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Beards and thick facial hair severely compromises the effectiveness of an N95.

When I was an EMT we got fitted for them in case we had to transport patients with tuberculosis or other aliments.

Firefighters and other emergency responders are generally required to shave for this reason.

This has been studied. A beard does compromise the seal, but to a lesser extent on n95s than in other masks:

0 to 10mm!? Some study. That’s barely a beard. Loses 40% effectivenes at 10mm.

No, that's the figure for KF94 and KN95 masks. For N95s it's only about a 20% loss of FFE.

> Beards and thick facial hair severely compromises the effectiveness of an N95.

Yes. A little stubble, less so. (I'd wager it's still fairly effective at keeping the wearer's germs in, though.)

> When I was an EMT we got fitted for them in case we had to transport patients with tuberculosis or other aliments.

Sure, but as with the oil worker example, that's a slightly different scenario than a member of the general public going to the grocery store.