A mask or mask component having air heating and humidity retention properties and a passive speaking membrane. The mask includes a heat exchanger and a plurality of corresponding air channels. In one embodiment, silver plated copper mesh is used as the heat exchanger. During the exhaling process, the heat exchanger captures heat and humidity from the exhaled air of the user wearing the mask. Further, during the inhaling process, the heat exchanger transfers the captured heat and moisture to the air being inhaled by the user. Condensed water is re-humidified into entering air that has passed through the heat exchanger. The passive speaking membrane permits and is tuned to allow and amplify the passage of the user's voice for better communication.
