One of my biggest worries right now is Harper having to navigate school or church or just life in general with everyone in masks. Having severe hearing loss or deafness is extremely difficult when you rely on reading lips or facial expressions and now it’s covered.
I found a local person making these masks!!!! I’m stocking up over the summer so that we can share with teachers or friends in the fall (if we need to). It will help Harper understand better. And now we can smile behind our masks!
And note - these are often referred to as "smile masks". :-)
You can rub a little dawn dish soap on the clear part to keep it from fogging. All masks are hard for me to breathe in and make me hot and these do too but at least people can see my face in these so it's okay.
They also typically come with a piece of wire that goes above the nose that keeps the mask a little further away from your face to help with breathing.
The person who made mine is not wanting to mass produce so I thought I would try to find sources if you are looking for one.
This links to a pattern for the masks. I wish I knew how to sew. I may have to take it up this summer. If you would like to start sewing these and ship - let me know - I would love to send people your way. I have a ton of people trying to find these including myself. (email me at kellyskornerblog@gmail.com)
This is another link to a pattern.
Here are a few I found:
Amazon has an option with several patterns!
Creations by Que is on facebook and a great source for these masks!
I have a few of these from Rafi Nova.
This one is on etsy and is $10 and they have a lot of fabrics to choose from
This one comes in both adult and kid sizes and is $15 and they have a lot of fabric choices!
Another option that is $10 and has many fabrics to choose from!
Lots of fabrics to choose from for $10
These are $19 but they have interesting ties on them. And lots of fabric choices.
Here is another option for $14
One more for $12
I also found this clear mask for sale but it's the opposite of showing our smiles and more of horror film grade. ha !
There is a company selling clear masks. They are currently only selling bulk 10,000 count orders but you can pre order for boxes of 24 which costs $60 ($2.50 per mask) if you are buying for groups. I know teachers really are going to need these. And speech therapists. And doctors and nurses honestly - especially if they have hard of hearing patients. Kids need to see the smiles on their teacher's faces and see their mouths to know how to do phonics. So you might look into this if that applies to you!
These are made by another company and are single use masks for medical professions. You can get 40 for $60 and they have bigger amounts available but they are on back order so it could be a month before they come in.
I'm also talking to a local place about making these and if they can and ship - I will get that info to you as well.
If I get info from individuals who will make and sell and ship - I will keep a list and pass that on as well. I hope this is helpful!
