bandana face mask for coronavirus [COVID-19] protection

For the past week I've kept a bandana [limited edition 'i'm still standing'] tied to my purse. I tie it around my face before I walk into the grocery. There is a shortage of masks in the United States and its taking its toll on the medical community. As for the rest of us, we've got to do the best we can with what we've got. I'm happy to share that bandanas are turning out to be am easy, affordable, and available option - and recommended by medical professionals.

high-quality material = disease barrier

Recently our local radio station, WFDD, posted an article about homemade face masks. Jenni came into the office that day very excited to share that doctors are now recommending high-quality cotton as a safe face mask option for the pandemic. Primarily due to the shortage of medical-grade face masks, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center has been testing homemade masks.

Dr. Scott Segal, Chair of Anesthesiology, shared this:

“What you want to use is a high thread count, heavyweight cotton — this is sometimes called quilter’s cotton — and not the lower-grade, more open-weave, printed cotton fabric," he says. "And [a] double layer is really important.”

We're obviously biased but our bandanas are made from high-quality USA cotton. We've always been proud of tis fact but now more than ever. This is more than pride, though, this is health and safety.

bandana face mask

We care for you all and want you to know that you can use your favorite Jenni Earle bandana as a face mask. Check out our video on how to use a bandana mask to protect your face. 

The Center for Disease Control recommends a bandana face covering, and even offers a neat tutorial on how to make one using rubber bands to hook behind your ears. This would be a great combination with a Jenni Earle bandana.

We have our own folding suggestions as well. There are two options. #1 creates a 'pocket' that covers both your nose and mouth completely.

 

 

Option #2 is a simpler folding pattern that uses a knot at the bottom of the bandana to keep the fabric in place, and so you look less like a cowboy robbing a bank ;)

 

 

don't touch your face

In this video Dr. David Price, and ICU doctor in Manhattan, encourages us to wear a mask because "We need to train ourselves to not touch our face and we need to tell each other [through our actions] that we're taking this disease seriously". He specifically mentions bandanas after a view asks him about types of face masks.

[caption id="attachment_6899" align="aligncenter" width="300"]bandana tie #2[/caption]

 

I think a bandana is, at this point, where the doctors and nurses don't have enough medical masks, a bandana is a great idea.

A bandana, or face mask, may not prevent you from contracting the coronavirus, but it will keep you from touching your face. If you wash your hands each time you return home, before removing your mask, you will greatly reduce your chances of caching COVID-19.

Also, choosing to wear a face mask is choosing to say "I take this seriously, both your health and my health". I really like this line from a New Yorker article, "covering your face is like casting a vote for the pandemic to end". We have a social responsibility to keep ourselves, and others safe by reducing the chances of spreading  the virus.

be safe
be well

elise