Free at last--my hair is free at last thanks to Bella Loops

Last night was my first night with my new Bella Loops. I am a side sleeper by preference and I run my hose under the covers.

My hair loves the Loops: As in Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty for the Bella Loops we're free at last! Ever since starting PAP almost two years ago I've been missing the feeling of having my shoulder length hair free to float on my pillow while simultaneously covering my "top" ear and not touching my neck. The hair was so excited to be free that I coul not bear to trap it in the Zeo headband. I think I'll forgo the Zeo data for several more days.

My ears don't hate them, but don't share the hair's instant love of them. They clearly are saying, "Keep the Swift FX headgear around too---for those nights when we get fed up lying on top of these straps that make it feel as though you've forgotten to take your glasses off." On the other hand, the FX headgear has a decided tendency to slide around to where the join between the silicone strap and the cloth strap hits my temple very close to the front of the ears, and the ears don't like that

The cheeks were grateful for the Padacheek Bella Loops pads and complained a bit at the beginning of the night that the Bella's buckles were "lumpier" and "bigger" than the Swift FX headgear's cheek straps. But not having to choose whether to trap the hair against the cheek or away from the top cheek in the FX headgear was a plus---the cheeks like me to pull my hair down over them if I get cold and brush it aside when I'm hot. That's been difficult with the FX headgear.

The nostrils thought it took a bit more work on making sure the pillows were properly seated at the right angle. And at the beginning of the night it seemed as though there was some minor leaking on the pillow that was on my bottom side, but the leak line certainly is comparable in quality to the ones I get with FX headgear, which is usually excellent.

And even in spite of the ugliness of the last 30n minutes, which I posted about here, it seems to me that my first night with the Bella Loops was very good.

Thanks for sharing your perspective. Been looking at those Bella Loops myself and wondering if I should consider them for my next mask. Just the thought of nothing around my head sounds so good to me, although I don't think my hair, cheeks, ears & nostrils will be quite as expressive as yours.

I have these, too, but haven't gotten around to trying them yet. The idea is really appealing, but I'm taking a trip starting tomorrow, and am focused on having everything together for that. My first trip with CPAP, so I want to try to remember everything...I'll try them out when I get back and see how it goes. Robysue, your dialog with your body parts makes this sound tempting, but you just never know, these things are so individual.

I love this review. Thanks Robysue!

I have very long hair and normally wear it back in a ponytail when I sleep, but the night before my wedding, I slept with my hair in curlers. At the time I was using the Aloha as my primary mask, and I looked at that headgear and thought: this is not going to go well. And then I remembered my Bellas! And I got a good night's sleep. Well, as good as it gets when you're excited about your wedding the next day.

The ear-loops get a little uncomfortable on me sometimes, on the top of my left ear ( ), but the Padacheek liners over the silicone help a lot. I tried ALL the Bella liners on the market, and the Padacheek ones are by far the best.

I love the ultra-minimal headgear though, enough that I attached the loops to the pillows of my Pilairo (you can see a picture of my Bellairo on the Pilairo thread). I think the Bella Loops are a real advance in headgear. They won't work for everyone, but when they work, they're pretty awesome.

I really like the Bella Loops. I have the ear pads from Karen, but only use one. That allows me to keep the side I sleep on very loose.

Until and unless some manufacturer comes out with something truly new and different, I'm staying with the loops.

robysue wrote: My hair loves...
My ears don't hate...
The cheeks were grateful...
The nostrils thought...

My scalp has a question -- in order for the bella loops to work (as in keeping a good seal), does relative ear height affect how well the nasal pillows are "upward" supported going into the nostrils? Sounds like a weird question, I know, but does it make sense?

I started out with the Swift FX (no bella loops) and returned it early on because I couldn't get a good fit with the pillows. In hindsight (and after reading a thread about it here) I wonder if I actually needed to try the next size up, which I didn't do at the time. I'm having so much trouble with scalp irritation from mask straps (even with a pad a cheek cover), and now my scalp is really fried from EEG leads, adhesive, etc. from last night's sleep study. I need to let my scalp air out and heal so I'm trying to think of how to stay on cpap while I'm doing that.

What about pulling and deforming the ear helix to stand up and look like a Bat ears




It's the ears helixes and not the lobes.

Example of ears standing up:



How else were these ears reshaped to suit tribal taste:

There was some mention that the Bella loops are less than ideal for attached lobes.
This may not be the case unless there is sensitivity.
I must have tough lobes.

chunkyfrog wrote:There was some mention that the Bella loops are less than ideal for attached lobes.
This may not be the case unless there is sensitivity.
I must have tough lobes.

My lobes are firmly attached. So far the loops haven't bothered the lobes at all. What small amount of ear discomfort has been on the back of the ear in exactly the same spot where my glasses tend to rub.

Thank you for this post. I am very new to CPAP (only 6 days into it) and I am having a hard time with the Swift FX for her headgear. I don't know if my ears are too high or what but I can't seem to get the headgear to fit properly without hitting the top of my ears and the sides straps ride up so high they nearly reach my eyes. If I make it looser, then the pillow seal isn't good. On top of that, about 3 hours into the night, the nose pillow on the right side starts leaking air and then I spend the entire rest of the night trying to adjust things this way and that way and then this way and that way again. And I'm exhausted because I'm not sleeping plus I'm getting frustrated. I was fitted with the size small pillow but last night I got up and tried the XS thinking maybe the pillow is the wrong size. That one was too small and I couldn't breathe at all. So I went back to the Small. Then I tried the Medium and that one didn't make a seal at all. I think the Small is the correct size but the headgear just seems to not have an adjustment that works for me. I was searching online yesterday for alternatives and I saw the Bella Loops and considered buying them. I just wasn't sure if they are a set length or if they can be adjusted. Can you tell me if there is an adjustment on the loops? I am trying so hard to keep compliant and so far I have but I was tempted to just rip off the mask last night and say forget it. I also have a blister under my left nostril and I am hoping that the pillow cozy I ordered comes soon and hopefully will help with that.

Thanks again for the post. If the loop length can be adjusted, I am going to order them and give them a try.

Karen

Noddinggal wrote:If the loop length can be adjusted, I am going to order them and give them a try.

There is ample adjustment capability on the loops. You can really see it because it is hidden under the pink covers. There is sort of a hinge with raised notches to keep the loops at the length and position that you have chosen.

Thank you for the information. I ordered a pair and hope they work out better than the headgear is. I guess it's going to be a trial and error for a while until I find what works best for me. I should have the Bella Loops in a few days. I can't wait.

Thanks again.

Karen

I love and use the Bella Loops in my mask rotation, I find the placement of your ears is not too much involved in the seal of the pillows as much as the angle of your nostrils. My nose is a bit upturned and so sometimes the seal is a bit harder to maintain, but when it seats properly it is amazing. Also I notice with the Swift pillows in general, for me they are closer set to each other, than the Aloha pillows are. IMHO.
Great post, thanks for the input!!

I LOVE my bella loops too and my hair loves them. My hair has promised that if it notices that my ears start to stick out it will cover them. Honest, the thin loops don't push my ears out so that won't be a problem. For the first time since being on CPAP I feel totally free. My short hair doesn't stick up in my morning like it did with headgear. I can't say enough good things about bella loops!!

Noddinggal wrote:Thank you for the information. I ordered a pair and hope they work out better than the headgear is. I guess it's going to be a trial and error for a while until I find what works best for me. I should have the Bella Loops in a few days. I can't wait.
Thanks again.
Karen

OK, I'm in -- I'll give the bella loops and the fx a try. Right now it seems my only hope for being able to use my cpap because my scalp keeps getting contact dermatitis from mask straps. I appreciate this thread too, thanks to all for their input.