A spiffy upper lip   

Gary Hagen likes his mustache long. Real long. Ten inches from tip to tip and full enough to hold Christmas ornaments. Yes, Christmas ornaments. Two tiny balls -- one red, one green -- from each end.

In the world of competitive facial hair, Hagen's do is not so unusual, by his own admission.

"I'm too ordinary looking,'' Hagen said.

Perhaps he's being too modest. Hagen, who lives in Gilroy and works as a cashier at the Morgan Hill Safeway, is the handlebar mustache world champion, a title he picked up at the 2003 World Beard and Moustache Championships, held in November in Carson City, Nev.

This was the sixth time the event has been held since it was founded in 1990. It was the first time it took place in the United States and the first time Hagen, 50, entered.

"It was interesting to be around a culture of males that do things with their hair like you do,'' he said.

About 120 entrants from nine countries competed in 17 categories. Judges -- including Nevada's Supreme Court chief justice, two Olympic skiers and Miss Nevada -- gave awards to the top three contestants in each category, plus three overall prizes, which means nearly half of the men who entered went home with at least one trophy.

Not that winning was easy. Check out the competition for yourself at www.worldbeardchampionships.com.

Most of this year's competitors, including about 85 men who flew in from Germany, belong to hair and mustache clubs they join for camaraderie and to pick up know-how.

Hagen learned most of what he knows by trial and error. He taught himself to use a curling iron -- he once singed his mustache's tips -- and to mix his own mustache wax on his stove top using orthodontic wax, among other things.

Bad hair days? Hagen has bad mustache days when he just can't ``get symmetry.''

"Nothing is more frustrating or rewarding,'' he said.

Friends help. A Sikh shopper talks hair care products with him, and a co-worker gave him the ornaments after stripping her miniature Christmas tree.

Organizers are trying to broaden the event's appeal to Americans. Hagen even invited Rollie Fingers, the ex-A's relief pitcher known for his handlebar mustache during the 1970s, to the championships. He didn't make it.

Maybe next time. Plans for the 2005 championships are under way in Berlin.