Beard or bald?

[NimChimpskii]

Who dives with a beard or moustache?
If so how do you get a decent seal from your mask?

 

[h90]

Who dives with a beard or moustache?
If so how do you get a decent seal from your mask?

I have to shave even a 3-4 day beard, if not leakage......

 

[whoji]

I have a goatee, no problems with leakage!!

 

[miketsp]

Just trim 1/8" under the nose and select a mask with a small contact area in that region.
If you look at a variety of masks you'll see that the contact area for the under nose seal varies a lot.
With some masks the contact is nothing more than a fine line. With others the mask curves and lays a wide strip of contact area under the nose - useless if you have a moustache.

 

[Walter]

I've worn a full beard and moustache since before I started diving. It leaks a little, but I rarely even notice it. Clearing a mask is automatic. This is a non-issue.

 

[Rick Murchison]

So long as the seal across the forehead and along the sides of the face is good, it's just a matter of keeping the "bubble in the bucket" - no problem.
Rick

 

[Colliam7]

I've worn a full beard and moustache since before I started diving. It leaks a little, but I rarely even notice it. Clearing a mask is automatic. This is a non-issue.

Second that. I grew a first-ever beard / moustache recently, and expected leakage when I dove the first time afterward. Hardly any at all with a Seadive Caribbean, which is a rather simple mask. I push the bottom edge of the mask up as much as I can (without causing discomfort) and I get a good seal (without pig nose). The very small amount of leakage is, as Walter says, pretty much a non-issue.

 

[427Dave]

I have had a moustache for 40 years. It has never created a problem. I exhale through my nose keeping a positive pressure inside the mask. A little leaks in but no problem.

 

[seaducer]

I used to have a goatee, never had problems with leakage, and I like my mask loose. I have heard if you do have problems use can use some vasoline on the stache to help seal, but if I had that problem I would just shave...

 

[Daz]

I've worn a full beard and moustache since before I started diving. It leaks a little, but I rarely even notice it. Clearing a mask is automatic. This is a non-issue.

Same here. When I was working on a cruise ship, we called it "the price you pay for being cool".

Daz