Facial Hair

[utahfish]

From my first dive lesson I have always heard that facial hair makes for a crappy seal for your dive mask, yet it seems like every scuba diver I know has facial hair (except the women of course!). Just wondered why....is there an advantage to facial hair at all?

[cummings66]

No advantage. I have a full beard and my mask leaks like a sieve. It's good practice for me when I want to stay in top form for mask clearing.

I'm no warmer, certainly I'm more irritated by the leakage, but my wife likes the beard so I keep it and deal with clearing the mask more often. My dryhood is now a wethood, can't seal it with hair around the face so there's a lot of things that don't work with a beard but it's not a problem if you're comfortable with your skills.

[navyhmc]

I will be starting my winter beard here soon. Unlike Cummings, if you have the right mask it doesn't leak too bad. Mine still leaks a little but not too bad. Personally, I find that the beard itself helps with keeping my face a little warmer. At least another 15 minutes of dive time in 48f water.

'Course unlike Cummings, I dive wet so my wet hood is still a wet hood.

[Flatliner]

One guy I dive with puts medical grade silicone greese in his and it really cuts down the leak.

[utahfish]

Okay...good to know. I'll keep shaving!

[maverick]

I have had a beard 4 the last 30 years, never had any problems, a little mustache wax takes care of mask leakage.

[CompuDude]

Definitely no advantage. If I'm not relatively recently shaved, I end up with a mask that I have to clear continuously throughout the dive. If I'm diving and haven't shaved for a bit, I'll try to at least hit my upper lip with a razor before I head out for a dive, even if I don't have time for a full shave.

[Lone Frogman]

Originally Posted by utahfish

From my first dive lesson I have always heard that facial hair makes for a crappy seal for your dive mask, yet it seems like every scuba diver I know has facial hair (except the women of course!). Just wondered why....is there an advantage to facial hair at all?

Yea, I don't have to shave. And my mom wouldn't know who I was if I did shave. Finding a mask that fits good is the answer. I have been dive from day one with full beard. Never had leaking problems with a good fitting mask. If i had to use grease/wax or something else like that, I'd shave. Than go introduce myself to mom.

[mm2002]

One thing you'll always find in my gear bag is a disposable razor so just in case I forgot that morning..... Even with a 5 o'clock shadow, my mask leaks like crazy. I've always had facial hair until I started diving. Unlike Matt, my wife hates beards anyway, so it works out for me.

[scubastud]

get the best mask you can ... it makes a world of difference.