Respirator Hurts My Face: How I Finally Found One That Didn’t
By Tara Alexandria
IG: @tara_alexandria_art
For a while, I honestly thought I might have to give up one of the things I love most.
I paint with soft pastels, and over time I began noticing something strange. Every time I painted, I’d end up with a sore throat. My eyes became painfully dry. Sometimes I couldn’t sleep afterwards because I felt so inflamed.
I took a break from pastels for a few months, hoping the symptoms would disappear.
They did.
Then I picked up my pastels again.
Within days, everything came back.
That’s when I knew it wasn’t my imagination anymore.
Every Respirator Hurt My Face Until I Found One I Could Shape
Like most people, my first instinct was simple.
Wear a mask.
I tried basic hospital masks.
I tried particle masks.
Neither really solved the problem.
The dust still seemed to bother me, but an even bigger problem was something I hadn’t expected.
I have fibromyalgia, and most masks trigger pain across my face and head. Even if they filtered well, I couldn’t comfortably wear them long enough to enjoy painting.
It felt like I had to choose between protecting my lungs and avoiding facial pain.
Neither option let me keep doing what I loved.
One evening I searched online for another solution.
That’s how I discovered the Totobobo mask.
The first thing that caught my attention wasn’t the filter.
It was the fact that the mask could be customised to fit my own face.
That gave me hope.
I Reshaped Mine Six Times Before It Finally Felt Right
When the mask arrived, it didn’t fit perfectly straight out of the box.
Oddly enough, I think that’s exactly how it was meant to be.
I trimmed just a tiny amount at a time—only a couple of millimetres altogether. I was nervous about cutting too much, so I’d remove a little, try it on, then decide whether it needed another tiny adjustment.
Then came the reshaping.
I heated it.
Shaped it.
Tried it.
Heated it again.
Changed the shape slightly.
Tried again.
In total, I reshaped the mask six different times before I finally smiled and thought, Yes… this feels right.
Some people might think that sounds like a lot of work.
I don’t.
Every face is different.
Mine certainly is.
By the end, it felt like the mask had been made specifically for me.
My Favourite Fitting Trick Wasn’t in the Instructions
The instructions suggest using a rounded object to help shape the nose bridge.
I tried that.
Then I accidentally discovered something that worked even better for me.
After heating the mask, I held it against my face exactly where I wanted it, filled the sink with cold water, and gently dunked my face in to cool everything together.
It probably sounds a little strange.
But it worked beautifully.
The mask cooled into exactly the shape I wanted.
Sometimes the best ideas come from simply experimenting.
I Stopped Chasing a Perfect Seal and Started Chasing Comfort
Even now, there’s still the tiniest little gap beside my nose.
I know I could probably reshape the bridge again and make it seal completely.
But honestly?
I’m choosing comfort.
The rest of the mask fits my face so well that I don’t want to sacrifice that just to chase absolute perfection.
If I notice pastel dust bothering me again, I know I can always remould it.
That’s one of the things I love most about it.
The fitting process isn’t finished after the first day.
You can keep refining it until it feels right for your face.
It Helped Before I Even Returned to Pastels
At first, I wasn’t well enough to spend long periods standing at my easel working with pastels.
So I started by wearing the mask while oil painting instead.
Almost immediately, I noticed something had changed.
The smells didn’t affect me nearly as much as before.
Oil paints had never caused the same reactions as pastels, but reducing my overall exposure meant reducing my overall symptom load.
That meant I had more energy.
And that meant I could slowly start thinking about returning to pastels.
I Painted with Pastels Again
A little while later, I finally felt ready.
I picked up a small pastel study I’d started before all of this began.
This time, I finished it.
I was so, so happy.
The biggest surprise came later that night.
Normally, painting with pastels would leave me so inflamed that I’d lie awake for hours.
This time…
I slept.
That might not sound like much to other people.
To me, it felt enormous.
The next morning my eyes were still sore, so I’m using protective goggles as well. I had secretly hoped I could skip them, but if that’s what I need while my body continues recovering, it’s a small price to pay.
The respirator helped protect my breathing.
The goggles helped protect my eyes.
Together, they finally let me get back to doing something I truly love.
If You’re Here Because Your Respirator Hurts Your Face…
Maybe your story is a little like mine.
Maybe you’ve already tried disposable masks.
Maybe they press on your face until they become painful.
Maybe you’ve started wondering whether you’ll have to give up something you care deeply about.
I can’t promise you’ll have exactly the same experience I did.
But I can say this.
For me, the biggest breakthrough wasn’t finding a respirator with a higher filtration rating.
It was finding one that could be shaped to fit my face instead of expecting my face to fit the mask.
For the first time in a long while, I don’t feel like I’m choosing between protecting my health and doing what I love.
I’m painting again.
And that feels wonderful.