Air pollution kills an estimated seven million people a year around the world according to the World Health Organization.

With polluted air, particularly in busy cities, contributing to an increase in ongoing health issues, many commuters are looking for solutions to protect themselves from the risks.

Airhead is a British-made pollution mask founded in June 2019, before the pandemic, and is now available for sale. Designed with the purpose of protecting wearers from city pollution, Airhead combines personality with real, research-backed innovation.

Airhead is the brainchild of socially conscious entrepreneurial university friends Harry Young, Alex Smith, and Elliot Denvir. The trio enlisted the help of a team of industry-leading researchers and scientists from Brunel University in 2019 to create a mask capable of blocking PM2.5 particulates from the air, as well as tiny particles down to 0.3 microns in diameter.

Crucially, the Airhead mask features a TPE seal to ensure no air leakage, as well as rear-facing valves to quickly move hot air away from the face. Although designed specifically to protect the wearer from city pollution, the mask also comes with exhalation valve blockers, to make it suitable for use as a Covid face covering in crowded places.

With more and more research showing that commuting in polluted cities can have a detrimental effect on long-term health, including links to heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory diseases, Airhead is aimed at those who love being active outdoors but want to protect themselves from the dangers of air pollution.

Providing maximum comfort and breathability, effective filtration, an airtight fit which prevents leakage, and offering a sustainable alternative to disposable masks, the Airhead Mask is a solution for those who love being active outdoors, and to improve their lives when they are on the move around the city.

After quitting their jobs and with very little funding, Alex, Elliot and Harry would take to the streets of London promoting Airhead with guerrilla street marketing tactics before a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign propelled them into becoming one of the top 0.5% most funded projects on the crowdfunding platform.

In 2020, Airhead became an award-winning member of the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator and won a government-funded competition to help it expand in India. Following this success, the company launched its Kickstarter campaign in April, with its target of £30,000 achieved in just four hours and a total of £315,511 raised overall, emphasising the demand for pollution protection.

Designed and produced in the UK, the masks were initially only available through crowdfunded pre-orders, but are now for sale to the general public through Airhead’s website.