I asked my coworkers to share the best fabric face masks they've personally bought and used — here are our top 8 face masks you can buy online

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Senior editor Sally Kaplan and associate guides editor Jen Gushue wearing the Vida Protective Masks.Sally Kaplan/Business Insider

• The CDC recommends wearing a cloth face mask in public to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• We've bought and tested several different face masks on the Insider Reviews team, so I asked my colleagues to share their favorites, below.
• Read more: The CDC recommends everyone wear a cloth face mask in public — here are 12 of the highest-rated options on Etsy

Wearing a face mask is vital to slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus, along with other CDC guidelines such as maintaining 6 feet of social distance and washing your hands frequently.

Wearing face masks in public is firstly about social responsibility. Cloth face coverings mostly help protect other people from your germs, which is especially important because you could be asymptomatic or presymptomatic and not know that you're carrying the virus. The exceptions to the masks-in-public rule are kids under the age of two and anyone who has trouble breathing or is otherwise unable to remove their mask without assistance.

"If everyone wears a mask when in public, the ones who have illness in them, whether symptomatic or not, will not contaminate the environment," Chris Ziebell, an emergency medical director for US Acute Care Solutions, previously told Business Insider.

Since healthcare workers and COVID-19 patients are most in need of medical-grade surgical masks and N-95 masks, the CDC has encouraged the general public to wear cloth face masks instead.

"We're getting to the point that we want everybody to wear masks when going outside, especially if they're going to be in a setting that cannot be more than six feet apart from others," Roberto Posada, MD, a pediatric infectious disease doctor at Mount Sinai previously said to INSIDER. "Ideally, [they should wear] a new mask each day or each time they have to go out," Posada explained.

• • A snug fit that sits comfortably against the side of the face
  • Ties or ear loops that keep it secure
  • Multiple layers of fabric
  • Allow for breathing without restriction

Throughout the pandemic, the Insider Reviews team has dug into it all — including whether rental cars and Airbnbs are safe as well as where to buy groceries, toilet paper, effective hand sanitizer, EPA-registered cleaning supplies, and face masks. So I decided to ask my colleagues which face masks they've worn and recommend the most, because there's nothing like first-person feedback to help you decide which one is best for you.

Below, you'll find eight of our favorite tried-and-true masks that are comfortable, breathable, reliable, and relatively affordable.