Are you ready to become a 2014 #MoBro or #MoSista? Official definition of #MoBro aside, Movember's not just for the men. There's a burgeoning #MoSista movement too - and while most females find it tricky to actually grow a mo in support, there's no stopping them from supporting their hairy men and actually making donations.
That's why I attended the 'Made in Movember' 2014 launch event on 15 October at the new Local Grill in Woodstock. While waiting for the event to start, my husband and I sampled the Local Grill's very own biltong, along with lip-smackingly good mini burgers, riblets, kebabs and other messy finger foods - the kinds that would drip and stick to our moustaches (if we had any). We also took turns with the short moustache joke role in our repertoire. You know the ones, they're along the lines of "I moustache you a question but I'll shave it for later."
And so the face-fur wordplay flew as we geared up for Movember a few weeks early, so that interested parties could prep themselves on the ground rules of taking part. Most attendees were clean shaven, which is fitting of the first rule of Movember...
1. Once registered at Movember.com, each MoBro must begin 1 November with a clean shaven face.
2. For the entire month of Movember, each MoBro must grow and groom a moustache.
3. Don't fake it. No beards, no goatees, no fake moustaches.
4. Use the power of the moustache to create conversations about men's health and to raise funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health
5. Each MoBro must conduct himself like a true gentleman.
You'll be joining the likes of Mark Pilgrim, Mark Shuttleworth, and Jack Parow if you do.
The choice is yours whether you want to go simple with a wisp, fancy with a connoisseur or all-out with a trucker - see some of the styles in the helpful postcard supplied below.
But as I keep alluding to, it's not just about the MoBros who raise awareness and money through sponsorship of their mo-growth.
MoSistas can take part by wearing a Movember Relate bracelet, especially designed for MoSistas. Even better? It fits this year's "Made in Movember" theme, as it's available from Woolworths for R39.99 and handcrafted from tangerine and dark coconut beads with a moustache-shaped clasp, with approximately one third of the bracelet's proceeds donated to Movember, another third to cover the material and running costs and the final third towards providing earning opportunities and skills training for local bracelet-makers and supporting local enterprise development initiatives.
If you have any Movember questions, be sure to click here - there's a reminder that you need to re-register each year you take part in Movember, as well as handy hints on whether you're allowed to join your mo to your side burns or to your chin hair. Hint: The answer's no on both counts. You can also purchase Movember merchandise and support a good cause at Llandudno beach on 1 November at the Off The Lip Movember Surf Jam - find out more by clicking here.
What are you waiting for? Register on www.movember.com and follow the campaign on Facebook and Twitter.
