Dive Skins

A dive skin is a thin, one-piece body suit which will protect your skin from cuts, scrapes, abrasions, and stings which can occur while you are scuba diving. Dive skins are most commonly made out of lycra, an elastic fabric with a silky sheen. Dive skins offer almost no thermal protection and are not recommended for use alone unless you are scuba diving in very warm water. If you are diving more than once in a day, it is recommended that you wear a thin wet suit, rather than a dive skin.

Many scuba divers always wear a dive skin underneath their wet suit. Dive skins can help make getting in and out of your wet suit a little easier because the neoprene slides better along the surface of the lycra than it does against your skin

Dive Skin maintenance

The key to keeping your dive skin clean and odor-free is proper maintenance after each dive. These maintenance procedures will help to keep your dive skin in good shape for many years of scuba diving.

1. Rinse your dive skin in clean, freshwater after each dive and allow it to dry thoroughly before storing. After a dive, your dive skin will be covered in a salty residue and/or dirt. This must be rinsed clean to prevent the lycra from degrading. Your dive skin must be completely dry before storing to ensure the lycra stays clean, odor-free and free of mildew or mold.
2. Always store your dive skin out of direct sunlight. Direct sunlight will break down the lycra after years of exposure.

See our choices for wet suits

Periodically machine or hand-wash your dive skin with a mild detergent. A good rinse after each dive helps to keep your dive skin clean, but to ensure there is no residue or grit left on your dive skin you must properly clean it on a regular basis. Always lay flat or hang on a wide hanger to dry and never put your dive skin in the dryer. Industrial dryers can breakdown the lycra and permanently damage your dive skin.