The faceplate is the hard upper part of the mask, which covers the skull and top/front of the face and snout. This can be made from a variety of materials; hard wood is favoured, and clay or ceramic is also not uncommon. Metal is less common, but not unheard of; carved stone is probably the rarest material for a snow mask to be made out of. On a personalised mask, the faceplate would be fitted to it’s owner’s head, with room left to fit around the ears and horns, if applicable; the ‘snout’ of the faceplate extends beyond the wearer’s real snout, and curves over at the end, forming a sort of cavity. Inside the cavity, the faceplate is moulded to form various chambers, designed to trap warm air in the snout of the mask.

The lower half of the mask is mostly covered by the cowl, which is generally made of a thick, stiff fabric (or something like leather) tailored to the rough head and neck shape of the mask’s owner (or a generalised head shape, if it’s an untailored mask). Some cowls end directly at the neckline; others instead have long fabric sewn in to the design, to be wrapped around the neck and/or torso like scarves. Particularly long designs can also be intended to be wrapped around almost the whole body; full-body outfits like this would generally be referred to as snow gear, rather than just a ‘mask’. It may also be referred to as a mask robe or mask dress.

The third base material used in snow masks is mesh, which is present on the bottom of the jaw area, and on the underside of the ears. The mesh is flexible, allowing for the wearer to have a wider range of movement in the jaw (such as for talking), and also making it easier to hear through the mask. The mesh is usually layered and thick, and may also have a very loose, thin piece of fabric between the layers to prevent heat loss.

The goggles are self explanatory; this is the part of the mask the wearer sees out of. Different masks can have different types of goggles built in to them:

Glare-resistant goggles are characterised by an opaque material with thin slits cut in to it, or glass which has been treated to repel most light. Glare resistance is a common choice for the more sunward cold regions, as light reflected off of snow can cause photokeratisis.

Wide-view goggles take up a larger-than average portion of the faceplate, bearing resemblance to something like a motorcycle helmet or ski goggles. They are generally preferred amongst Benko who spend a lot of time flying, or who otherwise require a wider range of visibility while wearing a mask.

Goggles with hyper- or hypo-etheric glass treatments are intended for use primarily in specific environmental conditions - for example, in some of the far-shadeward regions of Paneia, the atmosphere is very heavy with etherstatic; in a place like that, hypo-etheric glass would prevent residual ether from penetrating the goggles, while hyper-etheric glass would encourage it - which is used would depend mostly on the preferences and purposes of the wearer. Someone with naturally high sensitivities to ether may also find that hypo-etheric glass may reduce the risk of sensory overloads or other complications. (Hyper-etheric = not only allows ether to pass through, but also attracts it to some degree; hypo-etheric = prevents or partially prevents ether from penetrating the glass.)