To Beard or not to Beard? Thats a good Question!

Posted on November 2, 2017 by JJaaccllyynn K

Krraahh C
Ciicchhoow
wiicczz,, M
MAA;; R
Roonn SShhaaffffeerr,, P
PhhD
D;; aanndd M
Maarrkkeeee
SShhaam
mbblliinn

The month of November is full of fun,

interesting, and thought-provoking
observances. November is National Raisin
Bread Month, Historic Bridge Awareness
Month, and Inspirational Role Models Month
among so much more. November is also the
host month to campaigns like No-Shave
November (https://no-shave.org/) and
Movember (https://us.movember.com/) .
Campaigns such as these are working hard to
raise money for important causes such as cancer research, education, and awareness.
These increasingly popular campaigns are a great way to demonstrate your support
unless you need to wear a tight-tting respirator for your job.

Dont despair! We will not completely ruin your plans to compete for facial hair bragging
rights. But were going to have to get creative about it

I t s a b o u t t o g e t a b i t h a i rryy
So, you want to grow out your beard, but wear a tight-tting respirator at work? Ensuring
the respirator seal is a vital part of respiratory protection practices. Facial hair that lies
along the sealing area of a respirator, such as beards, sideburns, or some mustaches, will
interfere with respirators that rely on a tight facepiece seal to achieve maximum
protection. Facial hair is a common reason that someone cannot be t tested.

The reason for this is simple gases, vapors, and particles in the air will take the path of
least resistance and bypass the part of the respirator that captures or lters hazards out.
So then, why cant facial hair act as a crude lter to capture particles that pass between
the respirator sealing area and the skin? While human hair appears to be very thin to the
naked eye, hair is much larger in size than the particles inhaled. Facial hair is just not
dense enough and the individual hairs are too large to capture particles like an air lter
does; nor will a beard trap gases and vapors like the carbon bed in a respirator cartridge.
Therefore, the vast majority of particles, gases, and vapors follow the air stream right
through the facial hair and into respiratory tract of the wearer. In fact, some studies have
shown that even a day or two of stubble can begin to reduce protection. Research tells us
that the presence of facial hair under the sealing surface causes 20 to 1000 times more
leakage compared to clean-shaven individuals.

So then, how are you going to participate? Luckily, the rules of No Shave November state,
Strict dress-code at work? Dont worry about it! We encourage participation of any kind;
grooming and trimming are perfectly acceptable. And Movember is all about the
mustaches.

Ok. Now we can have some fun. Instead of gunning for the title of most hairy, how about
being the most creative this November?

Halloween is over. So put away those werewolf, Forrest Gump, and Rubeus Hagrid
costumes. Instead, if you are going to participate in one of these facial-hair frenzied
campaigns, channel your inner Frank Zappa, Rhett Butler, or Zorro. Whens the last time
you rocked a good soul patch? (The ofcial NIOSH recommendation is to listen to some
classic jazz while trimming this particular style.) Not sure what kinds of facial hairstyles
will work with a tight-sealing respirator? Weve provided a chart below with our best
guesses, complete with a line representing a typical sealing surface.

A second option is to consult with your Respiratory Protection Program Manager about
respirator selection options. In some work environments, a loose-tting respirator, such
as a powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR), is an option. As we mentioned in another
recent NIOSH Science Blog, Understanding respiratory protection options in Healthcare:
The Overlooked Elastomeric (http://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2017/07/06
/elastomerics/), loose-tting PAPRs may be used when t testing fails or when facial hair
is present. However, this may not be a feasible option for all beard-eager professionals out
there.

Finally, we must
stress the
importance of
the user seal
check. The user
seal check can
be either a
positive
pressure or
negative
pressure check.
During a positive
pressure user
seal check, the
respirator user
exhales gently
while blocking the paths for exhaled breath to exit the facepiece. If the check is successful,
the facepiece will be slightly pressurized before increased pressure causes outward
leakage. During a negative pressure user seal check, the respirator user inhales sharply
while blocking the paths for inhaled breath to enter the facepiece. If this version of the
check is successful, the facepiece will collapse slightly under the negative pressure that is
created with this procedure. A user seal check is sometimes referred to as a t check.
Once a t test has been done to determine the best model and size of respirator for a
particular user, a user seal check should be done by the user eve r y t i m e the respirator is
to be worn to ensure an adequate seal is achieved, regardless of your facial hair status.
Check out the OSHA/NIOSH video on donning/dofng and how to conduct a proper user
seal check (https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/respirators/disp_part
/donningdofng.html).

For anyone participating in one of these campaigns, we wish you best of luck with your
creative facial hair endeavors!

Jaclyn Krah Cichowicz, MA, is a Health Communications Specialist in the in the

NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory.

Ronald Shaer, PhD, is Chief of Technology Research Branch at NIOSHs National

Personal Protective Technology Laboratory.

Markee Shamblin is a Health Communication intern inNIOSHs National Personal

Protective Technology Laboratory.
Reference:
Stobbe, T.J., daRoza, R.A. and Watkins, M.A., 1988. Facial hair and respirator t: a review
of the literature. The American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal, 49(4), pp.199-204.

Posted on November 2, 2017 by JJaaccllyynn K

Krraahh C
Ciicchhoow
wiicczz,, M
MAA;; R
Roonn SShhaaffffeerr,, P
PhhD
D;; aanndd M
Maarrkkeeee
SShhaam
mbblliinn
Categories Respirators (https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/category/respirators/)

5 comments on To Beard or not to Beard? Thats a good Question!

Comments listed below are posted by individuals not associated with CDC, unless otherwise
stated. These comments do not represent the ofcial views of CDC, and CDC does not
guarantee that any information posted by individuals on this site is correct, and disclaims any
liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. Read more
about our comment policy (https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/policies).

h a s s a n ra z a says:
(https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2017
November 2, 2017 at 8:39 am
/11/02/noshave/#comment-392984)
great information
Reply (https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2017/11/02/noshave
/?replytocom=392984#respond)

I ra p u a n A n t o n i o N u n e s says:
November 2, 2017 at 11:37 am (https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2017
/11/02/noshave/#comment-392986)
Hi, everybody.
In the Brazil, we have a book (by deceased Dr Maurcio Torlini), that wich brings great
informations about this issues. PROGRAMA DE PROTEO RESPIRATRIA
Recomendao, seleo e uso de respiradores.
Reply (https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2017/11/02/noshave
/?replytocom=392986#respond)

D a n S u e s s says:
November 2, 2017 at 12:02 pm (https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2017
/11/02/noshave/#comment-392987)
Great resource to assist those that are in need of ensuring they remain protected!
Thanks and please repost again ahead of Every Movember!
Reply (https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2017/11/02/noshave
/?replytocom=392987#respond)

g o n z a l o p l a z a r eye s says:
November 2, 2017 at 1:22 pm (https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2017
/11/02/noshave/#comment-392988)
Facial hair of our some packer is one of our concern here, at our our packing section
in Saudi Arabia, we can not impose of policy not to have a beard because it is their
culture in Islam country like KSA. My question is, is there a protection for this beard
to prevent fallen hair into the bag of our?
Reply (https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2017/11/02/noshave
/?replytocom=392988#respond)

c h e l e says:
(https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2017
November 2, 2017 at 1:52 pm
/11/02/noshave/#comment-392990)
beard net

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