Advice needed - Irish Red Haired Diver with beard

[dufferito]

Another pasty white guy here.

I wear a full brim hat, rash guard and sun glasses. I do not put sunscreen on my forehead or below my eyes. This prevents the sunscreen from getting in my eyes. I keep my beard trimmed and deal with a touch of leaking. Nothing bad.
Also I got lasik and it changed my life. I would highly recommend looking into it.

thanks andrew

 

[smashweights]

I've used Hawaiian tropic everyday active on my face, eyelids, forehead for 40+ dives with no issues. Be sure you're not over applying. I'm one Fitzpatrick skin type above you.

Get a little tub of food grade silicone o-ring grease and dab a little across your moustache where the mask skirt sits. No leaks. I tried to "shave a tiny area under your nose" trick and it just ended up pulling my mask skirt up against the bottom of my nose, which was very uncomfortable.

 

[jknightindy]

these dont come off under water?
I was thinking of getting a hooded rash guard, but it feels very confined

Not at all. Never had one come off in 40+ dives since I started using them. I'm sure they could of course if they were knocked or pulled off.

 

[Rick Brant]

Hooded rash guards are a pain in the water as the hood captures bubbles and can mess with buoyancy. I take a buff in the water and wear a ScubaPro beanie. The beanie protects the scalp and the buff covers the neck when kicking out. If I get stuck in the surface for some reason, I pull up the buff to cover my face.

I don’t use sunscreen. I have a big sun hat handy in the shore or boat.

Don’t forget gloves if you are teaching it taking a class. Holding a float for an hour in the sun can fry your hands.

 

[Nedster]

Come visit an Irish owned shop in Panglao when you're finished in PG. I've been blessed with 'dark' Irish skin, but still wear a hat and snood covering my face on the boat. Snood covers my bald head when I get in the water and then also on the surface after the dive. I often keep a baseball hat in my BC pocket to use if I have a wait on the surface. I don't bother with a wetsuit; just board short and rash vest(sometimes I use a Sharkskin top), but the water in PG is a few degrees colder than Panglao. I also use reef safe sunblock that I get from Australia. The stuff you can buy here is not great/expensive.

 

[pauldw]

There's a thread going on right now that deals with mask prescriptions: Prescription mask help

 

[MB NZ]