Face Masks - Since it appears that they will be a part of our lives, have you found a good source?

TOUGHERTHANIT
TOUGHERTHANIT Member Posts: 28
edited July 2020 in General Cancer
There are all sorts of places popping up online that are selling different looking facemasks, I've also seen that a good number of them are scams. Several friends have ordered some with certain graphics on them that are of interest to my friends to never get them. These places advertise on Facebook a lot. You can sometimes sniff out the scammers by looking at the post for how many comments are listed, then click on the comments link and see how many comments are actually showing. The scammers are hiding all of the negative comments about not sending out the orders, so there will only be a handful of comments showing when there might be hundreds listed as the number.

So, after all of that, have you found a good, reliable source of face masks? Please share. Going to treatment every day uses a lot of them up.
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Comments

  • Kp2018
    Kp2018 Member Posts: 105
    edited July 2020
    I have purchased cloth face masks from Etsy. I buy the ones with filter pockets and put two layers of shop towel materials in the pocket. Recently, noticed that Walmart has a pretty good selection of disposable masks.

    Good luck in finding what you need.
  • Bloodproblems
    Bloodproblems Member Posts: 31
    edited July 2020
    This is a good question, I hope we get lots of suggestions here to check out.
  • LiveWithCancer
    LiveWithCancer Member Posts: 470
    edited July 2020
    I echo what Kp2018 said - Walmart has a pretty good supply of disposable masks at a reasonable price. I looked on Amazon just the other day for some cute or comfortable looking masks and found -0- though they also had lots of disposable masks available at fairly reasonable prices.

    I have a friend who was making masks so I got one from her that's real pretty. I have a pattern to make some myself, but haven't gone up to the sewing machine to do it. I use the machine so infrequently that I have to re-educate me on how to even thread it, thus my hesitation. There's not much to making one, based on the videos I have watched.

    Before I was given a couple of masks, I was using a long scarf I had purchased from the Dollar Tree earlier. I folded it many times, found some rubberbands that I folded it around and hooked the rubber bands to my ears. It actually worked quite well (no idea how safe it was, but probably as safe as lots of the masks out there) and it was cute with puppy dogs on it :)

    I'll be interested to see where others are buying their masks, too. I have a friend (a fellow lung cancer survivor) who sells some Vera Bradley masks on Poshmark. Her store is HeartFinds.
  • JaneA
    JaneA Member Posts: 335
    edited July 2020
    I just ordered a couple of "cute" fabric ones, but haven't gotten them. I have been using a fabric a wide, stretchy headband. I don't go out but once a week, but I'm guessing that it's going to be a long time before an effective vaccine is available.
  • legaljen1969
    legaljen1969 Member Posts: 763
    edited July 2020
    I am one who ordered from graphic ones and got taken for about $75. I am so mad at myself for ordering them. At this point, you can get some sort of mask just about anywhere- at the grocery store, the convenience store, Target, Walmart. Now whether they are any good is anyone's guess at this point.

    I do think some of the suppliers that sell things in the grocery stores and pharmacies these days should be charged with price gouging though. I can only imagine what will happen with huricane season around here though. I saw a pack of 5 paper disposable masks for $25.00 the other day. Then I went further back in the store and found a box of 50 for $34.99. They are banking on the fact that people will pick those front ones up for convenience and desperation. It's a little shameful to me.
    I did buy two boxes of masks the other day because my next door neighbor who has cancer, and is very weak right now, has been trying for weeks to find some masks and has been unable to find them. I took one box straight to his son who lives down the street. We have all been looking out for each other.

    Anyhow, they have had masks at Target, Walmart, our convenience stores, Old Navy. I got a 3 pack the other day for like $12 at Old Navy.
  • LiveWithCancer
    LiveWithCancer Member Posts: 470
    edited July 2020
    I'm glad to know that Target, Walmart, etc. have masks - cloth ones? I was going to order some from JoAnn Fabrics the other day but they got awful reviews so I decided not to even though the most expensive one was $5.99 or something.

    Amazon had disposable masks for about $25 for 50 ... depending on the supplier. I have no idea about their quality.

    @legaljen1969, that makes me sad (and angry) that your money was stolen. A crisis seems to always bring out the crooks.
  • LiveWithCancer
    LiveWithCancer Member Posts: 470
    edited July 2020
    My friend with the Heartfinds Poshmark store said she only has 3 masks available but gave me links to to others to share:

    https://posh.mk/kN8XrOBII7 - the lady who owns this site is Olga. She is a cancer survivor and my friend highly recommends her as well as this "closet":

    https://posh.mk/OxzDylNII7
  • Kp2018
    Kp2018 Member Posts: 105
    edited July 2020
    LiveWithCancer, thanks for the link. I love the masks! As long as we have to wear the darned things, they may as well be as attractive as possible.

    I have been sewing little charms from cheap ankle bracelets on to the side edges of my "basic black" masks. Might as well have a little fun and make a fashion statement.
  • centered1
    centered1 Member Posts: 23
    edited July 2020
    Jane.com..pretty cloth masks 2 for $6.99...no shipping and handling..mine are pink with butterflies
  • Teachergirl
    Teachergirl Member Posts: 15
    edited July 2020
    ALYCANDY (140+ pages of designs). The time from order to delivery is about 3-4 weeks. They get cheaper the more you buy.
  • ChildOfGod4570
    ChildOfGod4570 Member Posts: 100
    edited July 2020
    I'll have to see where my parents get their masks and get the linktoall of you. I tried buying some masks at a club I belong to, only to find the elastic bands around the head were too tight. Pity, the one with the tropical motif was kind of festive. ;) My parents got me a basic navy blue one with ear loops, and it's much more comfortable. I have also experimented with folding a pink bandanna over several times and making ear loops out of crocheted yarn that matches. I'm hoping to find some more comfortable and "fun" masks since we're likely to be wearing them for a while. HUGS and God bless.
  • MarcieB
    MarcieB Member Posts: 528
    edited July 2020
    I wear the disposable kind you can buy in the supermarket 4 for 6 dollars. The paper kind where you pinch it on your nose, the kind they give you when you are having blood drawn. Plain, disposable, pale blue or white. There is a lot I will do in the interest of beating this pandemic. I will social distance, wear the mask, stay home 95% of the time. But I will not think of a mask, that hides half my face (the half that smiles at you), as a fashion accessory. I don't care how long the necessity will be with us. I am a plain, paper mask gal.
  • Horselady46
    Horselady46 Member Posts: 21
    edited July 2020
    I mostly wear disposables, but I do have a friend who makes some really nice ones.
  • ChildOfGod4570
    ChildOfGod4570 Member Posts: 100
    edited July 2020
    My mother emailed me back and told me where she got her and my masks. She got them at stringking.com and they come in black, white, and navy.  They have sizes small, medium, and large.  By the time the tax and shipping were
    added on, they were about $10 each.  Hope this helps.
    As for the mask hiding the part of the face that smiles at you, I think it better to have masks that match your personality and are festive. It's a new way to infuse a little warmth into a world that has become very sterile and distant because of the virus. HUGS and God bless.
  • MarcieB
    MarcieB Member Posts: 528
    edited July 2020
    Of course everyone is different, but to me masks look forbidding and kind of make me shiver to see them. That is why I would rather look like I am headed to surgery instead of heading to rob a bank. (!) But, that's just me. I have friends who are into finding cute masks and I understand the reasoning. If it makes you feel better to have a mask you think matches your personality then you certainly should. One of my friends has one with daisies and I do think it is pretty on her face.

    Let me ask you something - do you wear yours every moment you are out? Because I put mine on in my car before I head out to wherever I am going and I keep it on until I am back in my car (and using my hand sanitizer!). But, I see so many people yank their mask off the minute they leave the store and are outside again. I guess they are socially distanced? But, it seems a little rude to me. Who knows who they might walk by and now they are saying the aerosols are just as dangerous (maybe more) than droplets. I think of our Greg, walking to and from the parking lots at the hospital and hope he doesn't encounter a maskless person!
  • ChildOfGod4570
    ChildOfGod4570 Member Posts: 100
    edited July 2020
    I put mine on when in the car and don't take it off until I go back into the car, normally following the lead of my driver. When I use paratransit, I have to have the mask on before I board the bus. Tomorrow, I am going to a club meeting that could add up to as much as 7 hours in a mask if you figure in the long paratransit rides to and from the club and the meeting itself. HUGS and God bless.
  • Teachergirl
    Teachergirl Member Posts: 15
    edited July 2020
    I keep mine on until I am in my car and put it on before getting out of the car. I work in an elementary school and when (if) we go back in September, I know we will be wearing masks so I opted for washable cloth masks with fun designs and prints.
  • MarcieB
    MarcieB Member Posts: 528
    edited July 2020
    I get it. Honestly, if I were still teaching school I would probably look for masks with art stuff, like easels and brushes (my subject) - OR ones with art prints like Starry Night...okay you gals are converting me! A Starry Night mask would be fun(!) My sister-in-law is an elementary reading specialist (newly retired). She would always look for cute earrings and umbrellas to delight her kids, so I KNOW she would be researching cute masks if she were in this situation. And it does make sense to make if fun for the little ones. It is an act of kindness, really.
  • BreastCancer17
    BreastCancer17 Member Posts: 13
    edited July 2020
    I ordered one from Amazon, in April, I've never received it but I have gotten my money refunded for it. I ordered 2 more from Amazon, different companies, both are supposed to arrive between July 13 & 23, we will see. The bridal shop where I used to work, gave me several for my family, cloth ones, for free - that she had left over from making for front line health care workers.
    I don't wear them for me as much as I wear for you. With all the asymptomatic spread, I don't want to be one who unkowninly spreads SARS-CoV-2. That could just be the RN in me, too.
  • Dina
    Dina Member Posts: 11
    edited July 2020
    I have ordered many online, and wasted lots of money as they don't fit my thin face (all have been one size fits all- ha!). FINALLY found some 'sized' ones at Carbon38 (a great online Yoga/Fitness clothing store I frequent far too often). The small fits me great, two-ply antimicrobial, adjustable toggles at straps to ensure a good fit. Aside from that, the blue surgical masks are the only other option for me
  • PaulineJ
    PaulineJ Member Posts: 205
    edited July 2020
    It’s beyond sad to me how fearful this world has become of a virus that has a lower rate of overall deaths that many others things folk die of all the time! Much more than that, it vexes my soul/spirit how fearful some of the church has become & I just pray to God that he strengthen those who live in such fear & reassure them that IN HIM they have nothing to fear! I mean, what does that look like to lost folk who don’t even know God at all?! I mean no disrespect but in all seriousness have faith in God already!
    Thanks be to God that while we may be in this world, we definitely are NOT of it!!!
  • meyati
    meyati Member Posts: 308
    edited July 2020
    We could only buy food at our Walmarts and grocery stores in NM. I bought some from Ebay. Different prices- free shipping, and Ebay settles disputes quickly. According to Ebay policies, a shipper will not be paid until the item is actually shipped. I bought my son a great mask from Tokyo-$9. It has fangs- bright and has a zipper. He loves it, and everybody comments about it.
  • meyati
    meyati Member Posts: 308
    edited July 2020
    Oh, they all are reusable. I hand wash them every few days.
  • Bug
    Bug Member Posts: 394
    edited July 2020
    I volunteer at the local American Cancer Society office. I worked with a staff member (past tense because she has retired) who has an Etsy shop and she makes cloth masks as well as cards, bookmarks, etc. Go to the Etsy website and look up DesignsByDeryl. She is a wonderful, kind woman and is easy to work with. I have not purchased any of her masks yet (my sister-in-law made a bunch for my husband and me so we are all set for now) but her cards and bookmarks are excellent quality and I'm sure her masks are as well. I would not hesitate to buy from her. She is a three time cancer survivor and a portion of the order is donated to ACS.
  • ChildOfGod4570
    ChildOfGod4570 Member Posts: 100
    edited July 2020
    PaulineJ I am with you! In fact, I have a friend who has a mask that shows a blue sky and clouds and says "FAITH, NOT FEAR" on it. HUGS and God bless.
  • GregP_WN
    GregP_WN Member Posts: 742
    edited July 2020
    Ms. Pauline, I ask you to tell me what condition, disease, a rash of accidents, or whatever has ever caused hospital ICU units to fill up, and overflow, with so many people dying so fast that there are refrigerated semi-trailers sitting outside the hospital to put the bodies in. So many people being buried that mass graves are being used to put them in.

    At no time in the history has the "flu" caused this problem. Those online who keep passing along this misinformation are adding to the problem.

    The death rate for the seasonal flu is 0,1%
    The death rate so far for covid is 3.4% Globally
    The regular flu affects 8% of the population each year.
    The Covid virus is "thought" to affect 50% or more of the population in one way or another before this is over with.
    The World Health Organization reports estimates of the Coronavirus being 10 X more deadly than the regular flu.
    The "regular seasonal flu" happens every year
    Pandemic flu has only happened 3 times in history

    A recent paper published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine emphasized this point when it found that, in the U.S., there were 20 times more deaths per week from COVID-19 than from the flu in the deadliest week of an average influenza season,

    Some will say that the only reason there are more cases now is because there are more tests. That is partially true.

    However, more tests don't fill up the ICU. Just because someone tests positive they don't run to the ICU. Those serious cases are on the rise again, they are not found by testing, they are found by people suffocating to the point that they cannot breathe without a ventilator. In the beginning, when there were no tests to even get tested, the ICU's were filling up with people who had no idea what was wrong with them.

    In the US, more than 129,000 people have died from Covid from March to July
    In that same time between 25,000 and 50,000 people have died from the flu. Numbers are not exact because death by flu is not something that is tracked.

    That being said, each to his own. If a person doesn't want to wear a mask to protect others because they don't think they work, should at least use a small amount of common sense and stay away from those who carry a chronic illness. We are far more likely to suffer serious complications from the coronavirus than the average 30 something healthy person.

    I equate not wearing a mask to me carrying a gun down the street. I have a permit to carry, so it's my right. The gun isn't going to hurt anyone, right. But since I don't care, I'm going to fire off a few random rounds, maybe there won't be anyone in the way, they shouldn't have been in front of my bullet.


    Information obtained from:

    CDC.gov
    Johns Hopkins
    LiveScience.com
    Ohio State University
  • BreastCancer17
    BreastCancer17 Member Posts: 13
    edited July 2020
    To update from my previous comment. The mask I ordered and received a refund on, arrived yesterday. I reached out to the company about returning it & was told to keep on them because of how long it took to arrive. The other 2 I have ordered are on schedule to arrive when stated by Amazon.
  • PaulineJ
    PaulineJ Member Posts: 205
    Greg>No one wants to listen to this ,but has all your answers
    This is extremely serious>If you don'.t listen to anything else Don't go pass this one for your sake.
    AMUST LISTEN. EXCELLENT!
    Forthe ones who don't care I feel,sorry for you.
    It'sexactly what is happening today going forward

    https://youtu.be/o-yCWrZWnp8
  • Dina
    Dina Member Posts: 11
    edited July 2020
    Thank you Greg!!!!
  • GregP_WN
    GregP_WN Member Posts: 742
    edited July 2020
    BreastCancer17, my Wife Donna has ordered several from different places and two of them took so long she canceled them. They refunded, and then the mask showed up. Another place she had no trouble with at all. I don't remember the names of those, I'll have to ask. I do know she ordered some from the Ellen show and received those right away.

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