China’s Beachgoers Rock the Face-Kini

If you’re planning on a Chinese beach vacation for your next holiday, you may get quite a shock. Instead of the usual sun protection methods, like sun cream, umbrellas, and hats, people in China are resorting to wearing a balaclava-style face mask, with an attached body suit.

This interesting, effective, and slightly scary piece of clothing is known as the Face-kini and can be found all along the Chinese coast.

It is made of the same material as normal swimwear, covers the entire face and neck with small holes for the eyes and mouth, and is being dubbed ‘China’s latest beach craze.’ While this is somewhat correct, as popularity and global attention has only recently begun picking up, the strange product has actually been produced and sold since 2004.

The Face-kini was originally hand produced and sold through friends and family around the Shandong province, but one local store claims to have sold over 30,000 in the past year alone. Currently, they are being sold online and come in a variety of different colors and designs, some claiming to hold special purposes, such as orange being useful for repelling nearby sharks.

Face-kini’s are priced from one to five dollars, a small price to pay for sun protection.