Mouth breathers often find themselves dealing with sleep disorders from an open mouth. They may have constant bad breath or deal with obstructive sleep apnea. Mouth taping is a great option to help keep your mouth shut during the night and help combat some of these health problems.
There are many people out there with facial hair that still want to reap the benefits of mouth-taping at night. Many suffer from snoring, sleep apnea, and dry mouth from mouth breathing, so it is important to learn how to keep their mouths shut and breathe through the nose properly. But taping with a beard or other facial hair can be tricky. The tape doesn’t stick well and usually doesn’t work well.
Some tips, tricks, and products can help you tape your mouth at night. Finding the best fit and function for your tape may take some trial and error so that you can learn what works and is most effective.
Here are some of the best mouth-taping products that work for men with beards and facial hair, and how you can properly apply the tape to ensure a good stick through the night.
What Does Facial Hair Do to Mouth Tape?
If you have facial hair or a beard, you understand that putting something over your mouth is more challenging. Mouth tape, CPAP machines, and other sleep products don’t work well because your facial hair continuously gets in the way.
These products, including mouth tape, often don’t fit well due to the presence of facial hair. Beards and mustaches can also make you more prone to pain when pulling the tape off if your hair is stuck. You might pull the hair off and potentially mess up your trimmed facial hair, which is annoying.
Some things to keep in mind when choosing suitable mouth tape include looking for a porous and breathable adhesive tape intended for the skin. Using duct tape or masking tape will likely cause you more irritation or pull harder at your facial hair.
Top 5 Mouth Taping Products for Men with Facial Hair
Some products work similarly to mouth tape to help promote breathing through the nose at night. While it’s challenging to work around a mustache or full beard, here are some of the best mouth taping products that stick well, even with facial hair:
Hostage Tape
This mouth tape boasts flexible comfort so that you don’t notice it as much, but it has a firm hold and is proven to work well on those with facial hair. It has breathable fabric to allow airflow, so you don’t feel you’re cutting off your air supply.
Somnifix Mouth Strips
Somnifix mouth tape promotes nose breathing, boosts the CPAP experience, and reduces snoring to improve overall sleep quality. The best part about these mouth strips is that they are shaped to your lips, so for men with beards, this is a huge plus.
Medvance Silicone tape
You can easily cutMedvance Silicone tape your own mouth tape to fit your mouth ideally using this soft silicone tape. It’s marketed to help with dressing injuries and holding devices to the skin, with a waterproof surface that stays well in place. It won’t stick to facial hair or beards, so pulling it off is far less painful. This tape may be an excellent option if you have a lot of facial hair.
3M Micropore Surgical tape
Another kind of tape that you can cut to fit your face. This surgical tape is great for mouth taping. It’s gentle on the skin and doesn’t leave any of that pesky, sticky residue when you remove it, so it’s a good choice for the mouth.
Fixomull Stretch Medical tape
This wide-area adhesive tape is thin and flexible, with a stretchy quality that makes it perfect for those with facial hair to work around.
How Can You Alter Mouth Tape To Fit With a Beard?
It may help to do some maintenance trimming to the strip to ensure that it fits more snugly over the mouth. You also don’t want it to catch any of your facial hair. Position the mouth tape lower on your mouth and lips so it doesn’t stick to any of the hair above your lips. Usually, even with a beard, there is some space under the lower lip without any hair.
Ensure that you can still breathe somewhat through your mouth when you start with mouth tape. You want to promote nasal breathing but not completely cut off your air from the mouth. Sometimes when you suffer from nasal congestion or allergies, you must have your mouth open at night.
Alternatives to Mouth Tape for Beards
In some cases, you may not have any luck with the adhesive tape for your mouth. But don’t give up; there are other good ideas and alternatives for you to try. A good idea is a chin strap, which works well for men with beards. It’s another method to help keep your mouth shut and promote more air through your nasal passages at night.
Another alternative to mouth tape is a full-face mask. The mask is made to help fit over your entire face, so those people with beards can use them efficiently. They help promote better sleep and keep your jaw in place as well. A full-face mask can give good results if you have other issues besides mouth breathing, like grinding your teeth.
Nasal masks may be another option. A nasal mask fits over the bridge of the nose to your upper lip, helping airflow continue through the nasal cavity. Like a CPAP machine, it helps facilitate breathing cycles as you sleep.
Talk With Your Doctor About Mouth Breathing
Guys with beads likely have many questions surrounding their sleep cycle. It’s a good idea to meet and discuss options with your doctor. It may take days before you feel comfortable using a new product.
Your doctor might have you undergo a sleep study to supervise your sleep cycle, determine the cause of your mouth breathing, or diagnose you with a specific sleeping problem. You may discover the cause of your mouth breathing is more health-related, like nasal polyps or a deviated septum.
Speaking with a doctor can also help you identify risk factors for different products to help you sleep. You can get recommendations for the best mouth tape or whether an alternative product is better for your case.
