In the last year, COVID-19 has changed a lot about beauty appointments. In most states, it's a requirement to wear a protective cloth or medical face mask while visiting hair salons [1] and other establishments that offer popular beauty treatments, but as more-contagious variants of the virus [2] begin to circulate in the US, a new report from the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) [3] suggests that it may now be best to wear two face masks for optimal protection [4] when going out in public. If you're wondering if it's a good idea to double up when heading to your next beauty appointment, the short answer is yes.

"If the CDC recommends it, then I do too," Devin Toth [5], a hairstylist at New York City's Salon SCK [6], told POPSUGAR. "I'm wearing two masks today at the salon."

The CDC defines double masking as wearing a protective cloth mask [7] over a surgical mask. According to the organisation's findings, if a person wears a double mask and the people around them do the same, this can decrease the risk of exposure and transmission by 95 percent.

"Double masking creates more of an obstacle course for the viral particle to navigate its way from the air into your nose, throat, and then lungs," Sri Banerjee, PhD, an epidemiologist and core faculty member at Walden University, previously told POPSUGAR. "This is how two masks may help create a stronger shield between you and the virus."

To ensure that you're properly protecting yourself, make sure that you're wearing a cloth face mask that's snug and properly fits your face and/or a mask with at least two layers and a filter in between. It's also important to ensure that first mask covers the nose and mouth completely. If you're heading to a hair appointment, specifically to get colour, Toth recommends wearing a cloth mask that you don't mind getting dirty.

"If you're getting colour done, don't wear a fancy cloth mask because you will most likely get hair dye on its straps," he said. "Even if you're just getting a haircut, you don't want to get little hairs inside of your nice cloth mask."

At the end of the day, one mask is better than no mask at all, but if your main concern is remaining safe as the virus continues to spread, wearing a double mask is in your best interest.