Goatees Are Cool With OSHA, If Neatly Trimmed

Goatees are OK under respirators as long as the hair doesn’t affect the mask’s air-tight seal, a recently posted advisory from OSHA says.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the letter in response to an employer’s question on whether a goatee would be in violation of the agency’s respiratory protection standard (29 C.F.R. 1910.134) requiring an air-tight seal between the skin and respirator.

Thomas Galassi, head of OSHA’s enforcement directorate, responded that facial hair is allowed as long as it doesn’t protrude under the respirator seal or extend far enough to interfere with the device’s valve function. ...