Smile line leaks...

[Ishkrbibbl]

Cannot find a mask that does not leak.
LDS suggests that it's leaking at my "smile lines" which are getting more pronounced the older I get.
If I pull on my cheeks while under water the mask no leak BUT can't swim around with my hands on my face the whole time.
Tried masks with larger skirt but that didn't do the trick.
Tried LDS and none of their options worked.
Desperate - anyone else out there had masks leak at the cheeks?
If so did you find a fix?
Make? Model?

Thnx - d

 

[WoodTurner]

Diving with or without the hood?
Can't determine yourself where is water coming from?
I'm diving cold, and have same problem, but noticed without hood I don't get any water leakages. But cold and hoodless isn't fun. So I invested in better hood, leakage was almost gone. Now I yet to try K01 hood I bought before Christmas.
I have 5-6 different masks, settled on TUSA Paragon.

 

[Dan]

I use Atomic frameless mask with strap over the middle of my earlobes (cover ear holes, NOT above the ears like when you wear glasses). To keep the ears from blistering by the strap, I wear hood (as sock).

The frame of the hood also helps pressing the side of the mask skirt against my face. So, make sure to check that the frame of your mask is not sitting on top of the hood frame. The hood frame sits over the mask skirt.

If strap is run above the ears like wearing glasses, there will be uneven seal pressure of the skirt on my face, more on the forehead and less on the cheek, hence leaking on the smile line.

You can see how I wear my mask in the first few seconds of my video, below (I’m the 2nd diver who backroll into the water). I turned my head to the left before back rolling, so you can see the strap position over the middle of the earlobe.

My mask would stay clear & dry for the whole dive as I don’t breath on it during the dive, just add a little bit of air for equalizing the mask pressure and ears as descending into the depth (first 10m).

I also flame inside of my mask once (actual my LDS did it for me) to burn the silicone coating mold release off the mask and apply baby shampoo before every entry into the water.

 

[broncobowsher]

I have an Atomic that has a very conforming skirt.
The head strap position makes a huge difference on leaks. After decades of diving I just discovered that my sometimes leaking mask would change based on where I put the strap on the back of my head. Going lower fixed it for me.

 

[Ishkrbibbl]

I use Atomic frameless mask with strap over the middle of my earlobes (cover ear holes, NOT above the ears like when you wear glasses). To keep the ears from blistering by the strap, I wear hood (as sock).

The frame of the hood also helps pressing the side of the mask skirt against my face. So, make sure to check that the frame of your mask is not sitting on top of the hood frame. The hood frame sits over the mask skirt.

If strap is run above the ears like wearing glasses, there will be uneven seal pressure of the skirt on my face, more on the forehead and less on the cheek, hence leaking on the smile line.

You can see how I wear my mask in the first few seconds of my video, below (I’m the 2nd diver who backroll into the water). I turned my head to the left before back rolling, so you can see the strap position over the middle of the earlobe.

My mask would stay clear & dry for the whole dive as I don’t breath on it during the dive, just add a little bit of air for equalizing the mask pressure and ears as descending into the depth (first 10m).

I also flame inside of my mask once (actual my LDS did it for me) to burn the silicone coating mold release off the mask and apply baby shampoo before every entry into the water.

Another responder also mentioned Atomic Frameless - which Atomic did you have success with?

 

[Dan]

I have Atomic Frameless

Without hood

With hood

 

[Johnoly]

.....the older I get.

Add to the above excellent comments....Change your razor.

If you can run your finger up and down on your skin where the mask contacts it and you get that 'sand paper resistance', in one direction,,,then that's probably where it can't hold an air tight seal at depth. You should be able to glide your finger in both directions and not feel the 'sand paper' effect. As we get older the hair follicles are stiffer and won't retract as when younger. That's where the seal breaks the skin at depth.

 

[TravisD]

I had a student recently with "face issues" (not necessarily smile lines) and at the suggestion of another experienced instructor I put them into the XS Scuba Cortez mask, which seemed to work for them. I had another student recently who had smile-line issues, and they did better in one of my low-volume (Hollis or Hog, can't recall) masks. Unfortunatly it seems to usually come down to finding the right mask that works for you - there's never/rarely one that works for everyone.

 

[happy-diver]

You could go to Meg Ryans specialist, or tighten your strap and use a couple of blobs of vaseline or sunscreen
and smile with your eyes only

 

[Still Kicking]

It's counterintuitive but sometimes masks leak due to being overtightened, and thereby exaggering the laugh lines. Have you tried loosening the strap?

Typically it only needs enough tension to keep mask in place at surface.once you go under, a little water pressure will help it gently seal.

Might not work but worth a try.