# Soul patch

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Style of facial hair

[Howie Mandel](/source/Howie_Mandel)'s soul patch

A **soul patch**, also known as a **mouche**,[1] is a small patch of [facial hair](/source/Facial_hair) between the lower lip and the chin.

## 17th-century European fashion

Soul patches have been fashionable in Europe at various times in the past, for instance in 17th-century Holland. An example from about 1625 can be seen in the *[Portrait of a Man in a Wide-Brimmed Hat](/source/Portrait_of_a_Man_in_a_Wide-Brimmed_Hat)* by Frans Hals. The [Merriam-Webster](/source/Merriam-Webster) online dictionary dates the earliest known use of the term "soul patch" itself as 1986.[2]

## 1950s and 1960s African-American fashion and imitation by the beatniks

Soul patches came to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, as a [style of facial hair](/source/List_of_facial_hairstyles) common among African-American men, most notably [jazz](/source/Jazz) musicians. [Frank Zappa](/source/Frank_Zappa) is a well-known artist who sported one from the early 1960s on. It became popular with [beatniks](/source/Beatnik), artists, and those who frequented the jazz scene and moved in literary and artistic circles. Jazz [flutists](/source/Flute) who disliked the feel of the flute mouthpiece on a freshly shaven lower lip could use a soul patch.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] On the other hand, jazz trumpeters preferred the [goatee](/source/Goatee) for the comfort it provided when using a trumpet [mouthpiece](/source/Mouthpiece_(brass)).[3]

## 1990s popularization by the film *Buffy the Vampire Slayer*

The soul patch was revived in the early 1990s, partly helped by [Luke Perry](/source/Luke_Perry)'s *[Buffy the Vampire Slayer](/source/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer_(film))* character, [Oliver Pike](/source/List_of_minor_Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer_characters), who wore one. Some prominent athletes adopted soul patches, such as [Mike Piazza](/source/Mike_Piazza) and [Apolo Ohno](/source/Apolo_Ohno).[4] The facial hairstyle also rose to prominence in the [mall goth](/source/Mall_goth) and [nu-metal](/source/Nu-metal) scenes around the late 1990s to early 2000s.

## See also

- [List of facial hairstyles](/source/List_of_facial_hairstyles)

- [Artificial beauty marks](/source/Beauty_mark#Artificial_beauty_marks), also called mouches

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** "mouche, *n*." *OED Online* June 2003. Oxford University Press. Retrieved October 11, 2010: "a small patch of beard shaped and allowed to grow under the lower lip".

1. **[^](#cite_ref-M-W_2-0)** ["Merriam-Webster Dictionary"](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soul%20patch). *Merriam-Webster Dictionary*. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster Inc. Retrieved January 25, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Maggin, Donald L.: *Dizzy: The Life and Times of John Birks Gillespie*. HarperCollins, 2005

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["The meaning of the soul patch: a brief history"](https://triviahappy.com/articles/the-meaning-of-the-soul-patch-a-brief-history). *Trivia Happy*. Retrieved August 24, 2021.

## External links

Look up ***[soul patch](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Search/soul_patch)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Soul patch](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Soul_patch).

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Soul patch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_patch) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_patch?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.