Before deciding on what masks to sell, we went through dozens of designs, before settling on what we found out to work the best. Here is some of the criteria that we considered when testing dozens of different designs on our own kids.
Adjustable
The reason why adult masks don't work on children is the same reason why most kids masks don't fit all kids. Because kids come in a wide range of sizes and shapes depending on their age. Because of this we made sure that the mask that we sell have adjustable ear loops and can be used on various head shapes and sizes from very small, to almost adult.
Ear loops
Some masks loop around your neck, and some loop behind the ears. Kids, especially smaller kids don't like wearing their masks very much. We found that ear loops made the mask easy to put on and take off, when going in and out of our car or home, or when running around in the park. When our kids put on helmets to ride their scooters or balance bikes, the ear loops were significantly more convenient. And adjustable ear loops made fit adjustments on the fly even easier.
The ear loops on our masks are thin, soft, and have just the right amount of stretch. This makes getting the mask on and off while not loosing your adjustment is a snap. Some masks come with thick ear loops which put pressure on small ears, making our kids get uncomfortable with the masks and want them to be removed.
Filters
Some masks have filter inserts. When using those masks, our children wanted to breathe around the filter. For running around and playing outside, we found that it was better to have a mask that did not impair their breathing. The masks that we sell have a 2 layer cotton fabric, that works well as a face covering while being very comfortable.
Fabric
Our masks use cotton for the face covering. All fabrics can shed lint, and we didn't want out kids breathing in any plastic or synthetic materials. Disposable masks are meant to be just that, disposed. They should not be reused. We wanted a fabric that could be washed time and again. Using cotton means less trash in our landfills, less pollution.
Patterns, prints, & Colors
Screen printing on a mask reduces the surface area that is breathable. All of our patterns use designs that are careful to not cover too much of the surface area of the mask. So, the masks can be fashionable, fun, and enjoyable to our kids, while at the same time keeping a high level of performance. We wanted to get masks that could be purchased in sets with various colors. Our kids were much more likely to wear masks when they could match their friends, or could choose their own.
Nose wire
Our masks do not have a nose wire. Yes this does mean that the seal will not be as tight around the nose bridge. But, we found that wires on reusable masks could poke out of the fabric, break, or in the absolute worse case, rust. If you do buy a mask with a nose wire, make sure it's using stainless steel.