CDC recommended facial hairstyles for respirator use

I'm assuming that some of the forum members have facial hair, that some make sawdust, and that the two subsets overlap. Here is the official Centers for Disease Control chart of facial hairstyle dos and don'ts for respirator use.

I've got the full beard, along with full figure, I'm going to research the forced air respirators.

I saw at least one report that When Hitler was an army private in WWI, he almost died in the trenches bercause he couldn't properly seal his gas mask due to his then beard and broad mustache. Hence his iconic short mustache we all recognize him by during WWII.

I hired an instructor to train some of my work crews in Lead Safe renovation work, because we are restoring a whaling captain's home built in 1800. The instructor relayed to us that beards are effectively a non-starter for traditional respirators. He also noted that the sizing of the respirator is critical too. Most people grab whatever happens to be available at the local supply house and never get fitted, despite the huge variation in face and head sizes. As a for instance, OSHA wants all employees who need respirators to be fitted by appropriately trained personnel.

I have a full beard and looked into the forced air respirators, but at an entry price of $1,200-1,500, I decided against it since I mostly push paper and would only occasionally use it for my personal projects. That said, I'm going to be glassing four wanigans pretty soon and would be glad to have one.

According to the chart, goatee is okay if you're careful, and Zapp is GTG. But circle beard is a no-go. Thousands of firefighters disagree. Another expert fail.