Has CDC recommended shaving facial hair to protect against coronavirus? Fact Check

ByCraig Haley

Messages on social media purport that he CDC has recommended men shave their facial hair to help protect against the coronavirus.

MOSTLY FALSE

This message is typically attached to a CDC stamped graphic showing 36 facial hair styles (including the iconic “fu Manchu” and handlebar) with a cross or tick supposedly indicating whether that particular style can help or hinder your chances of catching the 2019 coronavirus strain. See below.

It’s not true. While the graphic really does come from the CDC, it has nothing to do with coronavirus, much less the 2019 coronavirus strain.

In fact the graphic was produced back in November 2017, and it depicts which facial hair styles can interfere with the wearing of a tight fitting respirator mask. The graphic was originally uploaded here in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek style along with the accompanying text –

Not sure what kinds of facial hairstyles will work with a tight-sealing respirator? We’ve provided a chart below with our best guesses, complete with a line representing a typical sealing surface.

It should also perhaps be noted that the CDC does not recommend the “routine use” of respirators outside of the workplace in the context of cornonavirus.

However it is true that the NHS used the above graphic as a recommendation for their staff to shave off facial hair when tackling the coronavirus, though this would only apply to medical staff working in “high risk areas” who would need to regularly wear such a respirator mask. It does not apply to the general public.

Unless you feel compelled to wear such a device for a specific reason, there is no recommendation related to the coronavirus from the CDC about shaving facial hair.

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