Which colorful K/N95 masks are approved for safety?
April 4, 2022 10:30 PM Subscribe
I am jealous of all those people who suddenly have what look like tie-dyed or otherwise colored KN95 masks. However, I'm not sure where they are coming from and especially if those are considered legally safe in the US by the FDA.
I have stashes of KN95's from Powecom and N95's from Honeywell, but...they're white or black and bo-ring to look at! But are vetted as safe officially. Now I see people in colorful masks that look like my safe masks, but I'm not sure if they actually are. Asking people where they are getting them has not been good ("online!" WHERE online? "Online!" was an actual conversation, also "I got it for free" and "my grandma!") and I have no idea if they are vetted by the FDA or just look pretty.
Specifically, sites like this (I know I've heard DO NOT ORDER 95 MASKS OFF AMAZON), or this, or this, as mentioned in this thread. If anyone has any sites with pretty mask colors that are FDA approved that they can recommend, I'd appreciate it.
I have stashes of KN95's from Powecom and N95's from Honeywell, but...they're white or black and bo-ring to look at! But are vetted as safe officially. Now I see people in colorful masks that look like my safe masks, but I'm not sure if they actually are. Asking people where they are getting them has not been good ("online!" WHERE online? "Online!" was an actual conversation, also "I got it for free" and "my grandma!") and I have no idea if they are vetted by the FDA or just look pretty.
Specifically, sites like this (I know I've heard DO NOT ORDER 95 MASKS OFF AMAZON), or this, or this, as mentioned in this thread. If anyone has any sites with pretty mask colors that are FDA approved that they can recommend, I'd appreciate it.
You’re probably looking for Maskc.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 2:21 AM on April 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 2:21 AM on April 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
Mask Lab makes Korean-style masks, and has info about its certifications here.
Vida sells colorful KN95s.
posted by oceano at 3:13 AM on April 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
Vida sells colorful KN95s.
posted by oceano at 3:13 AM on April 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
Powecom has been doing some colors lately--pink, red, blue--sold on Bonafide masks.
posted by needs more cowbell at 3:17 AM on April 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by needs more cowbell at 3:17 AM on April 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
Don’t order from Vida, please. They sent me counterfeit masks.
posted by jilloftrades at 5:19 AM on April 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by jilloftrades at 5:19 AM on April 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: This last post is exactly the point I wanted to ask about: can anyone verify which places that sell colorful 95 masks are safe vs. not safe? In that case, thanks for ruling out Vida since I was sadly considering them. Darn it.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:36 AM on April 5, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:36 AM on April 5, 2022
Do you know about Aaron Collins, aka Mask Nerd? His twitter is here and has links to his other stuff (spreadsheets, youtube). I trust his tests and reviews (they're how I found and came to trust Powecom) though I haven't combed through them recently for colorful options.
posted by needs more cowbell at 7:02 AM on April 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by needs more cowbell at 7:02 AM on April 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
Also he has occasionally tested masks that he has determined to be counterfeit and notes that.
posted by needs more cowbell at 7:03 AM on April 5, 2022
posted by needs more cowbell at 7:03 AM on April 5, 2022
So, one point of clarification: The FDA does not regulate KN95 or KF94 masks. KN95 is a Chinese standard and KF94 is a Korean standard, and these are regulated by organizations in their respective countries. The only standard regulated by the FDA is N95, which is the American standard. All 3 of these standards are very similar and provide similar protection, but there are small differences.
In the early days of the pandemic, the FDA issued emergency guidelines allowing the use of *certain* KN95 and KF94 masks in healthcare settings, but that authorization ended last June.
To be clear, just because KN95 or KF94 masks are not “FDA approved” does NOT mean they’re any less protective than N95 masks. It just means the American FDA is not the organization in charge of certifying those masks. It also means that anyone claiming to sell “FDA approved” KN95 masks is lying and automatically suspect. You’ll notice the Vida site linked above says “FDA listed” rather than “FDA approved”, and further down it specifically notes that the masks are not FDA approved. Verifying the authenticity of ANY mask is a somewhat tricky problem and I hope others can help with that aspect because I don’t have a good solution yet.
One other gotcha — the N95 standard does NOT allow ear loops; all N95 masks must have bands that go behind the head. So any supposed “N95” mask with ear loops is counterfeit. However, the KN95 and KF94 standards DO allow ear loops.
posted by mekily at 7:04 AM on April 5, 2022 [19 favorites]
In the early days of the pandemic, the FDA issued emergency guidelines allowing the use of *certain* KN95 and KF94 masks in healthcare settings, but that authorization ended last June.
To be clear, just because KN95 or KF94 masks are not “FDA approved” does NOT mean they’re any less protective than N95 masks. It just means the American FDA is not the organization in charge of certifying those masks. It also means that anyone claiming to sell “FDA approved” KN95 masks is lying and automatically suspect. You’ll notice the Vida site linked above says “FDA listed” rather than “FDA approved”, and further down it specifically notes that the masks are not FDA approved. Verifying the authenticity of ANY mask is a somewhat tricky problem and I hope others can help with that aspect because I don’t have a good solution yet.
One other gotcha — the N95 standard does NOT allow ear loops; all N95 masks must have bands that go behind the head. So any supposed “N95” mask with ear loops is counterfeit. However, the KN95 and KF94 standards DO allow ear loops.
posted by mekily at 7:04 AM on April 5, 2022 [19 favorites]
I've been wearing these turquoise BYD N95 respirators that I bought at Costco. They are currently on sale for an amazing $10 for 20 masks.
The Costco page doesn't show it, but if you go to the BYD page, you can see their NIOSH certification.
posted by QuakerMel at 8:58 AM on April 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
The Costco page doesn't show it, but if you go to the BYD page, you can see their NIOSH certification.
posted by QuakerMel at 8:58 AM on April 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
Bonafide masks (legit) now has Powecom KN95s in Pink - Grey Blue & Red
posted by lalochezia at 10:06 AM on April 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by lalochezia at 10:06 AM on April 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
I got fit-tested at work and my MaskLab KF-94s (which are the prettiest masks I've seen) were okay. It wasn't perfect, as I eventually tasted a tiny bit of the bitter spray, but it seems to be good enough. I know this is just an anecdote and everyone's face is different but maybe you find it reassuring.
I get my masks from their Hong Kong site, as I order so many that it's cheaper than the US or global one.
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:14 PM on April 11, 2022
I get my masks from their Hong Kong site, as I order so many that it's cheaper than the US or global one.
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:14 PM on April 11, 2022
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