Face Masks for Pandemic

Face masks for Pandemic, was certainly not my business plan

When I set up my business, making face masks for a Pandemic was certainly not something I considered. I wanted to make ladies wear in tweed and leather. I then started to get enquiries for wedding dresses, and the rest is history.

But now the last 6 weeks, the world has turned into a very different place. I was asked to design a prototype of a facemask. Like most of you, I always thought they were just silly. But I started looking into it. I started refining the design with testing and reading of studies and results of tests.

I have now made many hundred face masks. As my fab team is all on furlough, I have been making them all, modeling them, (apologies haha) and putting them up on the website, and send my husband to the post office every day.

Photo credit to Alan Simpson photography

Do the Face Masks work?

“Do they work?” I get asked a lot. I obviously can’t say you will not be struck down with covid19 if you buy one of my facemasks. BUT, they do give some protection. I am obviously not medically trained. But as I have been able to find out, the Virus travels in the droplets we let out from mouth, nose, and eyes. By covering the mouth and nose there will be less risk of droplets from you being spread and you breathing in droplets from other people. The mask will also prevent you from putting potentially contaminated hands into the mouth and nose.

The masks I am making are not medical grade. Medical masks are waterproof. My masks are not. But it also makes them easier to wear because you can breathe in them.  The droplets are unlikely to penetrate the fabric, which is a double layer, and there is also a built-in filter.

How to safely use a Face Mask

Like everything else it’s important you display top hygiene during the pandemic. You should treat your mask as if it had the virus both on the inside of the fabric.  The Face Mask should be changed when it gets damp, and you should wash it well. You should only touch the Face Mask with very clean hands and never the area near the mouth. Face Masks are not a replacement for social distancing and hand washing, it should be used along with it.  Put the mask on and off by only touching the elastic.

A lot of people ask if I make masks for children, and I am happy to do so for the bigger children. But the government recommendation is that for babies and toddlers, it will be too difficult to teach them not to touch the mask. And therefore the effect will be much reduced.

What do the experts say about Face Masks

When I started making the masks WHO was saying that you should wear a mask if you were in one of the vulnerable groups, or if you cared for one of those. But since then the advice have now changed. On the 28th of April, the first minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, briefed the nation and recommended the nation to wear face masks or covering when in shops or on public transport.

I have seen a lot of different reports about mask wearing to prevent the spread of covid19. The most thorough report I saw was by Professor Trisha Greenhalgh. You can read her report here: Should we all wear face masks? science says yes.

David Nabarro, WHO’s special envoy for coronavirus, said a global shortage of face masks meant that medics, patients and workers unable to physically distance should be prioritised, but suggested that mask wearing would become universal. Its widely considered the only reason why masks have not been made compulsory in public places, is because there is a worry the resources will be depleted even more. But buying a re-usable cotton fabric mask, will help keep the stock of medical masks for the Medical profession. A cotton mask will improve safety.

The different designs of Face Masks for Pandemic can be seen here, and ordered direct from my website shop. 

The Face Masks are made in pure Cotton (or Cotton and Linen mix), natural materials where the virus don’t like to live.

Our Pandemic Face Masks have been bought by people in the NHS, GP surgeries, Client-facing financial institutions, hair dresses and beauticians, and private people either with an underlying condition or caring for somebody with one, or those who need a face mask to use on public transport or for going to the shops or pharmacy.

Care for your Face Mask

Treat your mask as if it has the virus on it. Wash it, it can be washed at 60 degrees, but 40 is enough. You get the neatest result if you then press it in the pleated shape.

Should Dogs wear face masks

Here is my friends dog Luna, its a German wire haired pointer. My friend bought 2 face masks for the dog. It is not required. Dogs do not get Corona Virus.

Evening News article about our face masks