Quote:
Originally Posted by mhays
People with beards wear masks all the time. False point #10023 from 10023.
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It is essentially impossible to get an N95 mask to "seal" properly with a beard. That's why the US Navy, which had begun permitting beards in the 1970s for the first time in many decades, banned them again.
But as most of us know, the current mask recommendations are for cloth or "surgical" facial coverings that are not necessarily good at protecting the wearer like an N95 but do prevent expulsion of virus-containing droplets when someone coughs or sneezes or just talks. These do not require a seal and therefore beards have little effect on their usefulness.
In case it isn't obvious, I am essentially agreeing with mhays but trying to clear up any confusion because you will hear talk about beards and the seal required for N95s but ONLY N95s.