By now, no matter where you go, you see people in masks. Going through the Starbucks drive-through for your morning latte? The employees are in masks. Heading to the salon to finally get your hair done? Everyone is donning masks. People are even wearing masks to the beach or to jog outside.

Yes, indeed, we live in a mask-wearing world with very little signs of being able to go bare-faced in the short future. In fact, face coverings are just becoming more and more extreme.

What do we mean? Well, if you’ve been out of your house lately, you’ve probably seen an uptick in people not only wearing face masks, but face shields—a piece of plastic that covers your entire face, eyes included.

This might’ve got you thinking—which is more effective in protecting against coronavirus germs? Should you be continuing to wear a mask, or would a face shield work better for you? Let’s weigh the pros and cons.

While at first glance, a face shield looks a bit more intense than a face mask, it’s actually much more freeing on your face. Unlike a face mask, the entire bottom of the mask is open, allowing you to freely eat or drink without having to take it off.

Additionally, the biggest complaint about wearing a face mask is that it can be difficult to breathe in it, especially if you’re doing some kind of strenuous activity while wearing one. A face shield allows for much easier breathing (and talking!) than a face mask does.

Another benefit of wearing a face shield is that once it’s on, there’s no need to adjust it the way you do a face mask (in which you have to ensure your nose and mouth are completely covered by fine-tuning the fit).

As a bonus, the facial recognition feature on your phone will still work while wearing a face shield. (If you don’t know, it doesn’t work while wearing a face mask—well, unless you wear a mask custom printed with your own face).

Okay, so face shield wins then right? Not necessarily. As you can see, there’s a lot of open space underneath the chin and around the ide of your face—something a mask easily covers up. That makes the face mask more effective in keeping our germs away from others.

Does that mean a face mask is better? Or does the face shield still come out on top? While there haven’t been any studies yet comparing the two, there are some hints that could help us in determining which one you should wear. Check out the video below to learn more.

Do you wear a face mask or a face shield in public?