The 15 Best Cooling Face Masks to Wear This Season

Spring is in the air—and hotter temps are around the corner. Even as more people get vaccinated, face mask mandates due to the coronavirus pandemic are alive and well. And they are making our faces hotter. Everyone and their mother is in the market for a cooling, breathable mask or neck gaiter you can hit the store with, workout in, and wear as you leisure through the spring and summer season.

So what makes a cooling protective face mask work? The Centers for Disease Control actually does have some guidance around this. If you're an unvaccinated person, you should be wearing a mask in public—especially if you're attending a small outdoor gathering. Whether you're vaccinated or not, you should wear a face mask to any crowded outdoor event. And when attending just about anything indoors (a move theater, public transportation or a shopping center to name a few), the CDC says it is safest for everyone to still wear a face mask. Yes, even if you’re working out.

Most face masks are made with cotton—by far the most comfortable material for them. Unfortunately, that also means a lot of them are going to be thick and (especially if you’re working out) difficult to breathe in. Certainly not what we’d call “cooling.” When shopping for a face mask, cotton will totally work if the cotton is lightweight and thin enough. While it won't actively cool your face, you won’t be huffing and puffing.

Your best option: choose moisture-wicking, silkier fabrics for your face mask. You'll get a little less filtration the thinner and more moisture-wicking your mask is, but as long as you’re covering your nose and mouth, you should be ok.

Below, you’ll find some of the best face-cooling masks around that we’ve found.