Diving with facial hair

[thagar]

I was just wondering how many people here dive with facial hair. I have a gotee and was wondering if that is what is causing my mask to leak a little. I tried tighting it and it still leaks.

[crgjpg]

I don't have any facial hair, but my brother in law has a mustache. He said that his mask his mask leaked and he was told it was because of the mustache.

[navyhmc]

I have a mustache that does cause a little problem with my mask seal, but have just gotten used to it. I also grow a beard during the winter and found it helps immensely with keeping those areas of my face not covered by the hood warm. I don't really have any problems with either.

If you have a mustache, this may keep your mask from sealing well. Tightening is not usually a recommmended solution. this can cause problems with mask squeeze which is far worse than a leaky mask.

I have gone to shaving a little area just below my nose and that keeps things sealed without overly tightening my mask.

[thagar]

Thanks guys. I guess my wife gets her way and the gotee goes.

[Sansho]

I have a mustache, and found I needed to change it's shape slightly to have some skin show just below the nose, maybe around a quarter inch, give or take. It's enough that the mask seals fine.

[aggie99]

I have it and contemplated removing it just because it is such a pain. If I shave it under my nose it helps but still leaks. I haven't broke down and tried the vaseline trick yet. I have talked with others who have beards/mustaches and there rememdy is "get used to clearing your mask a lot". I even bought the Mares Liquidskin which did help but still the leaks persist.

[harb99]

i do not normally keep facial hair - i did notice on our trip to Bonaire that stubble on the upper lip caused my mask to leak - if i shaved, i had no problems

my buddy that was with us wears a foo/goatee - had to trim his upper lip to prevent his mask from leaking - he kept a clean shaven band under his nose for the trip and had no problems

[mchain]

I'm trying the whole shaving just under my nose thing tomorrow. We'll see how it goes for me.

[Lone Frogman]

I have full beard and I have found masks that work and others leak. The key for me is the fit of the skirt.

[Defman]

I'm with most of the other fur faces, shaving a little under the nose helps a lot. I tend to not shave at all when I'm on vacation, but I also make sure to shave the tops of my cheeks since that's another place the mask seals.

Since the facial hair adds to the already somewhat complex issue of getting a good mask seal, spending the extra time at your LDS trying on, and demoing in the pool, different masks to find the one that fits you best is a worthwhile effort. Don't get stuck on a style or brand so much as making sure it's the right mask for you. No matter how cool the mask looks in the showroom, it just plain SUCKS if it leaks while your diving!