i made a commitment and i’m sticking to it. not only am i growing this moustache; it’s my duty to keep my supporters informed as to its progress.

still haven’t donated? not only is there plenty of time left, but after seeing these pictures, my courage will surely inspire you to give generously. or puke.

either way, just visit my movember page and give whatever amount you can afford. even as little as a dollar, five dollars, will help build my total donation toward prostate cancer research. in fact, if every person i emailed gives only 2 dollars, that would be an undisclosed amount of people, multiplied by two! that’s a lot of money!

and to those of you who already donated, i wish i had a better ‘stache for you to be proud of, but take heart. it’s early yet, and your support has really meant a lot to me and my blossoming lip curtain.

take a look at this first timeline to see the initial growth spurt (click for full size):

day two was just the beginning of the non-shaving journey, and as you can see, is almost unnoticeable. that gives you an idea of the total lack of raw facial hair talent i’m working with here.

day five, i haven’t shaved at all just to see with i’m working with. like any great artist, it all begins with a good canvas. only my canvas is a pitiful bunch of chin whiskers and my art is a nasty ‘stache-terpiece.

day nine, i have now shaved twice and am trying my best not to be ashamed of my progress so far. though what i currently have can technically be called a moustache in that it is hair, and it is covering my upper lip (but not the full chin, making it a goatee, and therefore ineligible), it’s more like training wheels for what might someday be a mo’ to be proud of.

a few further learnings:

this photo was taken right before shaving the first time, a full week in. see those areas in red? those are the evidence that if this were beard-tober instead of movember, i would have to just give up and start raising money for little girl charities.

even after a full 7 days without shaving, you could literally count the individual hairs between the goatee region and the place where sideburns should be. gone are any dreams of gnarly mutton chops. full chin straps: out of the question. even a five o’ clock shadow, no matter the time of day or week, remains a fantasy.

but all is not lost. i remain dedicated to doing what i can and continuing to fight for men’s health despite my own shortcomings. so take one last look at this photo. it’s the beginning of something beautiful.

a majestic mo’ it may never be. i may have weird bald spots that keep my lip hair from connecting to my chin hair, making even a simple handlebar an uphill battle. i may never win any moustache-related contests other than ‘best effort by a guy who could still pass as a teenager’. but these tiny hairs have a big heart, and that’s what counts.

well, that, and raising money for men’s health. so please consider donating if you haven’t already! and if you’re curious about how much good it does, take a look at the video below from REAL DOCTORS, who may not have moustaches themselves yet (assuming this was recorded pre-movember), but have huge brains to make up the difference.

thanks again!