Respirator Masks and Beards: What You Need to Know
Going by the single most important principle in respiratory protection
„Every wearer of respiratory protective equipment is personally responsible for their own safety“
that makes every bearded respirator wearer personally responsible for protecting their health too, for instance by starting a deployment clean shaven. But where does the relevant beard growth start, and where does it stop? Is a full beard the same thing as a classic moustache? We'll work through these and other questions below, and set out in this Charlemagne blog post what actually matters if you wear a respirator and a beard. Enjoy the read.
When a beard counts as a beard
Right! So when is that, exactly? When is a beard a beard? Wild fuzz, or a full beard blowing in the wind? Where respiratory protective equipment is concerned, it's fair to say every kind of beard hair brings its own problems. Bearded respirator wearers face one very particular problem: the facepiece stops working properly the moment there is hair in the sealing line of the facepiece, that is to say in the face seal area. At that point you can no longer assume the mask seal is adequate. So bearded respirator wearers have to do something about it.
What is this based on?
The German accident prevention regulation "DGUV R 112-190 - Use of Respiratory Protective Equipment" makes clear, in its "Section 3.2.12.1 - Facepiece" among other things, that the seal of the facepiece is what determines whether the equipment protects you at all. Basically a matter of common sense, wouldn't you say?
The regulation just mentioned has legal character, meaning it sets out with something close to statutory force that the following applies:
"People with beards or sideburns in the area of the sealing lines of full face masks, half masks and filtering facepieces are unsuitable for wearing respiratory protective equipment (with a beard). The same applies to people who cannot achieve an adequate mask seal because of, for example, the shape of their head or deep scars."
So bearded respirator wearers must have no hair at all in the sealing contour area of a full face mask, because it can cause a leak against the mask. The respirator wearer may not wear a beard, three day stubble, or long sideburns.
The reason for such a restrictive rule is test results from more than 100 subjects. Those tests found that in full beard wearers
- with negative pressure self-contained breathing apparatus, ambient air was drawn in along with the breathing air as soon as negative pressure built up inside the full face mask during inhalation. The full face masks were therefore not sealing between beard-covered skin and the sealing lips of the mask. Air contaminated with toxic substances could have been inhaled.
- with positive pressure self-contained breathing apparatus, breathing air escaped out of the full face mask. Often in such quantities that the escaping air was clearly audible and wearers felt a distinctly unpleasant chilling of the skin.
Beard or sideburn hair, then, causes leaks. Even so-called three day stubble is no exception. If anything it's worse, because those beard hairs have a larger diameter and less flexibility than full beard hair. That inevitably produces even bigger leaks.
The fire service, a special case?
Sadly not, bearded friend. Fire service regulations follow the DGUV rule already mentioned, as you'd expect. So here too, bearded respirator wearers have to take their own measures to protect their health. German fire service regulation FwDV 7 "Respiratory Protection" covers "Seal fit of respiratory protection masks" in Section 3 as follows:
"Personnel with beards or sideburns in the area of the sealing lines of facepieces are unsuitable for wearing the respiratory protective equipment approved for fire service use. Likewise unsuitable for wearing respiratory protective equipment are personnel who cannot achieve an adequate mask seal because of head shape, deep scars or similar, or where body jewellery compromises the seal or the safe function of the facepiece, or causes injury when putting the facepiece on or taking it off (earrings, for example).
So there are no exceptions here either. The health of the bearded respirator wearer, or rather the beardless one, comes first in the fire service as well. Shave, or pick a style that works. That's the motto. Even where the quantities of toxic substances inhaled are small, and perhaps still below the threshold at which the wearer would notice them, toxins with half-lives measured in years still accumulate in the body. Benzenes and other hydrocarbons are among them. Their steady toxic effect is exactly what makes them so dangerous.
As you've read, respiratory protective equipment is a matter of life and death on certain jobs, and that includes the life of the bearded wearer. If you work in a trade that requires you to wear it, protecting your own health has to be the point you start from. A beard is out of place here, the classic moustache aside. And even that wants looking after properly. The care products for the job, beard wax and the rest of it, you'll find as always in the Charlemagne Premium shop, because:
„A healthy and well groomed beard is important for a real man, that's why we offer everything you need to keep yours doing so.“
As barbers with more than 20 years in the trade between us, we went looking for styling and care products that convinced us completely. There were some good products out there, but none that gave us everything we needed. After some thought, in 2014 we decided to develop our own range. For two years we spent every free minute after work at the barbershop down in our cellar, refining the formulas. When it came to ingredients, only the best was good enough. We bought the finest jojoba oils available in Morocco, and argan oil from Italy.
After two years and a good many attempts, our first product line was ready, and it has been winning our customers over ever since. We think 98% positive reviews speak for themselves. Since the official launch in 2016 we've kept developing it, of course. That's one of the reasons Charlemagne Premium products have won not just one but several comparison tests in recent years.
You'll find all our products right here in our online store, naturally. For any questions about them, you can reach us any time at info@charlemagne-premium.com.
