I agree, he does look gorgeous the way he is......
I think the amount of hair and the general coat does vary enormously, Humphrey has a fine coat which is very wavy, but doesn‘t have a lot of facial hair, except around his cheeks, I do shave the goatie because on Humphrey it doesn‘t look cute, - he‘s got an unusually long nose and a beard makes him look like someone from the Spanish Inquisition!!
His top notch, being the colour that it is, is also kept short to avoid any similarities to a certain American politician, to whom he‘s been compared on several occasions!!
I have seen pictures of cockers with fairly hairy faces, most of the grooming videos demonstrate how it should be removed so I assume its not that uncommon. Although I like my dog to be recognizable as the breed that he is, he‘s a pet not a show dog so I decide how I want him to look, for me it has to be practical and for Humphrey it has to be comfortable. (Contrary to a lot of grooming instructions, I leave whiskers on for example because I think they‘re there for a purpose) .
It could be that once Mason‘s adult coat comes through, he‘ll look a bit different anyway but at the end of the day, its your call so don‘t let anyone persuade you otherwise!