Let’s just get things straight from the start. I’m not particularly fond of facial hair.

I should clarify that. I don’t like purposely constructed facial hair.

I’m willing to consider George Clooney/David Duchovny-type designer stubble – a look that delivers a relaxed air of nonchalance but in actual fact has been achieved thanks to some precise grooming.

My husband chooses this look (without the precise grooming) whenever he has more than two days in a row off work.

I tolerate it. Just.

Even he reaches for the Gillette Turbo when the itchiness surpasses his laziness … it’s usually around the time that I start going the quick peck instead of a lingering pash.

Apologies if this statement is the blog equivalent of a PDA (public display of affection) but this month my tolerance level for facial hair has climbed to even more dizzying heights.

A mate of ours – let’s call him Joe, because that’s his name – thought it would be a lark to get all the guys on his email list to sign up for Movember.

The idea behind Movember is obviously the mo, the moustache.

Signing up to grow a mo this month is a public way to create awareness of men’s health, and more specifically, prostrate cancer and male depression.

Turns out there are very strict rules, according to www.movember.com, for how a Movember mo should be constructed.

There is to be no joining of the mo to the side burns - that's a beard.

There is to be no joining of the handlebars - that's a goatee.

A small complementary growth under the bottom lip is allowed (aka a tickler).

You must remain cleanshaven apart from your mo for the entire 30 days.

My husband, who was worried about the slow rate at which his mo would grow, tried to start a few days out from the November 1 shave down. I wasn’t having any of that.

I’m a stickler for rules – it’s Movember, not Moctober – but, truth be told, I wasn’t being dudded on three days of hair-free kissing. (Sorry, PDA alert again.)

And boy, am I glad I did. Planting a kiss on my husband’s lips at the moment feels a lot like the wet, sandpapery feel of a cat licking you. NOT nice. And NOT happening all that often.

Visually, it’s not THAT bad – and he need not have worried about the growth rate … it’s very much a mo.

It’s a look that will attract attention (particularly if mo bros step out of their natural habitat and gather in groups together – a move that’s actively encouraged for the whole awareness thing) but if you’re single, I’m quite sure it’s not a look that will be an instant winner with the ladies.

One look at the Movember mo “style” guide is enough to make you shudder. Let’s face it, the mo has not been considered sexy since Magnum PI. The ’70s were a very, very long time ago.

There’s the “connoisseur” – slightly upturned and a shape above the lips which mimics the upper lip line. Or maybe the “brown baron” is more your thing – think very thick, a width out to the jaw line with a slight upturn to boot.

And if one of these designer mos is not enough of a fashion statement, a very funky range of tees has now been released for all mo bros and mo sistas (female supporters of the mo).

My faves: Quiksilver’s “no mo, no go” and the Huffer skull mo tee (check them out at www.movember.com).

With just days until my better half removes his mo, I’ve got my own slogan: “The mo must go.”

To achieve maximum awareness, I’m told this will take a full gathering of the mo bro and many, many beverages …

What do you think? Mo – or no mo?