Up your face mask game: 'Lanyards' and other accessories to make mask-wearing more comfortable and stylish

With face masks being essential items these days, your wallet, keys and mobile phone are not the only things to remember to bring when you head out.

Granny spectacle chains made a comeback last year, with street-style stars seen rocking the look at events.

Now, the trend has made the leap to face masks.

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And why not? Not only does it act as a fashionable lanyard (in fact, it's sold as face mask lanyards on some sites), but it has a practical purpose too — ensuring that you don't lose your mask while eating, for example.

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These stylish mask lanyards would also be great when you're in the car or driving and don't want the hassle of having to pop it into a bag or case.

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'Ear-saver' headbands

Wearing masks has made us stumble onto a pet peeve - the discomfort when the loops don't sit properly behind our ears, thereby making our ears pop out or causing sore ears.

Now there's help in the form of 'ear savers'. A quick search on Etsy will bring up plenty of fashionable headbands with two buttons sewn on either side.

This way, you can hook your mask onto the buttons instead of your ears. We'd previously tried another hack that called for placing buttons on the stem of our glasses, but that didn't work out so well.

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The button headband idea is also easy enough to make your own with just a couple of spare buttons and a headband made of cloth.

The only thing that might hold you back is if you're someone who's predisposed to wearing a headband, in the first place. 

Nose clips for cloth masks

Don't you hate the feeling of the seam of your cloth mask pressing against your nose? Well where there's a problem, trust the internet (and entrepreneurial humans) to have a solution. 

There are people online selling plastic face mask nose clips as well as adhesive metal strips that you can just stick on cloth or disposable masks that don't have internal wiring.

Granted, they are not exactly fashionable, but if they help you keep your mask on comfortably for longer, it's still a plus.

Mask extenders

If one of the problems you face is that the masks are too tight when you put them on, there are also mask extenders sold on the market, for adults and kids. They also help to alleviate any discomfort behind your ears from wearing your masks for too long.

Sellers in Malaysia have also found that face mask extender bands work well for Muslim women who don the hijab, and they look stylish too. 

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With the ways in which mask-wearing is evolving and the wide variety of accessories available to users, it'll be no surprise if they become the next fashionable item to sport. 

candicecai@asiaone.com