It's now been long established that wearing face masks — along with getting vaccinated for COVID-19 — is critical for keeping ourselves and others safe and healthy. It also plays a key part in ending the global pandemic that's been going on for nearly two years.
But are there any other benefits to wearing a mask? Reddit user u/VerySlump recently asked, "What’s a non-COVID reason that you like wearing a mask?" And based on the responses, there's a variety of great ones. See for yourself:
1. "I don't have to mind my expression as much. Like, normally, people can see your mouth and you're expected to have certain expressions. I don't have to sweat that as much with a mask on."
"I work in retail. I love not having to work as hard to keep that absentmindedly pleasant expression on my face all the time."
2. "I haven't had a cold for nearly two years and IT'S BEEN AMAZING."
3. "Whenever I’m concentrating or working on a task, I tend to stick my tongue out or leave my mouth open, and I really like it when people don’t see that."
4. "I have pollen allergies, and the mask helps a TON."
5. "Wearing a mask gives my completely deaf right ear something worthwhile to do. Because I can't hear anything through it, that ear's only previous functions were to add handsomeness and symmetry."
6. "I'm a fresh heart transplant patient, and I'm required to wear a mask in public for the first year. Not strictly COVID, but literally any tiny infection that most anyone can shrug off could kill me at this stage."
7. "I can talk to myself without people seeing my mouth move."
8. "It allows me to pretend that I don't recognize people at the grocery store. I can literally lock eyes and simply ignore someone I know and not have to make chitchat when I'm just trying to get in and out of there after work."
9. "I'm autistic, and wearing a mask makes it much easier to be around people because you don't have to worry about what your face is doing."
10. "I don’t have to put on a full face of makeup. I fill in my eyebrows, put on mascara, and I’m good!"
11. "It's nice and warm in the winter."
"I was in New York a month ago (I live in Florida). It wasn’t cold enough for New Yorkers to wear scarves yet, but it felt like it to me because I live in the South. So wearing a face mask was a handy way for me to warm my face without looking like a tourist."
12. "I have asthma and am triggered by scent. I love masks for eliminating that problem — I can walk through the perfume/laundry/dish detergent aisle without fear now. Random car exhaust doesn't bug me as much, and people wearing too much perfume — or NOT ENOUGH DEODORANT — don't bother me anymore, either."
13. "I get facial hair as a woman because of PCOS, and it's handy to hide the stubble from shaving."
14. "I like mouthing whatever I want at a person."
15. "I have a massive gag reflex that gets really sensitive in the winter, especially when moving from a warm air environment out into a cold air environment. Winter for me means painful retching and a bit of vomiting two or three times a day since I was 14 years old (I'm 27 now). Since I started wearing masks, the air I breathe is warmer and my gag reflex calms down."
16. "I have really bad scarring on my cheeks and jawline from cystic acne from when I was in my 20s. I took Accutane and it cleared, but the scars are red and deep. As a woman, I can wear makeup, but I’m pretty lazy about it, and I just hate doing it every day. Masks have saved me so much time and money."
17. "I drink coffee and don't have the best oral hygiene. It used to be that sometimes I'd realize my breath was bad while talking, and it would destroy my confidence. Now the mask takes care of that. Not only does it mask the odor well, but it also makes me more cognizant of it, and my oral hygiene has actually improved because of it."
18. And finally, "It greatly decreases the number of times that I've been told by men to "SMILE."
Are there any non-COVID reasons that you like wearing a mask? Share them in the comments below! And remember, even if you DON'T love wearing a mask, you still need to follow CDC guidelines and wear one as needed so we can finally find our way out of the coronavirus pandemic.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.