If you haven’t heard yet, Sseko is in the mask business now. We see our sisters and we hear your call for protective coverings that are as comfortable as they are stylish. If you haven’t yet, make sure you give our collection a look! We have five different patterns offered, and each one features comfortable elastic loops to fit any face as well as an adjustable nose bridge for the perfect fit.
SAFETY AND CARE
Whether you buy a cloth mask from us, make one yourself or use a bandana or scarf you already have, it’s important we acknowledge a few care items for these coverings.
The Level of Protection
There is a lot of debate in the world around the effectiveness of masks. We’re not here to add to that debate, but rather just provide a simple explanation of our understanding and why we created the product.
1) Whether you’re a fan of the masks or not, nearly every business you enter requires them these days. If your plan is to go anywhere, and you need to have one, why not make it one that coordinates with your outfit and fits as comfortably as possible? 2) While there isn’t a particular medical grade standard that cloth masks are meeting, we find the easiest way to look at it is this: wearing a mask is on par with covering your face when you sneeze or cough. It’s a “better than nothing” barrier to help reduce the spread.
So, if the above needs are what you’re looking to fill, we have you covered!
Touching Your Mask
A new problem that has sprung up with face masks is the unpleasant occurrence of “saggy mask.” Stretched out elastic earpieces or cloth after extended use is causing the material to droop. Not only does this lessen the intended purpose, but it also causes a new problem: over-touching your face. This is why ours includes the brass wire nose bridge to help secure your mask in place.
Storing Your Mask
Raise your hand if you take off your mask and jam it into your purse? Yeah. We’ve done it too. While it’s not the end of the world, it’s worth acknowledging that our purses might be crawling with unsavory invisible particles.
Our phones, our keys, loose coins, receipts… pretty much everything we keep in there is over handled and under cleaned. So instead of dumping a bottle of hand sanitizer into your bag, we suggest a little pouch just for your mask. You can either grab disposable sandwich baggies or you can look into a more permanent addition to your purse. Our Medium Moon Clutch in Mixed Metallic or the Coin Purse in Mixed Metallic both make great small carrying cases for your mask.
Cleaning Your Mask
To help keep the integrity of your mask intact, frequent cleaning or replacing your mask is encouraged. So whether you pick up multiple masks or get on a daily cleaning schedule, here’s some things to consider:
- Perfume-free detergent: Scented detergents and fabric softeners can often carry irritants. Breathing in heavy perfumes or having them against sensitive face skin can cause some unintended issues. So consider switching to a “free and clear” soap without dyes and scent enhancements.
- Iron or flatten: Small items can tend to ball up and bunch in the wash, making it tough to fit properly. So grabbing it out of the dryer to lay flat or ironing might be necessary.
A NOTE ON FASHION AND FACE MASKS
These are unusual times and they’ve brought up questions none of us were expecting. When it comes to making face masks a fashion statement, there are conflicting ideas. Should we be turning this response to a serious issue into an accessory? What is the impact of choosing fashion over function? Are we minimizing the situation by adding flowers?
The bottom line is, everyone gets to make their choice on this front. We believe humans are deeply adaptable beings. When confronted with a problem, we find a solution. When faced with discomfort, we try to adjust. So if you feel safe and more like yourself dressing up your covering, then we hope you consider ours as an option. If you are strictly dedicated to disposable medical-grade masks, we encourage that as well.
Fashion can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but to us, it’s one of the most overt representations of choice. How you choose to present yourself and where you spend your money is an expression of your freedom.
We wish everyone safety, prosperity, and peace!