Mask Sealing and Mustachios

[BamBam74]

I've tried numerous things including shaving my glorious face mane! Now I personally use an edging razor (most premium blade have them now) and shave about 1/8" under my nose before a dive and have found that is enough for me to get a good mask seal and post diving it fills back in a few days and no one notices.

 

[tbzep]

I've tried numerous things including shaving my glorious face mane! Now I personally use an edging razor (most premium blade have them now) and shave about 1/8" under my nose before a dive and have found that is enough for me to get a good mask seal and post diving it fills back in a few days and no one notices.

That's what I do when I remember to do it, and I don't even have to go a full 1/8". When I don't trim it, I just clear the mask every few minutes. I don't mind water in the mask so it's not an issue. When I'm working and need both hands, I'm in a FFM with comms.

 

[tarponchik]

I've tried numerous things including shaving my glorious face mane! Now I personally use an edging razor (most premium blade have them now) and shave about 1/8" under my nose before a dive and have found that is enough for me to get a good mask seal and post diving it fills back in a few days and no one notices.

I'll repeat what I said already many times: the mask leaks not because the water comes in under your nose, but because the air leaks somewhere at the top. If the air can't go out, the water can't come in. You do not have to shave anything, find your perfect mask instead. Or maybe cut your hair if it gets stuck under the mask.

 

[tbzep]

I'll repeat what I said already many times: the mask leaks not because the water comes in under your nose, but because the air leaks somewhere at the top. If the air can't go out, the water can't come in. You do not have to shave anything, find your perfect mask instead. Or maybe cut your hair if it gets stuck under the mask.

Yes, if you keep your face upright all the time the air will keep water out. However, if you turn your head sideways or look down between your feet behind you, the mustache area will let air out. It doesn't leak much, but some air does get out that way and water works its way in.

 

[Johanan]

Since I found a mask which really fits me, I don't have problems with leaking despite the moustache. I think, the right mask is the solution. For serious dives when I want to be absolutely sure, I shave a little stripe under the nose. It doesn't damage my looks and helps to keep the water out even more.

 

[tarponchik]

Yes, if you keep your face upright all the time the air will keep water out. However, if you turn your head sideways or look down between your feet behind you, the mustache area will let air out. It doesn't leak much, but some air does get out that way and water works its way in.

Some leak is inevitable with any mask. If you don't have to clean it more often than once in 5 min you are fine.

 

[Trey Houchin]

Hola muchachos !!

A question for those mustachioed divers out there:

I've heard that people have used chapstick, mustache wax, vaseline and silicone to seal your mask around the mustache area. Personally, until I found out it was a bad idea because it damages the mask, I used vaseline and it worked okay. I've also been very successful with chapstick-type stuff. But there's not a whole lot in one of those little tubes, and it runs out real quick.

So now I'm chasing the silicone thing, based on some postings I've read on this site. Stopped by my LHS (local hardware store) and got a tube of clear 100% silicone which is advertised for sealing aquariums. But after reading the warnings on the package, I'm thinking twice:

"May cause eye, skin, nose and throat irritation. Use only in a well ventilated area. Avoid breathing vapors. Avoid contact with skin...Wear gloves to minimize skin contact. Wear eye protection. Do not take internally"

So for those who use silicone to seal their masks, have you noticed any skin rashes, stuff falling off, petit mal seizures, serious convulsions, or signs of imminent death? Just curious. I'm thinking that maybe I'll stick with the chapstick.........

Aloha!

So I would not use silicone grease, even “food grade” silicone grease. Silicone in all its forms is a petro chemical. It creates a hydrogen bond with the skin, permeates the skin, and bioaccumulates. It can lead to all sorts of health problems.

Vasoline is another petro chemical. I do not want any petro chemicals on or in me. These things are also not good for our aquatic ecosystems.

Chapstick, the essential oils in chapstick can react with the skirting on your mask.

I recommend a product called SnorkelSnot. It is an all natural product that doubles as a beard balm, lip balm, salve, all kinds of things. Good for you, good for the reef! You can check them out on Instagram (@snorkelsnot) or www.snorkelsnot.com

 

[tarponchik]

Silicone in all its forms is a petro chemical. It creates a hydrogen bond with the skin,

It does not. Though I agree with your overall point, silicone does not form any hydrogen bonds with anything.

 

[Trey Houchin]

It does not. Though I agree with your overall point, silicone does not form any hydrogen bonds with anything.

So apparently the size of the particles play a crucial role in absorption, understandably, and I'm certainly no chemist, but this it why I said the part about hydrogen bonding... https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2016.00132

"Siloxanes are also characterized by an amphiphilic character (Figure 5). On the one side, there is an inorganic chain with strong polar Si-O bonds, and on the other side non-polar organic groups bonded to silicon atom (Mojsiewicz-Pieńkowska, 2015; Physical and chemical properties of silicone). The amphiphilic nature precisely plays an essential role in their unique properties. An example can be the ability to form hydrogen bonds with human skin, by contacting an inorganic part containing oxygen atoms (Si-O), which act as hydrogen acceptors, or an organic part (CH3), which represent hydrogen donors. This feature determines the phenomenon of adhesion between the siloxane elastomer and human skin (Mojsiewicz-Pieńkowska et al., 2011, 2015).


figure 5

FIGURE 5. Ability to form hydrogen bonds with human skin as a result of the amphiphilic nature of siloxanes and adhesion of silicone elastomer to the skin."

 

[fred32176]

I have a mustache and do 4 things:

• I have a well fitting mask
• I shave the top 1/3 of the mustache, look a bit like a Hitler mustache but gives a small hair free band under my nose. Mustache recovers in a few days.
• I use a liberal amounts of silicone grease
• Minimize the number of times I equalize or clear the mask

I buy trident silicone grease in the two ounce size. A larger size lets me slather on a finger full of grease and get all the way through the mustache to the skin. Clearing a mask sends air toward your mustache which can form little bubbles, you may interpret little bubbles coming out of your mustache as a leak.