On my face, I currently wear a Respro Techno respirator mask (equivalent to N95 NIOSH rating) and smoked visor-style UV-protective polycarbonate tactical goggles that seem to do a decent job sealing in my eyes (however, the fact that they fog up sometimes from exhalation makes me suspect that some of my exhaled air is getting up into there, which means there may be potential penetration by airborne pathogens--something I'm going to have to address). This leaves some skin patches exposed to UV radiation. So, I've been looking into some upgrades that should optimally do more than just cover up those patches.
First I looked into something like an antibacterial balaclava, which would provide antimicrobial protection on top of UV protection on my entire face. However, I'm concerned this would cause excessive heat on my skin. Then I looked into a face shield like the Uvex S8510 Bionic face shield, which would provide not only full facial UV protection, but also a tactical layer of protection in front of the other gear on my face (blocking out airborne particulates and such even before reaching the respirator and goggles--a major plus). I'm also considering upgrading my respirator to a P100 solution like the 3M 7502 half-face respirator (I'm afraid full-face would be less modular and a bit bulkier than having my separate goggle solution, but primarily the problem is full-face respirators cost *way* more, and I'm on a semi tight budget right now) with 3M 2097 P100 filters. What's nice about the Uvex Bionic face shield is it is designed to be adjustable to fit over most goggles and respirators, and I'm hoping the headband can fit over a tactical helmet when I eventually add one to protect my skull from blunt force trauma (I can only imagine how much preventable brain damage is caused by lack of skull protection).
What do others here think of this approach? I figure--the face shield should hopefully prevent UV radiation from hitting exposed facial skin even without the balaclava, and then I can even wire up a little moisture mister or something of that sort in there to keep that exposed skin cool. Of course, this assumes the balaclava really would heat up my skin too much. Does anyone here have experience with balaclavas (particularly ones designed more for windbreaking against skin than for warmth in cool weather--I live in a warm, subtropical environment)? And is there something I'm missing here with this layout of gear? (note: this is only for the face; I'll eventually work on upgrading the rest of the body, but I already block pretty much all the skin on my body below the neck from sunlight exposure with long sleeves, pants, and tactical gauntlet-style gloves).
