I started googling because I believed the seal would have been broken, but it turns out that SFU did a study in 2018 and concluded that beards do not conflict with the seal. It is a really short article, I encourage a quick gloss!

While that article concludes the old policy was held-up by outdated research and old equipment, I found a more political take in American articles so I thought I’d share it as well.

I am both referring to this article as well as this vet blog

The main problem with eradicating beard-mask policy in the US seems to be an ego issue with command. A quote regarding retired Chief Master Sgt. Kaleth Wright,

Wright said he took that position despite suffering from shaving irritation himself. He eventually learned how to shave in a way that would not irritate his skin, so he believed that if airmen with shaving waivers just did what he had done then they could be clean-shaven too.

“I was willfully ignorant about the impact it was having on young Black men,” he said. “Some of it was because I just ignored it, some of it was because I wanted these young men to do what I did: just suck it up and figure it out and you’ll be fine.”

I don’t follow British politics too much so I’m curious to what degree this sentiment is paralleled by high-ranking officials. It was hard enough to find that SFU article, so I’ll clock out here.

Finally, I also found some interesting pubs I’d love to share as well that seem to support high FFE when masks are properly secured even with a beard. The first one has a funny picture, I implore you to treat yourself with Fig. 1

Assessing the effect of beard hair lengths on face masks & Influence of facial hair… of a tight-fitting half-face respirator