Does anybody have any suggestions for store bought or homemade light, breathable, non-suffocating face masks? I know that I have seen several people post that they have tried different options.
It depends on how much protection you want the mask to provide you.
The most comfortable ones I have used are the surgical style 3 layer all over Amazon. I find them comfortable and the form able nose piece helps reduce eyeglasses fogging. Be careful of delivery date when looking. The other is using a light colored neck gaiter. The gaiter work like a cooling shirt by keeping the sun off your neck. What is nice about these is they can just be pulled down and are less likely to be dropped or lost.
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I use a t-shirt material. They sell them at our local convenience store. They also have a pattern online and you can use an old t-shirt. It’s not several layers, but I can’t stand more than one layer. I feel like I can breathe in these and they are not loose around the face. If I wear them in just the right way, my sunglasses do not fog up.
We have tried a ton. Single layer cotton (from cheap cotton sheets) was one of the best. Also tried double and single layer 100% bamboo. It was also cool…maybe cooler than the single layer cotton. Trouble is bamboo is so loosy Goosy that there is no structure. When you breath, it kind of looks like an inflating and deflating lung. We added some wire to compensate.
My wife just received these gauzy style masks. They are incredibly comfortable and cool. We are going to order more. While they are definitely not the best in terms of protection, for the sake of a Florida trip in August, I think it will be what we use.
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Where did she get them?
I will find out and let you know. They are in high demand at the moment. But great for outside in the heat where masks are required technically, but don’t need to be as protective. I think it solves our August heat problem. When we want better protection such as inside a queue, we can switch to a more protective mask.
Hm. The Etsy seller is overwhelmed and has stopped taking orders at the moment. I will let you know if she reopens.
Ok thanks!
I was wondering the same thing, if you search “ gauze face mask” on Etsy a lot of different options pop up. I ordered a few different kinds to try. Where I am in the Hudson valley, NY most people are compliant with masks , so I want to have some that will be comfortable outside if I want to go to the rail trail or farmers market where people tend to cluster.
For home made masks, I think that the material that is used to make the reusable shopping bags works well especially when paired with the style that has a seam in the middle of the mask (running down your nose) and tie on straps. They are lightweight, cool and breathable. That material has a bit of stiffness to it and when paired with the seam in the middle and ties instead of elastic ear loops, the mask covers while staying off your nostrils and mouth, so that you can breath. Also, adding a small length of pipe cleaner under the top seam allow you to fit the top over your nose/upper cheeks nicely
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I really, really like some I got recently. I cannot recommend this enough. They are chiffon, very light weight, very breathable. The top loops around your ears (adjustable) and the bottom scarf ties behind your neck. You can leave it around your neck when you take the mask part off (like when I am in the car) and take it on and off by the ear loops. It fits me and my 10 year old since it is adjustable.
You can find the same mask lots of places but this was the cheapest I found and arrived in 3 days.
I thought chiffon would never work, but apparently the electrostatic properties make it effective:
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I don’t think gaiters or bandana/scarf-style will meet the requirements.
- Fully cover an individual’s nose and mouth and allow the Guest to remain hands-free
- Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
- Be secured with ties or ear loops
- Be made of breathable material, either disposable or reusable
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You have a very good point. There is some ambiguity because the information states “should.” I guess only time will tell. Having to wear one at work and out of the house I find the gaiters the most convenient but they offer less protection for the wearer.
Face Coverings
All Guests ages 2 and up—along with Cast Members—are required to wear face coverings when visiting Walt Disney World Resort. Please bring your own face coverings and wear them at all times, except when dining or swimming.
All face coverings should:
- Fully cover an individual’s nose and mouth and allow the Guest to remain hands-free
- Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
- Be secured with ties or ear loops
- Be made of breathable material, either disposable or reusable
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Our favorite ones have been from Vera Bradley. They sell out very quickly but are usually restocked with new patterns once a week. The website says when they last restocked. I believe it is usually Tuesday or Wednesday, late morning EST. The patterns are mostly feminine but last week they did have plain black. They are not too thick and a lot more comfortable than all of the ones we bought on Etsy, although the Etsy seller we used had Disney patterns!
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This is the Etsy shop we used for the gauzy masks. These are the winner for our trip. But as I mentioned, she is currently out of stock. You’ll have to check back often.
Fortunately we got in a second order just before she stopped taking orders.
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Yet another reason for me to sack off WDW and just focus on UOR.
UOR requires “facial coverings in line with CDC’s guidelines” and those guidelines say nothing about “ties or ear loops”.
I’ve written elsewhere about my horror of masks and my feeling that they are ghoulish, but the gaiter suggested by @thekid feels much more acceptable to me.
Would WDW really reject someone wearing a gaiter?
This is kind of funny bc are we sure any of these “nice” masks do anything to actually provide protection, or is all of it (not just our conversation) theater? checking off boxes?
Have you seen the memes/PSAs showing the size of a Covid particle and the size of the fenestrations in most masks?
I wear the paper ones from the hospital. They are very light weight and as tight or as loose as you fan them out to.
But I will check out the Vera Bradley @JustKeepSmiling
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Any face covering helps (well…within reason here)…some help more than others.
The breathable gauzy ones we will use are more for show when outside, but they still do offer some help…again, it isn’t to protect me, but to protect others. When inside, we can switch to the ones that work better but aren’t nearly as cool.
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These look like they are muslin fabric. I probably still have a bunch of muslin blankets around from when DH was a baby/little. I liked that they were cover, but lightweight. and I could also wash in Sungard to increase the SPF protection of the fabric.