I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and was shocked to discover that I was going to have to wear a CPAP mask nightly, in order to breath properly when sleeping. How unglamorous – not that sleeping is the most glamorous activity – but you know what I mean.

Anyway, I was fitted with a CPAP sleep apnea appliance and, the first morning after wearing it, awoke refreshed and rested.

And then I looked in the mirror. Skin indentations from where the straps had been, made me look like a scarred survivor of a car wreck! It was about three hours, before they were no longer visible. Who wants to face the public with CPAP strap indentations??

That sent me on a quest for a solution to the CPAP strap problem. CPAP therapy is great, but CPAP strap indentations are not! I tried every solution out there, with no satisfaction.

That’s when I decided to design something myself. At first, I just took a scrap of Arctic fleece from my sewing drawer and wrapped it around the straps. That helped – but didn’t work. After much fiddling, I was finally happy with the design for a face protector mask and engaged a friend, Donna Irwin, to begin manufacturing them for me.

Bingo – the Face Cozy Skin Protector Mask was born. I did some test marketing and everybody loved them! My respiratory clinic bought all I had with me.

I decided to put two in each package in case people with particularly sensitive skin might like double protection.

I told my friend, Doug Schneider, about it and he suggested I take it a bit further and develop a mask for use on flights. He was complained about the awkward masks airlines give you in first class. The strap around the back always leaves you with hat-head and that’s not great when preparing to get off a plane looking cool!

So – a little more fiddling and the “Sleep Cozy” was born – a soft, 100% Arctic fleece mask that’s light and cozy, suitable for power naps and resting.  The latex-free ear-loops mean no more hat-head! The Sleep Cozy is great for signalling people that you’re resting and don’t want to be disturbed.

Then I put my thinkin’ cozy on. In the process of designing the Sleep Cozy, I thought how great it would be to shut out distractions in prayer time. So I tested it. The only problem was, a black mask just didn’t work for prayer. It was dark, and prayer shouldn’t be dark. So – I started to play around with pastel fleece and, bingo – the “Prayer Cozy” was born! It’s great, not only for shutting out distractions, but for signalling people that you don’t want to be disturbed.

Whether preventing CPAP strap marks, resting, sleeping, praying or meditating, Face Cozy has a mask for you!