How to make wearing a mask in summer more comfortable
As anyone who’s spent time under a mask recently can tell you, the practice isn’t often enjoyable. And as the weather warms up, face masks could become particularly sweaty and uncomfortable.
Even as the temperature rises, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends wearing face masks. Luckily there are some strategies to help make masking up more bearable in warm weather.
Choose your material.
Wearing a mask can be hot and make breathing feel more difficult. With that in mind, you’ll want to make sure your mask is reasonably breathable to help both increase comfort and decrease the impulse to touch the mask to adjust it — which is a big no-no when out and about.
“You want a breathable fabric,” says Nicole Jochym, a third-year medical student at Cooper Medical School at Rowan University. Her recommendation: Using a mask that is made from 100% cotton. According to the CDC, good options include woven cotton sheets and T-shirt fabric.
While cotton isn’t moisture-wicking, she says, it’s more breathable than synthetic fabrics like polyester, and it could make masks more comfortable in the heat. Avoid filters, Jochym adds, because they are often made from synthetic materials, and can make masks hotter and harder to breathe through.
Your mask should be somewhat snug on your face, but you don’t want it to be so tight that it’s uncomfortable or difficult to breathe through. To solve that issue, says Carrie
Check the fit.
Kovarik, an associate professor of dermatology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, try out different masks or use one that has adjustable ties.
“Elastic straps can be irritating behind the ear,” she says. “Don’t put it on so tight that you can’t breathe.”
Jochym seconds that. “Every face shape is different,” she adds; ties have the potential for a better, more comfortable fit.
Cloth masks should not be worn when they become damp or wet, which could cause issues in the summer, when we’re all sweating more heavily. Because cotton masks will absorb sweat when you wear them, Jochym says, it is important to have several clean ones available to use.
“You have to be able to switch it out as it gets damp on the inside,” she says.
Kovarik adds that health care workers are often advised to take a 15-minute break from wearing their mask every two hours to give their skin time to air out, which could mean using several masks per day. If you plan to swap your mask, she says, do it at home, or if that is not possible, in an area without other people.
Bring extras. Limit how long you wear one.
If hot weather makes wearing a mask uncomfortable, try to limit the amount of time you need to wear one. Masks, the CDC says, should be worn in “public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain,” such as grocery stores and pharmacies.
“Think about when wearing a mask is necessary, and not wearing one when it is not needed,” Kovarik says. You may not need one when driving alone in your car or sitting solo on your porch — as long as you are maintaining proper social distancing.
To help keep your mask time to a minimum, Jochym says, try planning effective routes to your destination.
Take care of your skin.
Hot summer weather can cause moisture to build up under a mask, which can irritate your skin (similar to a diaper rash) Kovarik says.
“In hot weather, you will have a lot of moisture under there, and the skin can break down a little more,” she says. “Moisture from breath or heat builds up, and you can get a rash.”
If your skin does become irritated due to using a mask, Kovarik recommends a noncomedogenic (non-pore-blocking) moisturizer — and avoid petroleum jelly. Apply your preferred salve after wearing a mask.