It’s Movember time.
For those as yet unfamiliar with the growing Movember movement, get ready for the ‘staches. During November, men are asked to grow facial hair for 30 days to raise awareness for men’s health.
And it’s catching on. What began in Australia in 2003 to raise awareness for prostate and testicular cancers has since raised $559 million and funded more than 800 programs in 21 countries. Four million mustaches have been grown worldwide since Movember was initated.
There’s also “No-Shave November,” which encourages men and women to donate what they would otherwise spend on hair grooming to the American Cancer Society®. Participants can grow mustaches and beards, but it also encourages women to skip shaving. The goal is to grow awareness by embracing hair, which many cancer patients lose due to the side effects of treatment.
No-Shave November was founded on Facebook in 2009, but last year began a partnership with the American Cancer Society.
And according to PSP editorial advisor Jeffrey Epstein, MD, FACS, the director of the Foundation for Hair Restoration, who maintains full-time offices in Miami and New York City, mustaches are cool all year round—not just in Movember. “They are dignified and connote confidence,” he says.
“Mustaches are the next step in the hipster beard trend in my practice; they represent a distinct look that men are trying to achieve, with varying shapes and sizes,” he tells Plastic Surgery Practice. “The two most common being the thick full mustache that extends down toward the goatee, and the other being the fine line, pencil-thin, trimmed mustache.”
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Jay A. Shorr, BA, MBM-C, CAC I-V, the founder and managing partner of The Best Medical Business Solutions, based in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Fla, suggests that practice’s step up their support of these efforts. “It’s a great way to market to men and make them all feel better about coming to your practice and a community interest feature,” he says. “Why not raise a campaign asking for pledges for the month of Movember and donate a portion of the revenue from all male patients to a men’s health charity,” he says.
Another option: consider clever disincentives such as December discounts for patients who postpone laser hair removal or match donations for patients who bypass grooming products in November.
