Shilma mask gives you back your smile, which is huge

I am a neurosurgeon and I have a love affair with the surgical mask for 20 years. I came to respect the safety it offers to my patients and to myself in the OR. During surgery the mask is the last thing you think about and its properties beyond safety are irrelevant. However, the last year, as it became a mandatory “dress code” it started to show its limitations and caveats as a social item.

To be honest, I didn’t think that much can be done in order to improve the classical design of an otherwise trivial item. Yet, I am proven very wrong by the brilliant guys behind Shilma mask. You need to wear it for a couple of hours to realize what the classic design is doing wrong. There are many things that took me by surprise. First is the choice of material, which cannot get wet. Needless to say, that all textile masks suffer from moisture quite fast during their wearing, and even more so in cold weather. Besides becoming a biological risk as the barrier properties diminish, it becomes very uncomfortable to keep your face in moisture even for a short time. That never happens with the new invisible mask called Shilma.

Second is the fact that breathing is a lot easier. And you wear it much easier. Shilma mask is so light and “not in your face” that you forget very quickly that you are wearing it. Which is great! You do not need a difficult operation to forget about your mask, it is just so well designed that it disappears.

And you do not need a box of them. You just cleanse it with alcohol and you’re good to go. And if you wear glasses you can never forget it in your car or in the house.

However, one advantage, at least for me, surpasses all others. It is transparent. My face is fully visible to my patients and the communication and trust is redeemed almost to the pre-pandemic levels. I cannot emphasize enough the psychological benefit of wearing a transparent mask, that lets your interlocutor understand the full spectrum of mimic and facial expressions. Shilma mask gives you back your smile, which is huge.

Did I mention it is safe? It is. So, you become human again without sacrificing an ounce of safeness. I highly recommend the Shilma mask. It brings back humanity in a very ergonomic, safe and cools way.

Dr. Bogdan Iliescu MD, PhD