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Hi Sandra, I just took the drysuit cert. last summer and I believe you leave your face exposed, unless you get into full face mask diving.
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The coldest I’ve felt in the Channel Islands was 49 and it bothered my fingers but not my face. For colder waters like NJ or Pa. in the winter or one dive in Labrador it feels like needles in the face until it goes numb! With age comes wisdom and I don’t do them anymore!
Cold water is the reason a lot of divers go to a full face mask but I have seen mask made from wetsuit material that limit the amount of water flowing around the face. They need to be trimmed to fit your mask and are probably a PIA to set up before a dive and could be a real safety concern if your mask gets dislodged during the dive. LP used to have one listed.
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I am new to diving and only have 11 dive here at home but my face is exposed and it does not bother me. The warmest I have dove here is 52 and the coldest dive for me so far is 45 degrees. It does not bother my face but the fingers feel it. I just installed dry gloves and will test them this weekend.
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sk290 - 12/02/2010 11:37 PM 
Hello everyone,
Thanks for the replies. Funny that your fingers are the most impacted by the cold. Wouldn’t thick glove take care of that?
Sandra
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I live in Pennsylvania so most of my dives are dry. I use a drysuit and dry hood for diving with a conventional mask. After about a minute I don’t mind the cold as what little face area that might be exposed goes numb rather quickly.
Years ago we would put Vaseline on the exposed area. The theory was that it would keep the area dry and warm. I never really saw any benefit to it though. Besides, vaseline is not good for the silicone mask skirt. Most people who I know just put up with it.
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Hi Sandra,
For me it’s the fingers and toes only when the water is mid 50’s or below. And usually just my toes because I’m generally fiddling with my camera and keep the digits moving. For the most part I believe it’s because the gloves and booties are not as thick as the wetsuit. Most gloves are 3-5 mil max, and booties 5-7 mil. And even though my feet are kicking, the toes don’t get much movement. Face has never been an issue for me either. My hood covers the sides, and I exhale a lot through my nose/mask. I think that warmer air in the mask helps warm my face.
You might also consider a Semi-dry suit. Some manufacturers have come out with 8 mil semi-dry wetsuits with attached hoods so you don’t get water down the neck. The wrist and ankle seals are much better than in a standard wetsuit. It might just be enough. Just my $ .02
Rich
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Sandra,
I dive dry all year long, even in the summer. In the colder weather and water I use my full face mask. Got to love being warm and dry.
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If you don’t want a full face mask, which I think is the best option (personal opinion) then check out this website
http://www.stingguard.com/thermal_protection_for_diving_in_cold_water.html
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Ed - 12/04/2010 8:32 AM
Hi Sandra, I dive Colorado year around and find that in the coldest water that 7mm mitts and hood seem to do the trick. I don’t have a full mask but outside of the "bite" I feel when entering the water I never notice my face being cold during the dive. As others have mentioned, it is my feet that get cold. I’ve thought about trying down booties to see if they would work better than a couple pair of heavy socks. Ed
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sk290 - 12/05/2010 1:50 AM
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Lots of good information. I’ll take a look at Rich’s semi-dry idea (no cert required). I’ve also saw some info on a dry hood which sounds really good. Maybe I’ll just take the dry cert and rent the suit for a few times and make sure that this is the kind of diving I want to keep doing before dropping 2 to 3k into it.
Again, thanks for all the good info. You guys are awesome! :)
Sandra
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I dive dry, I was watching discovery channel one night , about the people who live in Siberia. It gets to 50 or 60 below zreo they use lard or some other form of oil on their face. I tried silicon grease it seemed to help a little. once your face gets numb it doesn’t bother you that much.
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If you can rent a suit and take the course for dry suit, it would be great. Try some different kinds of suits before you decide.
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