Tag Archives: face mask

The most comfortable everyday N95 face mask, inspired by silicone respirator mouth-cups

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We’ve been in this for nearly half a year now. Mid-August marks 6 months since the world really started noticing the virus, and while the first few weeks/months of lockdown were utter chaos, 6 months of being at home and being incredibly careful while outdoors has given us enough clarity to really imagine what the road ahead will be like… and face masks will almost certainly be an inseparable part of that road. Not just regular face masks. Better, more sanitary, reusable, effective, and comfortable face masks that were designed with the intent of being entirely for consumers not medical or industrial-grade masks that were made for entirely different situations.

The purME is no ordinary N95 mask. It was designed to be an N95 face-mask that you could carry in your pocket, wear for hours, breathe safely under, and easily reuse for months, if not years. Its form and material of choice are, in fact, directly inspired by silicone respirator mouth-cups that medical personnel use to administer oxygen to people. The silicone construction of the purME allows it to fit all types of faces easily as its soft body conforms to the curves of your face, creating an air-tight seal while feeling comfortable enough to be worn for hours. The silicone body makes the purME easy to reuse as well as disinfect too, and replaceable filters ensure your mask lasts you for years on end.

The purMe comes with two air-valves that allow unidirectional air-flow, filtering the air you inhale through one valve and the air you exhale through the other. The mask’s filters trap all sorts of harmful particles such as PM2.5 and allergens, both as airborne or droplets, and you can even upgrade to P100 filters with a simple swap, allowing you to effectively filter out 99.8% particles. The mask comes with a flexible design, thanks to the silicone construction, and slips easily into your pocket or bag when not in use. While wearing it, adjustable ear-straps ensure a secure fit, while a neck-strap allows you to hang the purME around your neck when it’s safe to take the mask off. The mask’s LFGB-grade silicone withstands years of use, and can periodically be washed in the machine to disinfect it too (just remember to pop the filters out before you do). The mask comes in translucent/frosted black and white (with a choice between gray, white, or rose-gold air-valves) and the purME team is even working on an entirely transparent version to allow you to breathe clearly while being able to smile at people and unlock your phone using facial-recognition.

Designed with the highest safety standards while also accommodating for a variety of face-sizes, the purME was made FOR the everyday consumer. Its snug fit and adjustable tightness means you could wear the mask for hours at an end and not feel any discomfort, while the mask’s undoubtedly fashion-friendly aesthetic means you’ll actually WANT to wear it when you step out. Plus, its long-lasting design was made to provide you with fresh, clean air not for a week or a month, but rather for the foreseeable future.

Designer: Ann Song

Click Here to Buy Now: $39 $69 (43% off). Hurry, only 18 left! Raised over $200,000.

purME – A Gas Mask You Can Wear Everyday

The purMe is a crystal-clear, comfortable and modular respirator like a gas mask to protect you against harmful particles such as PM2.5 and allergen, both as airborne or droplets.

purME design provides the protection of industrial respirators while retains the portability and comfort of lightweight pollution masks. Airflow valves are incorporated for extra seal and comfort. N95 level HEPA filters are included for daily use, with upgrade to P100 level (99.8%) extra protection available through an included adapter.

True Respirator Design

Made from LFGB-grade silicon with gas mask-like construction, pureMe is airtight and resistant to splash and can stop droplet threats and airborne matters.

One-way Airflow / Bi-directional Filtering

One-way Airflow design brings better seal and comfort. You will find purME much more comfortable than masks without valve, especially at humid and warm climate. When exhaust filtration is required, you can easily convert purME with filter on both intake and exhaust, filtering particles both in and out.

See No Barricade

purME in crystal-clear does not obscure your face. Show people your smile while under protection. Also use facial recognition systems, such as Apple FaceID while wearing purME and avoid finger contact.

Modular Filter Level

Certified N95- filter inside the pod, screening at least 95% of pollutants and particles. Filter can be swapped in seconds with 2 simple steps and upgrade to P100 filter canister.

purMe can protect you against:

– from air pollution, screening over 95% of PM2.5 particle pollutants.
– from wildfire smoke. Filtering out smoke particles, which are mostly within PM2.5 range.
– keeping you away from 95% floating allergens, e.g. pollen and mold spore.

Small & Light

Weighs only 65g and it’s also foldable to pack it into your bag or pocket.

Certified by Testing Lab

The protection level of purME has been tested and certified by a third-party testing lab for FDA and SAWS Standard GB 2626-2006. All purME filters will be manufactured to exact standards as the sample undertaken the test.

The GB 2626-2006 KN95 (NIOSH N95 or EU FFP2 equivalent) test confirms that the filter has a 0.3um particles filtration efficiency of over 95%. This means the filter of purME will keep out the majority of harmful particles in the air. The flow rate also exceeds 85L/min, ensuring breathability under normal use.

The silicone polymer material of the facepiece has been certified by LFGB of Germany to be free of organic vapor, heavy metals and harmful residues. The mask will be able to sustain long-term use and washing under suggested temperatures without degrading or releasing harmful substances. By design, the non-premeable silicone will stop 99.99% of harmful droplets.

Compare with Other Masks

Click Here to Buy Now: $39 $69 (43% off). Hurry, only 18 left! Raised over $200,000.

Face masks designed for a surreal future where wearing masks is humanity’s new norm: Part 3

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Do you realize its only 4 months to go before 2020 comes to an end? We know time flies, but this year has shaken up our lives like a snowglobe and the loose pieces of it are still falling into place. Its been 6 months since WHO declared COVID as a pandemic and the design world has geared up to save the world – from PPE, wearable face mask designs, adaptable ventilators to even portable ICU units – all these devices are intended to keep the world and you safe. While we all are responsibly using a mask to save lives as the world comes back to its feet, we bring you the best of face mask designs to help you make a smarter choice. The technology behind face masks has dramatically increased and its time to make an informed choice of the latest EDC that you need. After all, what is Batman without his equipment?!

Michael Soleo created a stylized, 3M-inspired version of the original face mask by Ashley Lawrence that allows those who are hearing impaired to still read lips! Everyone is equally affected by the crisis and what is now the new normal for us might be severely distressing for the differently-abled. Inclusive design is now more important than ever. Masks have become a global icon for COVID-19 and we are glad someone stopped to think “Okay, but how will people who rely on reading lips communicate for the next 6 months?” – it’s the little things, the simple designs that can have a deep impact.

We’re only half-way through 2020 and it seems like the virus still has tricks up its sleeve. With multiple scientists presenting evidence to WHO that the COVID-19 virus isn’t particulate-borne but rather is an airborne virus (which makes it much more difficult to deal with), it’s time our masks did more than just trapping particles. The UV Mask, unlike your conventional N95, doesn’t just trap microorganisms… it neutralizes them too, breaking down the genetic materials of coronavirus in milliseconds. Designed by UM Systems, the UV Mask comes with a dual filtration system that delivers the cleanest air quality of any existing face-mask. A preliminary replaceable N95 filter blocks 95% of particles like dust, dirt, debris, up to 0.3 microns. Microorganisms smaller than 0.3 microns then enter the UV-C Sterile Vortex, a helix-shaped filter that blasts microorganisms with UV-C light to destroy 99.9% of the remaining 5% on a DNA level, to give you air that isn’t just clean, it’s medical-grade, sterile-clean, bringing total filtration efficiency to 99.99%.

The LMP S2 is the product of a new normal, where masks may just be as common as wearing shades because it’s sunny out. Mark Austen’s LMP S2 improves on the N95 by ditching the fabric construction for silicone, which isn’t just comfortable, it’s easier to clean and is food-grade. Making the entire mask from silicone ensures a perfect, practically air-tight fit every time, while the soft elastomeric material is much easier on the skin, allowing you to wear the mask for longer without feeling any discomfort. The LMP S2’s silicone body takes the shape of faces, ensuring a universal fit, while an internal frame keeps the mask’s shape intact, so it doesn’t buckle and collapse every time you inhale. Fitted onto the front of the LMP S2 are a layered N99 and activated carbon filter that allows you to easily inhale 99% fresh air with every breath you take. The mask even features a dual-valve setup on each side that doubles the amount of air flowing into and out of the mask, effectively preventing the humidity in your breath from getting trapped inside the mask, keeping you fresh at all times. The result is a mask that looks, feels, and performs better than an N95.

Have you touched your face yet? I almost did… twice, and while that habit is a difficult one to break, Henry Kwak’s the Blocc makes it easier to do so while being able to go about your day. Think of the Blocc as a helmet visor sans the helmet. Made from scratch-resistant fog-resistant clear polycarbonate, the Blocc is as easy (and as comfortable) as wearing a pair of specs. Two temple-stems suspend the Blocc by your ears while a nose-bridge allows the visor to rest comfortably against your nose, and roughly an inch away from your face. The Blocc’s material choice makes it practically perfect for a face shield. Made from the same polymer as actual helmet visors (even the ones found in riot gear use PolyCarbonate), the Blocc is perfectly clear, allowing you to see through it with ease, while its resilient physical property prevents it from getting any scratches or scuffs by accident. It sits like an invisible force-field around your face, acting as a constant reminder to not scratch your eye or dig your nose or do anything that would be deemed just plain unhygienic or nasty.

RespoLab’s innovation lies in its use of a pleated and curved H13 HEPA filter, that covers your entire mouth. It sort of looks like the pleated, zigzag cabin air filters you see inside cars and air-conditioning systems. In both those cases, the job is pretty simple… to constantly filter air while easily trapping all sorts of microparticles into its pleats/folds. The filter exceeds the N99 standards, trapping even the finest particulate matter including viruses, allergens, pollen, and bacteria to deliver 99.97% clean air to your nose and mouth. The mask comes with a modular, multi-part design featuring an external plastic cover made from recycled ABS, and an oronasal mask made from TPE/TPU that provides the perfect seal around your face in a way that feels comfortable. The RespoLab’s design is engineered to control the airflow so that the inside of your mask never gets hot or humid, and the presence of a large filter makes sure you’re never struggling to be heard. The geometry of the filter allows sound waves to propagate and transmit through the mask more readily, further improving usability.

Faceshield

The Gādo mask doubles up as a face shield so that no bacteria enters your eye and comes with an accessory-like sanitizer so you won’t have to search your bags or have an oddly-shaped pocket. Designer Fulden Dehneli calls the mask Gādo (ガード) and the sanitizer Ken (剣) because she views these as complementary products that will become necessities in a post-pandemic world. Gādo means ‘guard’ and Ken means ‘sword’ in Japanese which is such a poetic way to describe tools – they guard us and kill the germs! Gādo and Ken were specifically designed for seamless integration into our lives. Gādo combines the benefits of a mask and a face shield with a simple sliding mechanism- a folded textile structure hidden under the shield which enlarges when the shield is slid up. This way you don’t have to constantly wear the traditionally obtrusive face shield but can ‘guard up’ if you’re among people and can’t maintain distance. Along with head straps that ensure comfort and fit, it also keeps the mouth visible to keep the window of human expression open, something we crave so deeply and will not take for granted when this ends. Ken is a sanitizer spray bottle that is ergonomically designed to be more portable and accessible than its predecessors.

Inspired by the AIRPOP pollution masks, designer Oliver Perretta has created this trendy multifunctional mask. With usability being the keystone of any design, the mask not only filters the air but also acts as an air quality monitor! The quality monitor accurately transmits data to your smartphone, helping you be aware and keep yourself safe – whether you are navigating indoors or keeping yourself safe outdoors.

The age-old adage stands true in these times – Time and Tide wait for none. So while we think our world has come to a screeching halt, the fact is that seasons have changed and summer is upon us. Studio Atelier I+N understands this and created this combination of mask and shades for a unique initiative by HyperAktiv titled ‘Bring your own Mask’. This mask is titled Summer Wave and the designers believe that if we have to go through wave#2 of COVID, at least let there be sunny days!

Ex Apple designer

 The idea for a DIY hack came to Paseman around the time when the country was facing a severe shortage of N95 masks, forcing doctors and nurses to wear readily available loosely-fitted surgical masks. Paseman first tried scouting her area for N95 masks, hoping to donate them to medical facilities, and when she couldn’t find any N95 masks available in her vicinity, she decided to create a life-saving lifehack to make standard surgical masks more functional by ensuring a tighter seal/fit. The solution? A simple DIY seal that closes all air gaps around your nose and mouth so there’s no air leakage anywhere caused by a loosely fitted mask. Paseman and Duong’s first iteration of the Fix The Mask solution involved the MacGyverian use of a handful of rubber bands that could be strung together to create a tight brace to secure the mask’s fit. A few iterations later, the two developed a more robust solution by cutting into rubber sheets to create a better, more effective harness. The harness design is available on the Fix The Mask website as a free resource, to allow health professionals and regular citizens to get the most out of their face-gear while remaining safe from the virus.

Designed by Japan-based Donut Robotics, the C-Face mask is a universal mask-cover that fits on top of your standard face mask. Switch it on, and the C-Face mask connects to your smartphone, giving you a wide variety of smart features. Not only does it enable you to answer calls and talk to people without holding your phone’s mouthpiece near your mouth, it auto converts speech to text, allowing you to reply to messages, verbally type out emails, or ask your smartphone’s voice AI queries without having to take off your mask and talk to it. Currently, the C-Face even possesses the ability to translate between Japanese and 8 other languages, but multi-language support is merely an app update away! The voice-to-text feature even means less unnecessary touching of your smartphone’s screen to type out messages. Just say what you need and the dedicated app converts speech into text that you can copy and paste in messages, chat boxes, or mail drafts. The app even possesses the ability to auto-translate between a total of 9 languages, allowing you to seamlessly communicate with people regardless of language barriers. It’s almost as if the C-Face gives you the ability to speak in multiple dialects!

The Cannula mask by BDCI avoids this problem with its reinforcing endoskeleton. A thin plastic grille, this skeleton gives the mask its defining structure, preventing it from pressing against your face the same way a hanger prevents clothes from getting crushed by retaining its shape. Designed to be worn by people with respiratory difficulties, the endoskeleton even comes with a hollow spine that allows you to plug a nasal cannula to it, letting you direct fresh oxygen right to the wearer’s nose; effectively allowing them to inhale and exhale freely without worrying about a flimsy mask smothering them every time they try to breathe.

Whether you choose to wear a mask or not impacts not just your health – but those susceptible around you who trust you to take care of them. So the next time you don a mask, feel proud that you are helping those in need around you! Want to look at some more mask designs, check out the first and second parts of this series for inspiration.

This Alien Facehugger Face Mask Keeps Viruses and Xenomorph Eggs In

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If you’re going to have to wear a face mask to keep from spreading germs, it might as well be something interesting, right? Well, I can’t think of anything better than this Alien facehugger mask to prevent the your nose and mouth droplets from escaping and infecting others. As an added bonus, it’s guaranteed to increase social distancing by others around you.

Of course, it does mean that you’re willing to subject yourself to xenomorph eggs being implanted in your belly, but that’s a small price to pay for public health, right? You might even get a little tap dance out of it. This awesomely creepy mask was made by UK leather artist Pirate’s Leatherworks, who did an amazing job that’s sure to have him swimming in custom orders for quite some time.

If you’re interested in buying one for yourself, keep an eye out on the artist’s Etsy shop, where no one can hear you scream.

[via Reddit via Geekologie]

This smart face-mask auto-translates languages as you speak!

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Wear the C-Face Mask and you aren’t just granted clean, purified air… you also get the power to talk in multiple languages! Designed by Japan-based Donut Robotics, the C-Face mask is a universal mask-cover that fits on top of your standard face mask. Switch it on, and the C-Face mask connects to your smartphone, giving you a wide variety of smart features. Not only does it enable you to answer calls and talk to people without holding your phone’s mouthpiece near your mouth, it auto converts speech to text, allowing you to reply to messages, verbally type out emails, or ask your smartphone’s voice AI queries without having to take off your mask and talk to it. Currently, the C-Face even possesses the ability to translate between Japanese and 8 other languages, but multi-language support is merely an app update away!

As unusual as its design brief sounds, the C-Face mask actually has quite a few really noteworthy benefits. Firstly, since the mask is fitted with its own dedicated microphone, you can speak into your phone without needing to take your mask off. Pair this with the smartphone’s voice-to-text feature and you can talk to other people just by showing them messages on your phone. The voice-to-text feature even means less unnecessary touching of your smartphone’s screen to type out messages. Just say what you need and the dedicated app converts speech into text that you can copy and paste in messages, chat boxes, or mail drafts. The app even possesses the ability to auto-translate between a total of 9 languages, allowing you to seamlessly communicate with people regardless of language barriers. It’s almost as if the C-Face gives you the ability to speak in multiple dialects!

The C-Face mask will begin shipping to buyers/backers in Japan as early as September with more units being shipped to USA, Europe, and China in the coming months. The silicone mask comes with its own battery that provides hours of use on a single charge. It retrofits directly on top of any standard face-mask, allowing you to upgrade your current cloth mask into a smart-mask that works with your phone!

Designer: Donut Robotics

UV Mask is the world’s first antiviral face mask with an active UV-C sterilization for 99.99% clean air

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Here’s a classic example of necessity being the mother of invention. Mask design has seen such blitzscaled innovation in the past couple of months, it’s truly remarkable how designers, engineers, and medical professionals have convened so passionately to tackle this pandemic. In just the past few months we’ve seen masks that are transparent, masks designed with miniature air-purifiers in them, and now the UV Mask, a mask that actively uses UV-light to filter the air you breathe, giving you an unparalleled total filtration efficiency of 99.99%.

We’re only half-way through 2020 and it seems like the virus still has tricks up its sleeve. With multiple scientists presenting evidence to WHO that the COVID-19 virus isn’t particulate-borne but rather is an airborne virus (which makes it much more difficult to deal with), it’s time our masks did more than just trapping particles. The UV Mask, unlike your conventional N95, doesn’t just trap microorganisms… it neutralizes them too, breaking down the genetic materials of coronavirus in milliseconds.

The UV Mask comes with a dual filtration system that delivers the cleanest air quality of any existing face-mask. A preliminary replaceable N95 filter blocks 95% of particles like dust, dirt, debris, up to 0.3 microns. Microorganisms smaller than 0.3 microns then enter the UV-C Sterile Vortex, a helix-shaped filter that blasts microorganisms with UV-C light to destroy 99.9% of the remaining 5% on a DNA level, to give you air that isn’t just clean, it’s medical-grade, sterile-clean, bringing total filtration efficiency to 99.99%.

The UV Mask scales down active UV filtration tech to a wearable level (it’s the only existing mask to do so). Its patent-pending design uses a combination of a CE-FFP2 (EU standard same as N95) filter and two powerful UV-C LEDs to actively sterilize the air you breathe. Even during exhalation, the air you breathe out is sterilized and filtered too, effectively protecting asymptomatic people from infecting others around them. The UV Mask comes with a silicone outer-ring to create a comfortable airtight seal, ensuring effective protection from air pollutants, as well as preventing what I personally call ‘foggy-spectacle syndrome’. Multiple strap styles let you secure the UV mask around your head or even around your ear, based on what suits you best. The mask comes with a removable outer hard-shell that lets you access and replace the filter after weeks of use, while the UV-C lamp itself has a usage life of 10,000 hours, and the UV Mask’s internal battery runs for 6 hours on a single full charge. The UV Mask comes with an optional carrying-case for securely storing the mask when not in use, and a pack of 10 replacement filters sets you back just $12.

Built with a 1-year warranty and 30-day satisfaction guarantee, the UV Mask is a state-of-the-art medical-grade air sterilization system made portable. Delivering an unmatchable 99.99% clean and sterile air, the UV Mask forms an incredibly effective line of defense against particles and microorganisms from entering your respiratory system. After all, like the video above says… Breathing air is natural, but breathing clean air is essential.

Designer: UM Systems

Click Here to Buy Now: $99 $247 (60% off). Hurry, only 5/1450 left! Raised over $900,000.

UV Mask – Real-Time UV-C Filtration & Purification Face Mask

The UV Mask equipped with UV-C purification is an antiviral, anti-pollution face mask that filters dust, pathogens, and allergens (like pollen & leaf mulch) from the air you breathe.

Equipped with a passive air filter, and a patent-pending Sterile-Vortex active protection, it filters and purifies 99.99% of air 10x faster than you can breathe. The UV-C light is sealed within the Sterile-Vortex, as you breathe, the air is sent through the vortex and purified under two 25,000μW/cm2 UV-C LEDs.

Dual Filtration – Beyond purifying, UVMask also filters air through a high-efficiency filter that blocks all air pollutants, dust, pollen, tobacco & bushfire smoke.

UV-C LED Purification

Consumer-grade UV-C light has never been practical. The light intensities and time required have been too impractical to purify effectively at the speed we breathe. Until now. UV Mask is the first-ever face mask to effectively integrate UV-C tech with the true power to purify the air in real-time.

As glass components reduce UV-C light transmission, UV Mask’s Sterile-Vortex uses the highest quality Sapphire crystal optics and high precision chip manufacturing to power each UV-C light.

Independently Certified by SGS-Lab

UV Mask has been independently tested and certified by the FDA-approved and ISO 17025 accredited SGS Labs.

The CE-FFP2 (EU Standards N95 equivalent) passive air filter has been tested according to the EN 149-2001+A1-2009 standards, receiving a 0.3-micron filtration efficiency of 99%.

The UV-C active protection has been tested against E. coli and Staphylococcus to have an average efficacy rate of 99.93%.

UV Mask Comparison Chart

Forget Foggy Glasses

The unique sideway air-intakes also stop saliva from spilling out or inside the UV Mask, as well as preventing your glasses from fogging up, unlike traditional cloth and surgical masks.

The Problem We Are Facing With Current Masks

In order for a face mask to be effective in protecting you from dust and particulates, it needs to be well sealed, and dense enough to filter out tiny particles as small as 0.1μm. While large amounts of pollution are visible to the naked eye (eg. smoke), they are still present in harmful quantities when not visible.

How Does UV Mask work?

With both a filter pad (95% filtration efficiency against 0.3μm particulates) and UV-C Sterile-Vortex (99.9% purification rate), UV Mask guarantees protection with 99.99% total filtration efficiency. At UM, the team spent years researching the ideal engineering and mechanism of UV-C purification technology that’s compact enough to fit into a face mask yet powerful enough to purify 99% of the air you breathe in real-time.

Replaceable High-Efficiency (95% Air Filtration). All air you breathe is filtered through this first layer of protection. The advanced filtration system uses CE-FFP2 air filters to block >95% PM0.3 particles, including air pollution, dust, VOCs, and other microscopic particles up to 100x smaller than a grain of flour. The UV Mask filters offer 40-50 hours of protection before filtration efficiency starts to drop.

Light-Sealed UV-C Sterile-Vortex with 99.9% Purification. The safest UV light for humans since it has the least penetrative capabilities through human skin, making it ideal for purification.

– Engineered and Manufactured in Japan
– Designed in the USA
– Double 25,000μW/cm2 (Lab Tested Actual Intensity) UV-C LEDs
– 1,000x+ More Powerful than the Competition
– Extra Safe Light-Sealed Design
– Low Heat Emission
– 10,000 Hours Life-Time

UV Mask’s Sterile-Vortex system uses two pure 265nm 25,000μW/cm2 Ultra-High Intensity UV-C lights, making it powerful enough to purify the air in less than 0.1 seconds. In 1 second, it can effectively purify between 6-10 liters of air. To put that into perspective, your average breath is 0.5 liters.

UV-C Intensity Test

Since most materials block UV-C, UM uses a patent-pending material and precision-engineered vortex design to allow the maximum time and surface exposure to UV-C while air flows in and out of the UV Mask. Exposure time and air-surface are two critical factors in purification effectiveness. Since UV-C purifies by breaking down genetic material, the smaller the organism, the faster and more effective.

Inhale & Exhale: Dual-Way Air Protection

UV Mask purifies both the air you inhale and exhale, increasing safety for both yourself and others around you. This is especially useful for asymptomatic individuals.

Protection Against Air Pollution

UV Mask is designed to provide exceptional protection to those who are most at risk from air pollution, whether due to increased environmental exposure or preexisting conditions.

People who may benefit from improved protection include:

– High-Contact Workers
– Elderly Population
– Commuters
– Cyclists
– Allergic Persons
– Cleaning Activities

Note: UV Mask is not recommended for those who need protection against oil-based particles or chemical vapors.

Breath Naturally

UV Mask’s skin-soft medical-grade ergonomic silicone hugs your face. 100% airtight, it ensures any air you breathe is passed through its 2 patent-pending dual-way filters.

Built for Comfort & Durability

UV Mask’s hardcover front shell is resistant to drops and scratches, protecting the filter and Sterile-Vortex within. With its hardcover and tightly sealed design, you can safely use your UV Mask in the rain. Certified to IP54, your UV Mask’s filter and interior components are protected from environmental water and moisture, as well as dust and airborne particulates.

Two 1,200 mAh Li-Po batteries allow for up to 6 hours of continuous use on a single charge. And with its fast-charging enabled USB-C port, you’ll be ready to go again in under 90 minutes. Even if you run out of charge, your UV Mask’s passive air filter will still protect you from pollution, dust, pollen, and other particles larger than 0.3 microns.

Rigorously Tested For Safety

Filtration Efficiency Tests – On top of the Sterile-Vortex technology that purifies 99.9% of the air, UV Mask also provides a 95% high filtration efficiency against 0.3 microns particulates (PFE≥ 99% | BFE ≥ 95% | VFE ≥ 95%) through its removable filter pad.

Airtight Seal Fit Tests – A reliable face seal is critical to achieving high levels of protection. UV Mask’s fit factor according to the FDA-approved Portacount 8030 test achieved an average of fit factor higher than 100 — the level required for NIOSH certification.

Click Here to Buy Now: $99 $247 (60% off). Hurry, only 5/1450 left! Raised over $900,000.

Finally, a transparent face mask that allows us to breathe clean air but still be social!

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I’ll be honest… we’re wearing these opaque fabric face masks that prevent us from smiling at people or talking to them (we aren’t hugging or hi-fiving anyone either), but all this is in the interest of coming together as a community and species to stay safe. Sounds like a very weird trade-off. These masks can often be the difference between life and death, but here’s the caveat – they absolutely erode the very social fabric that makes our species such a socially strong bunch. Masks end up shrouding your identity, your emotions, and your intentions… and the Civility mask wants to usher a change in mask design that helps you breathe healthy, clean air while retaining our social micro-behaviors to help us be better, kinder, friendlier humans. The Civility mask, named after the very aspect of human behavior, it’s trying to help portray, comes with a uniquely innovative transparent design that shifts the air-filters from the front to the side in a bid to deliver clean air to you, but without concealing your face.

Designed in France, the Civility mask sports a design that embraces safety without compromising on aesthetics. Its defining feature is its transparent shield on the front, made from a lightweight, resistant glass that provides a crystal-clear view of your face. Air filters on each side help deliver 98% pure air directly to your mouth and nose, while also allowing exhaled air to pass through so that your mask doesn’t fog up. An innovative TPE ring around the mask ensures an air-tight seal that works universally across multiple face-shapes and even on people with beards.

On the aesthetic front, the Civility mask comes in a variety of styles with color combos, options for tinted glass shields, and even patterned face-straps. The face-straps come with adjustable buckles that allow you to tighten or loosen the mask based on your comfort, and their wraparound design ensures a secure fit while allowing you to wear a mask for long without facing any strain or fatigue with prolonged wearing. Its desirable aesthetic is also environmentally conscious, by design. Created as a mask you’d want to own, wear, and show off everywhere you go, the Civility mask is designed to be infinitely reusable, with a disposable filter system that allows you to retain the mask body and simply switch out the filtration sheets every 12 hours (the mask comes with a 1 month pack or a 3 months pack for the Air Premium one). The two circular valves on each side of the mask unscrew off to reveal the swappable EN 14683 / ASTM F2100-19 standard filters that help trap 98% of particles as small as 0.3 microns, helping form a line of defense against pollutants, microorganisms, and even microparticles like pollen, keeping you safe from dust, diseases, and allergies. The disposable filters help drastically cut down on the amount of environmental waste generated by PPE every month as a result of the pandemic, and the masks themselves can easily be sanitized with any 70° alcohol solution (the glass shield is non-reactive, so it shouldn’t be a problem)… conversely, the mask can be placed in a dishwasher for thorough cleaning too.

The shift to transparent masks, a feat being kickstarted and propagated by Civility, could have a noticeable positive on our society. Aside from providing us with healthy, clean air, the masks could help us socialize and bond with humans better, allowing us to smile at people, or communicate effectively by allowing them to read our lips as we speak, all being done from a safe distance! Besides, the fact that I can use face-unlock on my phone while wearing my transparent mask is also a pretty nifty added benefit!

Designer: Civility

Click Here to Buy Now: $39 $44 (10% off). Hurry, for a limited time only! Raised over $50,000.

Civility – Next Gen Transparent Mask

A French startup launches Civility, a transparent face mask that helps you breathe clean air while retaining our social micro-behaviors to help us be better, kinder, friendlier humans.

Founder Pierre Blondon combined the efforts of an international team of 14 designers (including France, Italy, Russia, Senegal, Mexico…) and 15 French engineers to produce a 100%-Made-in-France product. The result is the Civility Mask, a lightweight, easy to use, comfortable transparent face mask for family members, care-givers, sportspeople, hospitality and tourism workers.

First Prototypes

These are the first functional prototype. The design, the materials and the finishes will be upgraded.

Secure & Futureproof

Airtight – The Thermo-Plastic Elastomer (TPE) seal suits any type of faces giving you an optimal airtight of 98%: there is almost no inputs and outputs between the outside and the inside of your mask. This particularity limits the probability to breathe and expire unfiltered air in order to protect you and the others.

Filteration – Their high-performance filters are governed by the standard: EN 14683 / ASTM F2100-19: they filter 98% of 0,3 microns particles. Breathability: less 40 Pa/cm².

Replaceable Filters – Features an easily-interchangeable filter, each of which has a 12-hour lifespan.  The mask is eco-friendly: a wipe with a 70-percent alcohol solution (hand sanitizer) does the job; no need to put it in the dishwasher. And, the Civility Mask can last for years.

Lightweight – It is adjustable to fit any head size and weighs half as much as a smartphone, thus making it comfortable and easy to wear all-day.

Click Here to Buy Now: $39 $44 (10% off). Hurry, for a limited time only! Raised over $50,000.

World’s first transparent FDA registered, N99+ smart mask with UV-C sterilizing that shows-off your smile

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In the current situation where we all must consider the COVID-19 virus and its effects on society; we are wearing face masks like any other accessory that we carry with us when we step out of our homes. While we usually try to leave no stone unturned to emphasize our personalities and physical features, the typical fabric or paper face masks end up concealing our identities. We’re losing the personal connections we have with people when we don’t understand the intentions and cannot see the facial expressions of others.

Stepping into bridge this gap is the LEAF Mask, which is the world’s first FDA-registered, clear mask to have N99-standard air filtering abilities as well as a self-purifying feature, thanks to a built-in UV-C light. The LEAF wants you to be able to reconnect with your loved ones by staying safe behind the LEAF Transparent Face Mask. In short, you stay safe and you keep others safe, while still understanding their expressions. It enables us to be as close to “normal” as we can be right now.

The LEAF’s most defining feature has to be its transparent construction. The unibody mask is embodied in transparent, medical-grade silicone that provides a universal fit, making sure your face isn’t visually obscured by an otherwise opaque mask. In order to achieve this feat, the Leaf transparent mask has filters located around the chin, keeping your nose, mouth, and cheeks visible to the people around you. This inherently makes the mask friendlier, allowing others to see your identity and read your lips or facial expressions as you talk to them.

The silicone mask has an antifogging feature, so your mask doesn’t become cloudy on the inside with each breath you take. In theory, that means it could also potentially allow your smartphone’s facial-unlock feature to work without needing to take your mask off! As you breathe, air passes through the filters, working much like a normal mask would by giving you 99% pure air.

The LEAF is the world’s first transparent mask to have high-quality N99+ HEPAHEPA-Carbon filters fitted into the chin section. Another outstanding feature is the self-purifying function, possible due to small built-in UV-C light. LEAF comes in 3 variants: Leaf HEPA, Leaf UV, and Leaf PRO.

LEAF HEPA has the N99+ HEPA filtration & is Ultra lightweight. LEAF UV contains UV-C sterilization built into the filter housing destroying pathogens at the DNA level and Active-Carbon filtration to eliminate odors and organic substances. LEAF PRO adds active ventilation and air quality sensing. It has iOS/Android app-controlled ventilation as well as an air-quality sensor that gives you details about the quality of the air around you. Deploying all of this cutting-edge tech allows the LEAF PRO to deliver a paramount safe breathing experience.

The LEAF mask comes in 4 different sizes sure to fit children as well as adults. With its transparent build, the LEAF mask challenges the status quo of opaque fabric and plastic masks. With disposable masks becoming an impending threat to nature, LEAF has the solution the world needs. A reusable, high quality mask with long-lasting filters will help you do your part to protect our environment. Active sterilization makes the filters to last for up to a month. The shift to transparent masks, if pulled off successfully, could have some lasting impacts on our society, allowing us to socialize effectively and strengthen bonds with our fellow humans, even from a safe distance!

Designer: ASV DESIGNS

Click Here to Buy Now: $49 $61 (19% off). Hurry, less than 4 days left! Raised over $350,000.

LEAF – World’s First FDA Registered UV-C, N99+, Clear Mask

LEAF is the world’s first FDA-registered, clear mask to have N99-standard air filtering abilities as well as a self-purifying feature, thanks to a built-in UV-C light.

Embodied in a design inspired by nature and natural transpiration of leaves, It’s efficient yet minimalistic while allowing face unlock on smartphones. Its shell is made of optical grade, soft, fire-retardant, reusable, self-defogging and UV proof Silicone.

LEAF Comes in Different Transparent, Translucent and Solid Colors with 3 Variants HEPA, UV & PRO

LEAF-HEPA –  Has the patent pending signature “Leaf” design coupled with U-Series HEPA-filtration, known as the Gold standard of HEPA filtration as small as 0.3 Micron (with 99.9997% Filtration).

LEAF-UV –  High performance contained UV-C sterilization built into the rechargeable filter housing destroying pathogens at DNA level at “light” speed and Active-Carbon filtration to eliminate odors & organic substances. With disposable masks raising an impending threat to nature, active sterilization makes the filters to last for up-to a month.

LEAF-PRO –  Adds active ventilation & air quality sensing. LEAF-PRO actively senses, user’s metabolism, particle count on included Air-Manager, Smartphone app, which automatically commands the Sterilization and Ventilation system. Deploying all that cutting-edge tech allows the LEAF PRO to deliver a paramount safe breathing experience.

Proprietary LEAF Filter Cartridges

Nano-Coatings

The Leaf UV and PRO sport a permanent high performance, SGS tested Anti-Microbial and Hydrophobic coating.

1. Hydrophobic: In Hydrophobic coating water droplets will not stay on the surface of the mask.
2. Anti-Microbial: According to the following test report from SGS it certifies to destroy 99.99% of the microbes as mentioned in the screenshot below.
3. Permanent: This nano coating is permant and survives regular washes from water and/or water with mild soap.

Production Started

Click Here to Buy Now: $49 $61 (19% off). Hurry, less than 4 days left! Raised over $350,000.

This reusable face mask uses a pleated HEPA filter to let you breathe 99.9% clean air

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Face Masks don’t work. More accurately they are only partially effective. It’s pretty simple how a mask works. You seal off your nose and mouth using either a cloth, plastic, or silicone mask, and allow air to only pass through via designated vents or zones. These vents or zones are covered with a special fabric filter that allows clean air to pass through, blocking anywhere from 70% to 99% of particulate matter from entering. In the case of cloth masks, the entire mask acts as a fabric filter, and with something that’s non-porous, like plastic or silicone, you’ve got air valves and smaller filters that can be detached, cleaned, or replaced. That’s the basic schematic of a mask, and a lot of designers and companies are looking to perfect it.

Most mask designs encounter the same roadblocks. Cloth masks are often too flimsy, and while they are easier to breathe through, they don’t create a proper seal around your face, allowing air to leak through the sides. Plastic and silicone masks, on the other hand, have the inverse problem. They come with an air-tight seal, but those small air-valves make it pretty difficult to breathe through after prolonged usage. The RespoLab was designed to eliminate the problems faced by both these mask-types, by combining their benefits. It comes with a plastic and silicone construction, ensuring a perfect fit around your face, but instead of opting for tiny air valves and small filters, the RespoLab’s design uses a special curved filter which has an area five times greater than a typical mask… making it much easier to breathe 99.9% filtered clean air through. Furthermore, due to its increased area it allows both inhalation and exhalation to be filtered, avoiding the spread of viruses from mask users who may be asymptomatic (not showing symptoms). A major short coming of masks with exhalation valves.

RespoLab’s innovation lies in its use of a pleated and curved H13 HEPA filter, that covers your entire mouth. It sort of looks like the pleated, zigzag cabin air filters you see inside cars and air-conditioning systems. In both those cases, the job is pretty simple… to constantly filter air while easily trapping all sorts of microparticles into its pleats/folds. The filter exceeds the N99 standards, trapping even the finest particulate matter including viruses, allergens, pollen, and bacteria to deliver 99.97% clean air to your nose and mouth. The mask comes with a modular, multi-part design featuring an external plastic cover made from recycled ABS, and an oronasal mask made from TPE/TPU that provides the perfect seal around your face in a way that feels comfortable. The RespoLab’s design is engineered to control the airflow so that the inside of your mask never gets hot or humid, and the presence of a large filter makes sure you’re never struggling to be heard. The geometry of the filter allows sound waves to propagate and transmit through the mask more readily, further improving usability.

The mask’s design is entirely modular and can be disassembled to either replace the HEPA filter or to sanitize the rest of the components. Each RespoLab comes with 3 extra replaceable pleated filters, allowing the mask to be worn for 120 hours before you need to buy a fresh set of filters. These are available in multipacks to allow ongoing regular mask use. Respolab’s masks come in a range of sizes across a variety of colors, and each unit even comes with its own mini-bag that lets you carry it around with you wherever you go… although given how comfortable and secure it is when worn, and how easy it is to breathe 99.9% clean air through, you probably won’t even need to take your mask off in the first place!

Designer: Response Laboratory

Click Here to Buy Now: $19 $31 ($12 Off). Hurry, only 127/250 left!

RespoLab – Valve-less Engineered Face Masks

The Respolab is a reusable face mask offering virus protection with 99.97% efficient filtration. It is certified to EN1827 FFP3 N99.

Comfortable airflow on both inhalation and exhalation through a unique pleated PM.03 filter. The mask is 100% recyclable and making their masks available for wholesale to healthcare workers around the globe.

The team at Respolab have worked tirelessly to bring to market a face mask that sits between the low cost disposable face masks and heavy duty respirators. They have developed a patented filter system capable of capturing nano particles and blocking virus transmission.

The Respolab mask has been co-developed by a group of industry leading companies to ensure its performance is as good as it can be. The focus has been on simplicity and quality to create a product that is easily manufactured and cost-effective for the end-user.

Features & Benefits

Replaceable Filter Cartridges

Innovative curved filter: HEPA style H13 material removes 99.97% of particles from air down to 0.3 microns. If you are wearing a mask for any period of time you are really going to notice the difference.

Filter Change & Maintenance

The graphic shows the inadequacies of some more common mask types, especially those with valves that allow the spread of viruses from asymptomatic users.

Sizes

The Respolab mask is available in a range of sizes. The mask has a soft sealing component, called an oronasal, This creates a comfortable seal to the face but it is important that the correct size is selected. A simple way to check this is to measure from the bridge of the nose to the understand of the chin, as shown in the image above.

Click Here to Buy Now: $19 $31 ($12 Off). Hurry, only 127/250 left.

Face masks designed for a surreal future where wearing masks is humanity’s new norm: Part 2

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Face Masks – Love them, hate them, but we can’t live without them, literally! So now that we are gearing up to step back outside, the definition of our everyday carry is undergoing a massive change. First came the digital wallets who almost eliminated the need to actually carry a wallet, now comes the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to help us balance this precarious living life and living life safely balance. Our face is the first visual identity we have, so let’s use a face mask that speaks our language, keeps us safe, and helps retain our individuality in these times – which is exactly what you will find in this curated collection of face mask designs!

The age-old adage stands true in these times – Time and Tide wait for none. So while we think our world has come to a screeching halt, the fact is that seasons have changed and summer is upon us. Studio Atelier I+N understands this and created this combination of mask and shades for a unique initiative by HyperAktiv titled ‘Bring your own Mask’. This mask is titled Summer Wave and the designers believe that if we have to go through wave#2 of COVID, at least let there be sunny days!

This conceptual PPE features a curved form that is see-through and integrates the darker lens of sunglasses. The arms of the visor-sunglass are more comfortable than traditional masks. It covers your eyes as well which is important and not something we get out of the usual face masks. Designer Joe Doucet reimagines the existing face shield to be more minimal and visually appealing so that the product can be accepted into our lives faster.

Designer Zhijun Wang has been fascinated by and making face masks long before Corona hit us. So when the blue and yellow IKEA bag became viral, they repurposed that bag to make a face mask!

Dimitri Nassisi, Hanieh Rashid & Laurie Greco recreated the comfort of a smile with their mask. The mask, also named SMILE is a medical mask with a revised design. A small strip seals it until use. Once the tab is removed, the mask deploys itself and reveals a comforting smile and ensures optimal protection.

This face mask doubles up as a face shield so that no bacteria enters your eye and comes with an accessory-like sanitizer so you won’t have to search your bags or have an oddly-shaped pocket. Designer Fulden Dehneli calls the mask Gādo (ガード) and the sanitizer Ken (剣) because she views these as complementary products that will become necessities in a post-pandemic world. Gādo means ‘guard’ and Ken means ‘sword’ in Japanese which is such a poetic way to describe tools – they guard us and kill the germs! Gādo and Ken were specifically designed for seamless integration into our lives. Gādo combines the benefits of a mask and a face shield with a simple sliding mechanism- a folded textile structure hidden under the shield which enlarges when the shield is slid up.

Kylan Luginbuhl’s design named Trypo aims to think of the face mask as a more personalized object. Each mask is created from the face shape of the wearer. It ensures a perfect fitting and easy breathing, along with breaking the rigidity of the traditional mask with its organic form.

Lucie Herter wanted to create a playful and practical mask for children. To do this, he created the mask ‘Hero’ where he chose to protect the upper part of the face in addition. This allows the child to feel like a superhero when wearing it. The clip allows the child to put on and take off his mask simply. Above all, the mask helps protect the mouth and nose, but also the eye area. This brings less risk of contagion to the child, in a simple and fun way.

Named Moustache, this face mask by Laure Gremion Studio is a reusable and lightweight mask that protects you during your everyday life. Soft and airtight, the frontal part can be easily taken off to replace filters as often as needed and enables a large breathable surface. A silicone joint doubles the rigid mask and provides comfort and airtightness at face contact. Round shapes and bright colors bring a glimpse of naivety in these difficult times.

Luciano Dell’ Orefice Design Studio’s face mask is named ‘Face’ because it aims to restore your individuality while using a mask. Using existing face scan 3D apps on camera phones, we imagined a process with a bespoke 3D printed mold. The mask is thermoformed with recyclable nonwoven pressed polyester technology borrowed to filter industry, in order to solve bacteria issues and make it washable. This solution finds its language, strength, and stability into the pressing layers of material. A laser machine will cut out profiles and holes underlining the typology of use. A “face” mask for people who might like to bring back a bit of their identity during these new ways of being together.

Thierry Didot Studio’s fun take on a traditional masquerade ball is crazy enough to become a reality! Named the Socialite, this mask is held in place without any straps – of course, it’s not meant for everyday use, but it is a fun spin on a serious subject and a possible costume party for the future!

To check out more such innovations shaping our future, see Part 1 of our Face Mask Designs.

An ex-Apple designer’s lifehack lets doctors turn surgical masks into secure N95 masks

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A few months ago Sabrina Paseman was working as a mechanical engineer for Apple. It’s safe to say that this pandemic changed the course of her life, at least professionally. Teaming up with ex-Apple marketer Megan Duong, Paseman decided to bring her creative skills over to a domain that really needed it. Together, the duo formed Fix The Mask, a project that helps make surgical masks as effective as N95 masks. The idea for a DIY hack came to Paseman around the time when the country was facing a severe shortage of N95 masks, forcing doctors and nurses to wear readily available loosely-fitted surgical masks. Paseman first tried scouting her area for N95 masks, hoping to donate them to medical facilities, and when she couldn’t find any N95 masks available in her vicinity, she decided to create a life-saving lifehack to turn surgical masks into well-fitted N95 masks. The solution? A simple DIY seal that closes all air gaps around your nose and mouth so there’s no air leakage anywhere caused by a loosely fitted mask.

Paseman and Duong’s first iteration of the Fix The Mask solution involved the MacGyverian use of a handful of rubber bands that could be strung together to create a tight brace to secure the mask’s fit (video at the end of the article). A few iterations later, the two developed a more robust solution by cutting into rubber sheets to create a better, more effective harness. The harness design is available on the Fix The Mask website as a free resource, to allow health professionals and regular citizens to get the most out of their face-gear while remaining safe from the virus.

Designers: Sabrina Paseman & Megan Duong (Fix The Mask)