Your search for the ideal mask may be well launched by now. In northern Illinois, most stores will not allow you to enter unless you cover your face. Many cities and suburbs require masks. Whether your geographic area requires masks or not, though, the CDC wants teachers and students to wear face coverings — masks for students over the age of two. I can see preschool children all across America happily chewing on those wet, slimy masks, and using them as Kleenex.

I’d like to start this post with a caveat that needs to be echoed through schools this fall: According to the CDC, you cannot rely on your mask. Maintaining 6-feet of social distancing remains vital to slowing the spread of the virus, Those masks help. The research shows mask usage slows infection rates. But even the unavailable N-95 is not 100% safe. That “N95” represents an efficiency rating from the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety: N95 masks filter out 95% of non-oil particles larger than .3 microns. They don’t filter out everything. Many cloth masks out there right now filter out far, far less. There’s a reason why so many articles emphasize masks should be worn to prevent YOU from getting other people sick.

You can’t trust masks. Kids will have to learn the appropriate behaviors for limiting the spread of germs. Reinforcing the need for clean hands and social distancing will be the first priority.

That said, the masks are coming. This post is especially for readers who are still only lightly acquainted with masks. Today’s a good time to begin working on finding the optimal mask. Masks can be even more complicated than shoes. A place to start untangling the mask question: Coronavirus Face Masks: What You Should Know by WebMD.

Flter pocket, nose wire and extra space are items to look for in your mask. Those filters are sometimes sold separately. The nose wire may be unnecessary and even one more thing to mess with on your face — which you are trying to avoid — but the right nose wire will yield a better seal for your mask.

I struggle with masks. I am small enough to shop the children’s section sometimes, and those adult masks often leak. Are you an unusual size? I’d be searching out those larger or smaller masks now, because some of your first attempts may be fails, even epic fails. Definition of an epic fail: It keeps falling off your face.

You want to try out masks and not merely for a half-hour jaunt to the grocery store. Come fall, you will be living in that mask all day if your district decides to go live. Can you do it? Can you do it without going nuts? The wrong mask is like the wrong shoes. You can get into school. You may manage to keep those shoes on when the kids are in the classroom. But you will be thinking about your feet when you should be thinking about metaphors or whatever-your-particular-subject instead.

Masks are a special problem for those of us who wear glasses. If you don’t have a good seal on top by your nose, warm air is guaranteed to fog your glasses. Certain breathing techniques can diminish this fogginess, but a mask that allows your glasses to fog too easily isn’t doing much of a job of keeping your breath in or the outside air out. Here is a place to start your fight against the fog: https://www.fastcompany.com/90486716/how-to-wear-a-mask-without-fogging-up-your-glasses.

If you are not the right size for most masks, you may wish to pull out a needle and thread. You can definitely make your own mask, even if you are not handy with a sewing machine. I searched “youtube video on how to make a covid mask” on Google and got “About 298,000,000 results (0.81 seconds).”  Yep, no shortage of helpful mask makers out there.

And if you create the mask version of a messed-up bedhead, well, you can always hide the mask. I have a large collection of scarves. I have been covering my mask with patterned silk. That adds one more layer to my mask and makes a fashion statement for our times. I just tuck the scarf in on top of my mask and tie it in back. Or drape it over my shoulder like below:

Other tips: Your skin will be oilier and more prone to irritation once you start wearing that mask regularly. You want to avoid products on your skin. Drop the foundation and other products below the mask.

Some doctors suggest you wash your face before putting on and taking off the mask. Well, you do you, depending on your skin type — that much washing would cause me trouble right there — but I’d say most of us should do that cleansing, with the observations that I would want to make sure my hands had already been thoroughly cleaned before I did that wash.

Materials will matter more for some than others, but almost everyone can manage cotton. If you are sensitive to fabrics, I’d research options. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/making-your-own-face-mask-some-fabrics-work-better-others-n1175966 provides useful information on picking the best fabric. A quick takeaway from that article: “In other words, if the fabric allows for a substantial amount of light to shine through, it’s probably going to allow tiny viral particles through, as well.”

If you wear earrings, life will be easier with hoops. Ties and elastic bands tend to snag on earrings, even posts. Some bracelets can be problematic and bracelets also complicate hand cleaning.

For those who have problems with ties and elastic staying in place, I recommend bobby pins, barrettes and other devices for keeping hair in place. They help keep ties and elastic in place, while potentially spiffing up your look. In Project Runway, they always emphasize that accessory wall! A strategically placed pony tail, braid or bun can also solve the problem of mask drift.

Short-haired guys — is it time to grow your hair out? More hair might make those ties more stable. Of course, due to COVID, a lot of you ARE growing your hair out…

A “don’t raise the bridge, lower the river” approach to the glasses problem: Can you get by with cheaters? Those +2.00 glasses you can pick up at the pharmacy or craft store? I have discovered some frames work better than others. Smaller rectangles fog less often.

You may also wish to add a face shield to your mask. I can’t speak to this shield’s comfort or efficiency, but I liked my mask from this company: https://boomernaturals.com/collections/medical-supplies/products/boomer-anti-droplet-protective-visor-face-shields — the best protection will be a mask/shield combo, but that combo has the potential to be pretty warm, maybe oppressively so in the wrong classroom.

Mask just a tiny bit big? Look up “ear protectors for mask.” This will pull your straps further back, which may be all you need. They look simple to make, too.

Eduhonesty: We can do this. If you missed my previous post, please consider ordering (extra) masks for students. My district has regularly “unexpectedly” run out of supplies as vital as paper. Oops! No paper for late April or May! Then weeks pass as teachers use their own supplies waiting for some purchase order to rescue them. Even if you trust your district to lay in the necessary supplies, I would not be surprised to find administrators underestimated the number of masks required. Preschool and early elementary teachers understand kids in ways that administrators do not. I bet those masks will be great for short games of tug o’ war.

Hugs to my readers.

P.S. Unfortunately, masks and scarves have to be washed. You might put a note in your calendar to remind you to wash face coverings. Like sweaters, I suspect it will be easy to wear those unwashed masks a bit longer than is wise.