Slipping headgear and mask leakage

[Cpapissuegirl]

I tried the Swift FX and the Air fit P10 and the headgear never held the mask in place. The doctor said my hair was too long and slippery. I tried bobby pins and even put a chin strap on to try and hold those little headgear straps in place. I am now in the Mirage softgel and it has been fitted by professionals and it is leaking and don't know why. Anyone have a similar issue and what worked for you?

[Sharrykb]

I use the Airfit P10 and what has worked for me is doing the following: figure out where you want that lower strap to be on your head and then pull the hair ABOVE that spot out over the top of the lower strap so that the strap is riding UNDER the hair. The hair seems to help hold the strap in place.

Also, using a CPAP pillow has helped a lot because I'm a side sleeper and with this pillow I don't have the pillow causing the headgear to slip on the side of my face which would sometimes cause the pillows to shift and cause leaks. Here is the link to the pillow I am using and highly recommend:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NERG2O4/ref ... pap+pillow

You may have to copy that link and paste it into your browser.

[Stormynights]

My hair is long, past my waist. I wear it in a bun to sleep in. The bottom strap goes under my bun and the top strap over. I have always had to control my long hair to keep my mask in place. The bun keeps the bottom strap from slipping up and the top strap from slipping down. If a bun won't work for you maybe a braid will work better.

[Jeanng]

+1 for pulling your hair through the lower strap. I also had problems with mask leaks when I started CPAP therapy recently. I either braid my hair or put it in a low ponytail at bedtime and then put the lower strap below the braid or ponytail. That helped significantly to reduce the leakage.

[nanwilson]

Ladies... a small square of Velcro (the rough side, not the smooth) attached to the inside back of your strap will keep it from moving over your hair. Simple solution for a pita (pain in the as...) problem.

[chunkyfrog]

I put my hair through the headgear, and it holds the bottom strap down.

[palerider]

I put my hair through the headgear, and it holds the bottom strap down.

today I learned....

FROGS HAVE HAIR!!!

[Sharrykb]

If you never sleep on your back, a pony tail will work too. I do sleep on my back some so I don't want a pony tail, so that's why I just pull my loose hair over the bottom strap without using a pony tail. It works very well for me.

[rogert]

I'm a back sleeper and have finally locked down all leaks by tiring a bandanna over the top of nose piece, around and down along the side of my face and using a double overhand tie over the nape of my neck...

...stays secure and is easily released.

[Cpapissuegirl]

I've tried the pony tail and putting my hair through the straps but not the Velcro option. I'm confused on how to do that one. Your hair doesn't get tangled in the Velcro?

[Sir NoddinOff]

Lot's of solutions: Type this into your internet browsers search engine... whatever you prefer like Google, Duckduckgo, Bing etc. Do not type them into CPAPtalk's search window, it's not very good for this sort of thing. I like Google for this job.:
site:CPAPtalk.com Swift FX slipping
OR
site:CPAPtalk.com Swift FX sliding down
OR
site:CPAPtalk.com Swift FX lower strap slipping TYPE IN PHRASES LIKE THAT.

There are tons of solutions put forward... some are better than others, however go to my member page and type in Swift FX and you'll see the ones that I prefer. Full disclosure: I used nasal pillows for one year way back in the day, still my ideas weren't too bad IMO

[jagzoo]

Don't mean to hijack but just a reply to Sir NoddinOff:
Thanks for the search hints. I've been having trouble finding posts/info that I know exist on this forum. Will try your method next time!