I ran this about a year ago, and I thought I would rerun it. I know many Public Safety people (police and firefighter) are thinking about retiring, or they have already put their papers in to do that. Many places are trying to come up with ways to incentivize people to stay on the job. Most seem to be trying to take a page right out of the military playbook by saying that you can wear shorts, grow a beard, or have a ponytail if you stay on the job. So, I thought to help everyone out; I would rerun this article on how to dive with a beard. I know most public safety divers (PSD) use Full Face masks, but I hope this will still be very helpful to you.
One of the hardest or easiest things to do is dive with a beard or a mustache. I say it that way because, like most things, if you practice doing it, you will get better. But if you have never done it before, please don’t wait until you are getting ready to do a 3-hour dive or dive in some nasty water to try it for the first time. There are a few things you can do that are going to help when diving with facial hair. I will cover some of the gear and other tricks and repost a video that I found that I hope will help.
First, you need to have the correct type of mask. Not all dive masks are the same. If you buy a $20 mask at Exchange, you will have a mask that will be good for playing in the pool, and that’s about it. Like everything, you get what you pay for. The size of your face and the amount of facial hair will help determine the mask you need. But honestly, you should still be able to use the same mask you always have unless you have gone full bigfoot. Here are a few of the better masks that are out there for dive with hair.
I have tried to pick low-volume masks that are good for combat swimmer operations and good backup masks for people using a Fullface mask.
The SCUBAPRO Synergy 2 Mask is excellent for people with beards because of its unique two-skirt system. The flexible skirts fit tightly against your face, with the outer skirt providing additional support and rigidity. Combined, they deliver superior comfort and resistance to leaking compared to other masks. When people are diving and their mask starts to leak, the first thing you try and do to fix it is to pull it tighter, and if that doesn’t work, you pull it tighter again. If this isn’t working, you do it again. If your mask keeps leaking no matter what you do, try losing it up a little; when it is too tight, the mask will get ripples, like if you were to put a rubber band over your shirt sleeve. The Synergy 2 mask is suitable for people with a smaller face. If you have a beard or mustache and want a solid mask, this is a great place to start.
Next is the SCUBAPRO Solo. The double-sealed silicone skirt conforms to almost every face, giving you an excellent leak-free seal. The SCUBAPRO Solo features a frameless, single-tempered glass lens specifically designed to provide a wide field of view. Because of how close it sits to your face, the Solo has a low volume fit and easy cleaning. Other notable features include a wide-split style, non-slip strap with adjustable buckles, a silicone skirt that comes with double-feathered edge sealing that is effective even against facial hair, and a nose pocket that allows you to pinch your nose to clear.
The SCUBAPRO Crystal Vu Plus is a single lens mask, which some people like because it can provide a clear, unobstructed view underwater. It comes with a purge valve, and this makes it easy to clear and rarely fogs up. Should water enter the mask because the mask didn’t seal properly around your beard or mustache, exhale air through your nose to clear the water. You can breathe out through your nose, and the water is vented out. The purge valve can fit a little tight for some people, but most people love this mask once they try it. Another feature of this mask is the side viewing windows, which provide excellent peripheral vision in the water. It has a perfect seal that should allow it to fit snug and tight on about 90% of people, even with facial hair.
There are some other great masks for diving with beards or just using in general. It all depends on how much you are willing to pay to save the beard. The Atomic Venom Frameless mask is a great all-around mask. It uses a rubber very similar to the Solo mask that is great for conforming to your face and around those lone beard hairs that might cause a leak. The same goes for the Hollis M1 Frameless mask. Again, a tremendous all-around mask that is low volume and suitable for use with hair. If I didn’t work for SCUBAPRO, I would have one of these two masks. But I like the SCUBAPRO Spectra that is my favorite mask by far, but that has nothing to do with this. Just FYI, you know Christmas is never far off, just saying.
Some people look to use some lubricant (like Vaseline) on their face, under their nose to help with the seal. If you are diving O2, you should not be using anything like this, most are petroleum-based, and oil and O2 do not get along very well. But there are other things out there you can try. Just make sure you do your research first.
Lastly, since we talked about hair, SCUBAPRO also has an excellent mask strap for diving with long hair or just more than you had in boot camp. It is also great because it is basically a ski goggle strap, and there is a 99% chance it won’t break on you when you are diving. It works with a lot of SCUBAPRO masks.
In the video, Richie Denmark talks about using a razor to help trim a little bit of your facial hair away. I just wanted to point out the Schick Silk Touch-up multipurpose exfoliation tool. It is excellent for fine-tuning your hair.
Richie, Thank you for letting me post your video.
There are a lot of good masks out there besides the ones I mentioned. Like everything you do, you need to make sure you practice. Even if it’s just getting in the pool a couple of times, it is easy to say it is the gear’s fault that you cant do something. I have noticed that many people want equipment to fix their bad habits or lack of skill.