result, the moustache was now taking on a year-round role.  The fact that the ‘tache is gaining traction as a style statement is confirmed by Brendan Murdock, founder of Murdock London – an impossibly cool but accessible chain of barber shops, whose first store opened – appropriately – in the hipster haven of Shoreditch back in 2006.  “We've certainly been aware of moustaches becoming a staple of the British gent’s appearance for a few years now,” he says. “The popularity of Movember has really helped to develop that trend, but we regularly see moustachioed men throughout the year and offer a variety of specialist treatments in store, and our moustache wax remains a bestseller.”  But while Movember may have been a catalyst for the widespread acceptance of the ‘tache (they can look cool on some guys), their resurgence may actually have more to do with the popularity of their bigger, badder, altogether bushier cousin, the beard. If the recent vogue for beards has done anything, it has given men permission to be playful with their facial hair.  What’s more, many of the men who grew beards for the first time when they became fashionable again discovered that they actually looked rather good with some facial hair and that women weren’t repelled by the thought of "pash rash" either. And in the same way that beards no longer conjure up terrifying images of Brian Blessed or Uncle Albert from Only Fools and Horse, the moustache no longer says Ron Jeremy or David Seaman - and for that alone we should all be grateful.  Like the beard, the moustache has finally been rehabilitated. In fact, a survey conducted by dating site MySingleFriend last year even suggested women thought moustaches made men look more fun, rugged and outdoorsy. “They used to have negative connotations with retro 1970s parties and gangster movies, but that time has now passed,” says Murdock reassuringly. “The guy with a moustache today is often wearing it with really well cut, tailored clothes and it’s there as an accessory to complete a look.”  The beard is responsible for the comeback of the moustache in another way, too. Once the bearded look became ubiquitous last year, it instantly lost its appeal to the fashion-forward. Like disco in the Seventies, the beard has very much become the victim of its own stunning success. And whilst men aren’t burning their beards like they once did disco records (still a heinous crime in my book) they are looking for another way to adorn their faces and stand out from the crowd – hence the increasing popularity of the ‘tache.  The moustache is to a man’s face what a flash of red lipstick is to a woman’s – it’s an eye-catching device that instantly gets you noticed and draws attention to the most sensual part of your body.  “In many ways the moustache is a much braver style statement than a beard these days,” says Murdock. “After all, there are so many bearded men that a moustachioed man really stands out, and how he chooses to grow and style his moustache can be quite individual. We all admire a well-crafted beard, but a moustache can say much more about the gentleman.”
Forget the ubiquitous beard &ndash; the moustache is this year&rsquo;s facial hair   must-have. And it's got nothing to do with Movember, says our grooming   expert Lee Kynaston