November 14, 2012: Mustache November
I have known my significant other for more than 30 years, and have never seen him with a clean upper lip. In fact I’ve only seen one picture, taken very long ago, of him without a mustache. He’s got a lot of company-especially this month. Apparently November is also Movember, known by many as the mustache-growing season.
Movember, which started in Australia, is actually all about raising awareness of and funds for prostate cancer, the second-largest cancer-related killer of men in America. Essentially men start the month (on November 1) clean-shaven, and vow to grow mustaches throughout the month. They raise funds by asking for sponsors to donate to their hair-raising efforts. Last year more than 854,000 people globally participated in Movember, raising $126.7 million.
Perhaps in preparation for Movember and its increasing popularity, Alibaba.com, the world’s largest online marketplace, reports an increase in searches for beard- and mustache-growing herbal cream and a human hair mustache, perhaps for men who want to fake it. People are also searching for mustache growth pills.
In fact, Alibaba.com reports a year-on-year 315 percent increase in mustache-related searches in the United States. The most popular include plastic mustaches, stick-on mustaches, mustache glasses and mustache brushes.
Entrepreneurs looking to cash in on this craze should also be happy that men can’t live with mustaches alone. Reflecting that, Alibaba.com also reports more searches for the mustache aftermarket, including hair trimmers (a 12.7 percent increase) and shaving cream (up 25 percent).