It will be a hairy month as today marks the first day of Movember, the annual event during which men grow their moustaches for the month of November as a way of raising awareness around issues affecting men.While men are often sidelined when it comes to conversations around the wellness of men, Movember seeks to highlight men’s health issues including men’s suicide, prostate and testicular cancer as well as health issues in general.If you are looking to join the movement but need some tips around how to grow or maintain your “Mo”, we spoke to actors Chris Jaftha, Nicholas Nkuna and Jesse Suntele to find out their Movember plans, and how they keep their facial hair in check.

Chris Jaftha

Why is Movember important to you?

You know what, life is important to me, so regardless of what it is – male or female –the most important thing is relationships. So investing your time in good causes is always a good thing but I guess Movember is important because it brings to the forefront issues that men face and a lot of it has been stigmatised so it is good to support these kind of initiatives to help people deal with whatever it is they are going through and to know that they are not alone.

What are your top three tips for maintaining your beard or moustache?

Get a good beard oil or beard balm. I use Bonafide beard oil. Make sure you keep it neat,shaped and trimmed.Hygiene is important. A lot of the times people can grow facial hair and you can have all sorts of things stuck in it. It’s like a head of hair; you need to maintain it just as you would do your head and more so because it’s on your face.

Nicholas Nkuna

Why is Movember important to you?

I have never really gone into much research about it, but I know it’s the keeping of the beards in support of men’s health. Unfortunately, I’m not that hairy on my face so maybe I must put a fake one.

You know men can buy wigs these days for their faces, but I am joking. I am in full support of this initiative because this is a whole other chat and conversation about men’s issues.

You know we men don’t talk much,we don’t feel much, so just imagine what men go through. So I think the whole month in general, to be able to wake up and consistently say ‘Movember’, that sort of raises that awareness and conversation,even if it is just once a year, we have to come out and talk about these issues.

What are your top three tips for maintaining your beard or moustache?

Products are important for maintenance, strength and cleanliness. Trimming can also be a big issue in terms of being very consistent in how you create the lines around your mouth.What people don’t know is that bad trimming affects you later on in life, if you always shave different barbers trimming your mane.Always make sure the edges are maintained and trimmed properly.

Jesse Suntele

Why is Movember important to you?

Movember makes raising awareness for male-related issues easier to talk about. It’s alight-hearted way of getting people to ask the right questions and have the right conversations about problems we as men have, preventing them, and seeking help or treatment for them.

What are your top three tips for maintaining your beard or moustache?

Personally, I keep it short and neat, it’s easier to maintain. Remember that shaving is essentially rubbing a metal blade against your skin to remove hair.So take care to make it as painless as possible for your skin, [applying] shaving balm to help with friction, a soothing aftershave and moisturise. If you’re growing it, it could either go really wrong or really right for your lady. The difference between a haystack and a Persian rug on your face is taking the effort to treat and groom your beard well. Jack Black has a great beard grooming kit and treatment range.

How to turn that rough patch into smooth turf

Image consultant and director of cosmetic brand Resulté,Francois Louw, tells us that beards these days are not just facial hair but are now an accessory for men.Men often suffer with patchy beards or find it difficult to grow a beard altogether.

“A lot of men grow a beard and they do absolutely nothing to maintain or style their beards.This is a no-no as your beard quickly becomes your fashion accessory,” Louw advises.

“If you want to keep your beard, you need to keep it in check on the regular with simple grooming techniques. “First and foremost, you want to match your beard shape to your face shape. This sounds simple but a lot of men misjudge. Then, men must look after their beards in terms of styling products; and yes, it is a manly thing to do!

“Some men shave too high up into their necklines. In simple terms, you need to imagine a curved line between both of your ears that passes underneath your chin. Using this as guide, you can then use a trimmer to trim any hairs that d n’t follow this path.”

And are there general ways to boost men’s facial hair? “When men grow their beards, they often give up too quickly. The majority of us have been there; had a week or two of growth and thought to ourselves – this isn’t working.The next step tends to be shaving the beard off,” Louw says.

“But the question you really have to ask yourself is have you given your beard enough time to reach its full potential? My guess would be not. Most people are simply too impatient to wait and see how their beard will turn out.

“That ’s why I always recommend waiting at least two months before making a decision. Yes,that is a long time. But even the guys with the patchiest beards at the start, are usually much happier after leaving it for awhile, when the hair has grown long enough to drop and cover the gaps.“At least you can use your beard growth serum for those patches!"