Facial Hair Policies

[bigj1130]

Hello All,

I am picking your brain for info you or your department has on facial hair. My Department wants us all to be shaved for ease of enforcement. Those of us with goatees really do not like it and I trying to find out if other departments have found a happy medium. We are talking a respirator policy for N95 SCBA and half mask respirators. Any Help any of y'all could offer would be great.

[DwayneEMTP]

Hello All,

I am picking your brain for info you or your department has on facial hair. My Department wants us all to be shaved for ease of enforcement. Those of us with goatees really do not like it and I trying to find out if other departments have found a happy medium. We are talking a respirator policy for N95 SCBA and half mask respirators. Any Help any of y'all could offer would be great.

Seems like those that allow facial hair are pretty much the same...If your goat will fit within the mask, allowing for a good seal, then you're good to go. If not, then it needs to be refined until it does...

Is there something else maybe that you didn't understand about masks and whiskers? I don't believe there is anything else really...if it seals, it seals. If it doesn't, then you have to shave until it does....

Dwayne

[bigj1130]

yeah I get that, My department wants to go away from whiskers below the lip i.e. no goats. Those of us that have goats are trying to show that other departments as well as OSHA and other labor departments are ok with whiskers as long as the seal is good. Just trying to make our case stronger you know?

[AnthonyM83]

I posted about this awhile ago. Our agency doesn't allow any facial hair other than a mustache. They say it's due to OSHA regulations, though when I posted some people said their policies differ, so I'm not sure what's actually "required". I was pretty bummed I had to do away with my goatee when I started working here.

[DwayneEMTP]

yeah I get that, My department wants to go away from whiskers below the lip i.e. no goats. Those of us that have goats are trying to show that other departments as well as OSHA and other labor departments are ok with whiskers as long as the seal is good. Just trying to make our case stronger you know?

Yeah, I gotcha. I just had to shave my goat for a job interview...I would rather have gone in without my pants!

I would wonder though...In a few days you get used to the new, fat, face the whiskers have been hiding, but if management is motivated to argue this, (And I'm not saying that is the case, just IF it is) then the hard feelings are likely to go well beyond that. Do you think this is worth it?

Dwayne

[MedicNorth]

I've been fitting N95 masks for a number of years, and I have yet to find a goatee that has caused a failure to seal. A couple have ended out with some rather expensive mask models, but the failures have been due to weird face shapes and neck hair. Any outfit that is banning facial hair below the lip is likely trying to save a couple of bucks on mask models.

N95 is there to protect you, but if it fits, the facial hair should not be an issue at all.

[tniuqs]

I've been fitting N95 masks for a number of years, and I have yet to find a goatee that has caused a failure to seal. A couple have ended out with some rather expensive mask models, but the failures have been due to weird face shapes and neck hair. Any outfit that is banning facial hair below the lip is likely trying to save a couple of bucks on mask models.

N95 is there to protect you, but if it fits, the facial hair should not be an issue at all.

North please stop trying to "fit test" the livestock again, AND we told you last time to stop trying to put lipstick on the sheep, goats and bucks.

te he

DwayneEMTP

Yeah, I gotcha. I just had to shave my goat for a job interview...I would rather have gone in without my pants!

Just thinking out loud here, would one not be more successful in an interview with pants, I guess it depends on what the interview is for ? LOL

cheers

[mstovall]

Ok I have spent part of the day looking over the OSHA regs. All I can find is that facial hair is a contributing factor to poor fit, but no statements that require you to have a clean shaven face. It does say that the employers are suppose to use a quantitative fit test (the one that actually measures the amount of are circulated and "leaked in and out" of the respirator. It even states in one of their reports that the growth of facial hair is grounds for a retest within a two week window if the employee feels that the seal is compromised. Here is a link to the explanation of the new rules on OSHA's website http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.sh...&p_id=13749 (sorry it does not supply a direct link, but I couldn't get it to work like I thought it should on this forum, admin feel free to fix this link and delete this parenthesed text). Hope you enjoy reading, but it was very informative for me.

Michael

[dougd]

My company policy states facial hair is only permitted above the upper lip. However, one of our directors recently started sporting a very closely shaved goat, and shortly thereafter a few others did to... so it is obviously becoming a lax policy. In my opinion, while OCHE may not prohibit it, there is still the issue of maintaining a professional appearance. I leave the debate as to if a goat or beard looks professional to others... Iamb staying out of that one as I did not wear my nomex underwear for the ensuing flames...

[AnthonyM83]

Eh people have variation in personalities and physical appearance...they can get a little leeway with facial hair, I say. Just keep it short and neat.