As anyone with a presence on social media will know, the month formerly known as November is now the biggest global men’s beauty event in the calendar — but though it may sound frivolous, it has a serious cause.

Facial hair will once again be under the spotlight, as the 2018 edition of the annual moustache-growing competition begins — all in the name of raising awareness of prostate cancer, testicular cancer and suicide rates among men all over the world.

Hosted by global organisation The Movember Foundation, whose tagline is ‘Grow a Mo, save a Bro,’ Movember is tackling the illnesses threatening men all over the world, all by championing a bristly upper lip.

Participating in the movement is simple: all you need to do is begin the month clean-shaven, and resist the allure of the razor for a full 30 days — except to ward off beards and goatees, which are banned as they lessen the visual impact of the ‘tash. Encouraging friends and family to sponsor you for your efforts will raise funds for more than 1,200 men’s health projects around the world. Less hairy supporters can also contribute by taking on a sponsored physical challenge or hosting a social event to draw attention to the cause and raise funds.

The Movember movement was first established in 2003 in Australia, and was turned into an official charity in 2004, with funds donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. By 2007 the charity had spread to New Zealand, Canada, Spain, the US and the UK, partnering up with prostate cancer organizations in each nation, and the event is now a truly global concept.

The foundation, which has pledged to reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25% by the year 2030, was ranked at number 45 in the ‘NGO Advisor Top 500′ rankings earlier this year. “It’s an honour to be ranked 45th among these highly regarded NGOs from around the globe,” said Owen Sharp, CEO of the Movember Foundation, at the time. “Innovation, transparency, and impact measurement around our funded programs is of utmost importance to us, as well as our community. We appreciate NGO Advisor’s commendation of our work.”

For more information, or to take part in this year’s campaign, join Movember.com.