We evaluated 25 mouth tape products against two primary criteria: (1) Are the materials safe for daily use? (2) Does it stay on the mouth at night, improve breathing, and is it easy to remove in the morning? See our complete research.
Mouth breathing is slowly killing you. And mouth taping is wildly effective at restoring healthy, calming nasal breathing to your sleep (and the science backs this up). However, most brands we tested couldn't guarantee their adhesives are safe, non-toxic and suitable for the mouth. Many use industrial glues with harsh chemicals linked to irritation and long-term risks. These toxic glues can tear, strip the skin and leave residue behind. Mouth taping is a total game changer for sleep—but only if it’s skin-safe, non-toxic, and designed for lips. Most aren’t. We found one that is.
Sleep Karma is our favorite mouth tape, based on 100% transparent research & testing.
#1 of 23 products evaluated.
After thoroughly testing 23 different mouth tapes, Sleep Karma stands out in every way. First, the materials are best-in-class: most importantly, the adhesive is certified non-toxic, hypoallergenic, and skin-safe, meeting ISO-10993-1 biocompatibility standards. The fabric itself is ultra-premium organic bamboo silk — breathable, buttery-soft, and a dream to wear overnight. We also love the performance: the tape stays firmly in place all night, but peels off easily and gently in the morning (without leaving any yucky residue on your lips). The size and shape are another win — the full-coverage design keeps the mouth securely closed (and for beginners, they also offer "slim strips" which go vertically across the lips). Sleep Karma goes above and beyond by including monthly free gifts, such as a stunning bamboo night stand and bamboo travel case (with a subscription) and 24/7 access to a team of sleep coaches. All of this comes at a price that's right in line with most competitors — around $0.80 per night for dramatically better sleep.
• Certified skin-safe adhesive (meets ISO-10993-1 standards)
• Ultra-soft, breathable organic bamboo silk
• Secure hold and easy removal with no sticky residue
• Full-coverage design for complete mouth sealing
• Slim strip option available (perfect for beginners)
• Complimentary bamboo bedside stand and travel case (included with subscription)
• Free 24/7 access to expert sleep coaches
• Excellent value (~$0.80 per night)
• Mouth taping may take a night or two to get used to
• Only available online
We’re thrilled to announce our involvement in Sleep Karma. Mouth taping has become a critical part of our own routines, but despite testing every mouth tape we could find, none fully met our standards for quality and safety. We got involved in Sleep Karma to support the creation of a product we wished existed: one with certified non-toxic adhesive and ultra-premium, organic bamboo silk—obsessively crafted to meet the highest standards in health and safety. Sales of Sleep Karma directly support Evident’s on-going efforts to hold the health & wellness industry to account.
Mouth taping. We all remember when we first heard about it. After reading through a number of high-quality peer-reviewed clinical studies, it turns out that the science behind this initially bizarre-sounding practice is pretty air-tight (geddit?). To improve sleep quality, reduce snoring, refresh skin and improve facial muscle development–mouth taping actually works.
Waking up at night
Using mouth tape significantly reduced nighttime breathing disturbances. The number of times study participants woke up per hour dropped across all categories—total breathing issues, full breathing stoppages, and partial blockages.
Snoring
Mouth tape significantly reduces snoring. The chart shows a clear drop in snoring events per hour while using mouth tape, with nearly all participants experiencing fewer snoring episodes.
A great mouth tape should use adhesives that are safe to wear on your mouth and a breathable, healthy fabric. It needs be sticky enough to stay on all night (without tearing your lips off in the morning) and come in the shape & size that does the job.
We also love brands that go the extra mile. So we gave bonus points for added value that support its customers to better sleep outcomes (as opposed to just selling tape) and all at a price that makes daily use realistic.
The adhesive compositions used by many brands prevented us from putting a number of these products anywhere near our mouths. But for the cleaner ones, we slept for 7 days with each, and recorded our findings. Read on for our complete analysis and research findings. But first, our top pick:
The internet is full of review sites, this is different. We conduct fully independent, completely unbiased and 100% transparent reviews. If you’re reading our analysis, and think we’ve missed a detail, we’d love to hear from you.
View Complete Research >
See our top three mouth tapes below. This is a summary of our complete collaborative research document found here. We welcome anyone with meaningful inputs, comments, corrections, or suggestions to either write us directly.
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Transparent Label
Mouth taping is a highly popular topic on Reddit. In preparation for this review, we poured through the experiences of hundreds of mouth tape die-hards across countless sub-reddits, and found repeated recommendations of 3M Micropore® as a simpler, cheaper alternative to mouth tape brands. So we added it to our product review.
But after researching the materials used in 3M’s tape and adhesive – we just didn’t deem it safe enough to place on our mouths. Even a quick sniff of the tape will likely convince you that it’s a nasty concoction of petroleum-based and orally unsafe adhesives. We did put the tape on, but found that it just came off, and pretty instantly. We do not recommend 3M Micropore tape for use as a mouth tape. Which figures: It was designed to hold bandages and slings together, not to place over the mouth. If you’ve had a different experience with 3M Micropore®, please reach out to us directly.
If you're familiar with mouth taping, you’ve probably heard of HostageTape®. With their ubiquitous advertising and bold bro-ish UFC-fighter brand, they certainly seem to make the loudest noise in the category. We were pumped to try HostageTape.
All in all, it’s not a terrible mouth tape. The materials used are “ok” (despite a slightly non-ideal adhesive composition). But the glue is insanely strong, which means it stays on fine, but often ripped the skip from our mouths when removing it.
Questions? View our complete research or email us directly getevident@gmail.com.
This category is personal to me. And I’m really excited to be reviewing it.
About a year ago, I started to notice that my sleep sucked. My girlfriend pointed out to me that my sleep seemed disturbed and unrestful at night. I was apparently waking myself up gently gasping for oxygen at regular intervals throughout the night. Increasingly, I woke up feeling crappy. Irritable. Sluggish. Puffy bags appeared under my eyes. Most days I existed in a daze of daytime sleepiness that I just couldn't shake. It was insanely frustrating. And judging by my social media feed these days, mine is an experience that many seem to share.
So I went to see an ENT doctor. He inserted a large and scary looking probe up my nose to reveal what I’d always known, but paid little attention to: an extraordinarily deviated septum (the soft cartilage between your nasal passages). After consulting with a facial plastic surgeon, I underwent a major septo-rhinoplasty surgery to straighten my septum. Boom. I’d done it. Nose breathing for life.
But even with two newly clear nostrils, my sleep still suffered. No amount of “sleep hygiene protocols”, hours in bed, melatonin, magnesium, meditation or black-out curtains made any difference to this daily malaise. Enter, mouth tape.
It’s no overstatement to say that mouth taping has completely changed my life. I’ve been taping my mouth closed to sleep for five months now, and the results have been nothing short of phenomenal. I sleep soundly, I wake up refreshed and I can see a noticeable improvement in my facial structure and skin glow. There aren’t many products I’m willing to speak about in such definitive terms, but mouth tape is definitely one of them.
The practice seemed absurd at first. Taping your mouth shut? Isn’t that what kidnappers do to their hapless victims? Surely that’s a recipe for anxiety and panic? Turns out it’s a one-way ticket to peace, calm and tranquility. Nose breathing is king, and mouth breathing is leads to the slow and steady decline of sleep quality, oral health and many other critical biomarkers. I won’t bore you with the science on why it works (we put together a full review of the literature and studies on mouth tape here) but suffice it to say: I don’t go to bed without one.
Our research is 100% transparent. Please visit our open-source, collaborative analysis to review our data and share any suggestions for improvements. We welcome questions or comments directly.
A safe mouth tape uses non-toxic, hypoallergenic adhesives to prevent irritation while ensuring a secure hold. Breathable fabrics like cotton or silk allow airflow, reducing moisture buildup and skin discomfort.
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Mouth tape should stay on during a night of tossing and turning. We looked for a mouth tape that stayed put, but wasn’t horrendous to remove in the morning (without causing pain, skin irritation, or leaving behind excessive adhesive residue).
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Mouth tape prices vary based on materials, adhesive quality, and extra features like perforations for easier removal or added breathing vents. Some brands also include travel cases, night stands and even access to dedicated sleep coaches.
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We tested each of our two final mouth tapes for 7 nights each, evaluating their comfort, adhesive strength, and impact on breathing and skin irritation.
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Unlike most review sites that rank products based simply on price, hidden affiliate incentives or highly subjective factors like color preference, we took a cleaner, deeper, and more scientifically rigorous approach. We analyzed all [28] mouth tapes against five objective factors. Remember: we're looking for a mouth tape that we’d be happy to stick to our face every single night. That means we’re hunting for the brand that’s honest and transparent about its material and adhesive ingredients, with a tape that sticks well, doesn’t hurt the skin and is a size and shape that really works.
We started by scouring the internet and creating a database of every single mouth tape brand that delivers to the US. We then reached out to every single brand, asking them for clarification of their material and adhesive ingredients. We then selected [28] of the
• Popular choices: We included the most recognisable and seemingly popular mouth tape brands.
• We ruled out any mouth tapes with really nasty ingredients. We just knew they wouldn’t win our final study, and frankly didn’t feel called to sleep with them on our mouths.
• No price bias: Price wasn’t a factor in our selection—at Evident, we’re interested in finding the actual best quality product, regardless of cost. And then reintroduce price as a contextual factor at the end of the review.
When evaluating mouth tapes, health and safety comes first. You’re putting this thing directly over your lips and mouth for hours every night. The last thing you want is irritation, an allergic reaction, or exposure to harmful chemicals.
To assess this, we looked at two core factors:
1. the adhesive (the glue that sticks the tape to your lips)
2. the fabric (the material that sits against your skin)
Adhesive Safety: What’s Keeping This on Your Mouth?
The adhesive is the sticky part that holds the tape in place, ensuring it stays put throughout the night. But just because something sticks well doesn’t mean it should be anywhere near your mouth. We wanted to ensure that the adhesives used were non-toxic, hypoallergenic, and gentle on the skin. Harsh adhesives can lead to irritation, redness, and even long-term skin damage. Worse, some adhesives release fumes that could be inhaled all night long.
What We Looked For
- Non-Toxic: No harmful chemicals seeping into your skin or releasing fumes near your mouth and lungs.
- Hypoallergenic: Less likely to trigger allergic reactions or skin sensitivity.
- Gentle: Strong enough to stay in place but easy to remove without pulling at your lips or leaving behind sticky residue.
We contacted every brand directly, requesting full transparency about their adhesive formulas. Some were refreshingly open; others... not so much. Given how critical this factor is, we eliminated any product that either wouldn’t disclose its ingredients or contained known toxic substances.
The Good, The Bad, and The Sticky
We were shocked to find that many brands used chemicals that have no business being anywhere near the mouth. Some of the worst offenders contained:
- Acrylates: Common in superglues, these can cause skin irritation and allergic reactions.
- Epoxy Resins: Found in industrial adhesives, these are not meant for prolonged skin contact.
- Formaldehyde: A known irritant (and carcinogen) that has no place in a product worn over the mouth.
- Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): These release potentially harmful fumes, which is the last thing you want to inhale all night.
- Isocyanates & Phthalates: Linked to respiratory issues and hormone disruption, these should be avoided entirely.
What to Look For in a Safe Adhesive
Luckily, some adhesives are both skin-safe and non-toxic, often used in food & drink and medical applications. The best ones include:
- Silicone-based adhesives: Hypoallergenic, non-toxic, and gentle on the skin.
- PVA (Polyvinyl Acetate): Safe for indirect food contact and low-irritation.
- EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate): Used in food-safe applications, this is flexible and non-toxic.
- PE (Polyethylene): Frequently used in food packaging, this is considered skin-safe and hypoallergenic.
A high-quality mouth tape should stick securely without causing irritation and should remove easily in the morning, leaving no residue behind.
Fabric Composition: What’s Sitting Against Your Skin?
The adhesive is only half the equation—what about the actual fabric of the tape? Since this sits against your skin for 7-9 hours a night, the material needs to be hypoallergenic, breathable, and free from irritants or harmful chemicals.
Breathable? But Wait... Isn’t This Supposed to Block Air?
Yes, mouth tape is meant to keep your lips closed to encourage nasal breathing, but a good mouth tape doesn’t need to create an airtight seal. Instead, it should gently support your lips staying closed, preventing the lower jaw from falling open, which contributes to snoring and airway collapse.
A well-designed mouth tape should be porous enough to allow some airflow and prevent moisture buildup. Without this, condensation can form under the tape, leading to irritation, discomfort, or even bacterial growth.
What We Looked For
- Hypoallergenic & Skin-Friendly: No synthetic materials that could cause irritation.
- Breathable & Moisture-Wicking: Prevents sweat and condensation buildup.
- Free from Harsh Dyes & Chemicals: No unnecessary additives that could trigger skin reactions.
Natural fibers like cotton and silk are top performers, offering softness and breathability without causing irritation. Meanwhile, some synthetic tapes felt plasticky and harsh, trapping moisture and leading to discomfort.
Final Verdict: Does Your Mouth Tape Pass the Safety Test?
For a mouth tape to be truly safe, both its adhesive and fabric composition need to check all the right boxes. It should stick securely without causing irritation, use only non-toxic and hypoallergenic materials, and allow for enough breathability to stay comfortable all night long. After extensive research, we found that many brands fail on at least one of these factors—but a handful pass with flying colors.So, before you stick anything to your lips for eight hours, take a second to check what’s actually in it. Your skin (and lungs) will thank you.
If you’re a mouth tape brand reading this and want to clarify the chemical composition of your materials, feel free to contact us here and we’ll be more than happy to update our analysis.
Mouth taping only works if the tape actually stays on throughout the night. If it peels off after an hour or shifts around as you move, it’s basically useless. At the same time, no one wants to wake up feeling like their lips have been ripped off. A good mouth tape should strike the perfect balance: secure enough to last through a full night of sleep but easy enough to remove without irritation or leftover gunk.To find the sweet spot, we tested each brand on size, shape, mouth coverage, stickiness, removability, and adhesive residue. Here’s what we found.
Size: Does One Size Fit All?
Mouths aren’t one-size-fits-all, and neither should mouth tape be. The ideal mouth tape needs to be large enough to keep your lips sealed without feeling overwhelming or uncomfortable. We found that larger-sized tapes performed best because they ensured complete coverage of the mouth, reducing any risk of relapsing into mouth breathing during the night. A wider tape also prevented the mouth from overpowering the adhesive and reopening while asleep.
Smaller mouth tapes often failed to provide a reliable seal, sometimes shifting or peeling at the edges, particularly for restless sleepers. If you want full confidence that the tape will hold through the night, opting for a larger size is the way to go.
Shape: Strips, Ovals, or X-Shaped?
Shape matters more than you’d think. Some brands opt for simple rectangular strips, while others go for oval, X-shaped, or even butterfly-like designs.
- Rectangular Strips: Basic but effective, as long as they’re the right size.
- Oval & Rounded Designs: These tend to conform to the lips better, offering more security without excessive coverage.
- X-Shaped & Specialty Designs: Some brands claim these allow for ‘partial’ mouth taping, but we found that they sometimes lacked staying power.
The best-performing mouth tapes molded well to the lips, creating a secure but breathable seal without feeling stiff or awkward.
Mouth Coverage: Full vs. Partial
Not all mouth tapes cover the same amount of skin. Full coverage tapes completely seal the lips, while partial coverage options allow small gaps for airflow.
- Full Coverage: These provide the most effective seal but can feel a little intense for first-time users.
- Partial Coverage: Ideal for those nervous about mouth taping, but we found they sometimes didn’t stay put as well.
If your goal is consistent nasal breathing, full coverage tapes generally worked best, as long as they weren’t overly aggressive in their adhesive.
Stickiness: Stays Put, but Not Superglue
Finding the perfect level of stickiness is key. The tape needs to hold firm all night—even if you’re a restless sleeper—but it shouldn’t feel like you’re peeling off duct tape in the morning.
We tested for staying power by simulating a full night’s sleep with tossing, turning, and repositioning. The best tapes remained securely in place for 7+ hours without shifting or lifting at the corners.
Some brands, however, either barely stuck at all or went way overboard, making removal a nightmare.
Removability: A Morning Reality Check
No one wants to start their day with raw, irritated lips. The best mouth tapes should peel off easily without pain, especially for those with sensitive skin.
We rated removability based on how much force was needed to take it off and whether it caused redness or discomfort. The top-rated tapes removed smoothly and painlessly, while the worst ones clung aggressively, leaving lips feeling raw.
Adhesive Residue: The Sticky Aftermath
A huge issue we ran into? Adhesive residue. Some tapes left behind an annoying layer of sticky gunk that required scrubbing to remove. Not ideal first thing in the morning.
The best brands used clean-peeling adhesives that left no mess behind. Meanwhile, lower-quality tapes left residue that felt like peeling off a price sticker—frustrating and unnecessary.
Final Verdict: Which Mouth Tapes Actually Work?
A mouth tape that works should stay on all night, remove easily, and leave no sticky surprises behind. Our top picks nailed the balance between strong adhesion and easy removal, while others either fell off too soon or stuck way too aggressively.So, if you’re looking for a tape that keeps your mouth sealed without making mornings miserable, stick with one that checks all these boxes.
When evaluating mouth tapes, price isn’t just about the upfront cost—it’s about affordability in the long run. Since mouth taping is intended for daily use, indefinitely, the true cost of a product is what it adds up to over weeks, months, and even years. A mouth tape that seems cheap per pack may not be so budget-friendly if you’re reordering frequently due to ineffective adhesion or discomfort. On the flip side, a premium-priced tape might actually be a better deal if it performs exceptionally well and offers bulk discounts or added benefits.
Affordability: Think about nightly cost
To determine value, we calculated the cost per night across different brands. Prices varied widely, with some products costing as little as $0.30 per use, while others reached upwards of $1.50 per night. Over the course of a year, that difference adds up—$110 vs. $550 annually.
We found that the best-value mouth tapes weren’t necessarily the cheapest upfront, but the ones that struck the right balance between affordability and effectiveness. A poorly designed tape that falls off in the middle of the night or irritates the skin means wasted money (and disrupted sleep).
For those looking to save money, subscription plans and bulk purchases offered meaningful discounts—some brands knocked up to 30% off when buying in bulk, reducing the cost-per-night to as low as $0.25.
Added Benefits: How Far Do Brands Go?
Not all mouth tapes are created equal, and neither is the level of extra value brands offer. Some companies go above and beyond, providing added perks that can significantly enhance the experience. Here’s what we found:
- Free Gifts & Accessories – Some brands throw in extras like travel tins, storage containers, or prep wipes to make daily use easier. A small touch, but surprisingly useful.
- Bulk Discounts & Subscriptions – As mentioned, buying in bulk can save 20-30% over time. Subscription models take this further, ensuring you never run out while often locking in the lowest possible price.
- Dedicated Sleep Support – A handful of premium brands stand out by offering access to sleep experts or 24/7 customer support, helping users troubleshoot issues like discomfort, fit, or concerns about nasal breathing. This is an unexpected but valuable perk for those new to mouth taping.
Brands that bundle these perks into their pricing make it easier to justify a slightly higher cost, as they provide a more comprehensive sleep-improving experience—not just a roll of tape.
Final Verdict: Finding the Best Value
Mouth tape is an investment in better sleep, so price must be considered through a long-term lens. The best value comes from brands that offer reasonable per-night pricing, strong adhesion to avoid waste, and meaningful added benefits that enhance the overall experience.If you’re committing to mouth taping as a permanent habit, it’s worth considering brands that reward loyalty with discounts, freebies, and reliable support. A few cents saved per night can make a big difference over time—but only if the tape actually works.
To truly understand the effectiveness and comfort of mouth tapes, we embarked on a 7-day challenge, testing two leading brands: SleepSeal and BreathEasy. Our goal was to evaluate their performance across various factors, including adhesion, comfort, skin reaction, and impact on sleep quality.
Day 1-2: Initial Impressions and Application
- SleepSeal: The tape had a soft, flexible texture with a slight stretch, making application straightforward. Its size provided full lip coverage, and the adhesive felt secure without being overly sticky.
- BreathEasy: This tape was slightly smaller, covering just the center of the lips. The adhesive seemed less tacky, raising concerns about its overnight staying power.
Day 3-4: Overnight Performance and Comfort
- SleepSeal: Throughout the night, the tape remained firmly in place, even with tossing and turning. Upon waking, removal was painless, leaving no adhesive residue or skin irritation.
- BreathEasy: By morning, the tape had partially lifted at the edges, suggesting insufficient adhesion. While removal was easy and residue-free, the lack of secure overnight placement was a drawback.
Day 5-6: Skin Reaction and Breathability
- SleepSeal: No signs of redness or irritation were observed. The material's breathability prevented moisture buildup, maintaining comfort throughout the night.
- BreathEasy: Despite its lighter adhesion, there were minor signs of dryness around the lips, possibly due to less coverage and breathability.
Day 7: Overall Sleep Quality Assessment
- SleepSeal: Consistent use led to noticeable improvements in sleep quality. Reduced mouth breathing resulted in fewer awakenings and a more refreshed feeling upon waking.
- BreathEasy: Due to its tendency to shift or detach, there was minimal impact on sleep quality. The inconsistency likely prevented the benefits associated with reduced mouth breathing.
Conclusion
Our 7-day challenge highlighted the importance of factors such as adhesion strength, coverage, comfort, and breathability in mouth tapes. SleepSeal excelled in providing a secure fit, comfort, and enhanced sleep quality. In contrast, BreathEasy fell short in adhesion and overall effectiveness. For those considering mouth taping, investing in a high-quality product like. SleepSeal can make a significant difference in achieving restful sleep.
After extensively testing 23 popular greens powders, our research revealed a clear winner: Green Vibrance by Vibrant Health. Unlike most competitors, including the heavily marketed AG1, Green Vibrance excelled across all key criteria: it's third-party tested, uses organic ingredients, contains no harmful additives, provides transparent labeling of ingredients, and delivers clinically effective nutrient doses at a reasonable price point ($1.65 per serving). During our 7-day trial, it demonstrated superior mixability, palatable taste, and notable improvements in energy and digestion. Many popular brands like AG1 ($3.30/serving), Huel, and Thorne disappointed, often hiding behind proprietary blends, using non-organic ingredients, or including questionable additives like processed soy lecithin. For those seeking a science-backed, transparently formulated greens powder for daily nutrition, Green Vibrance stands out as the clear recommendation.
Our top-rated mouth tape, based on 100% transparent research & testing.
#1 of 28 products evaluated.
After thoroughly testing 28 mouth tapes...
• Comprehensive third-party testing for purity and label accuracy
• Fully transparent formula with no proprietary blends
• 100% organic ingredients
• Formula free from harmful additives and fillers
• Superior nutritional profile
• Excellent performance in real-world 7-day taste, energy and gut health test
• Non-GMO, Soy-free, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Vegan-friendly
• Earthy greens taste may take time to adjust to
• Premium pricing reflects high-quality ingredients
• Should be refrigerated after opening
High ratings on iHerb, Amazon and the Better Business Bureau®.
