What if we told you that you could cut your hair drying time in half and reduce frizz by doing nothing but changing your towel? Enter the microfiber towel: Made with super absorbent fibers that sop up excess water without roughing up your strands, so you get drier, smoother hair fast.
Here’s Why a Microfiber Hair Towel is the Missing Step in Your Routine
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Published Sep 23, 2021
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Are microfiber towels good for your hair?
In short, yes—at the very least, they’re certainly better for your hair than your standard cotton or terry cloth towel. This is because microfiber towels, by design, reduce the amount of friction your hair is subjected to when towel drying.
Friction can cause frizz and, in some cases, breakage, so by swapping to a gentler towel, you’re also protecting your hair against further damage (while cutting down on dry time altogether).
Can you sleep in a microfiber hair towel?
You can, though we wouldn’t necessarily recommend it unless you have curly hair. In the case of curly or textured hair, sleeping with your curls in a microfiber towel (also known as “plopping”) can keep them in place, so they maintain their shape while you snooze.
When plopping, we’d advise that you prep your curls with any styling products you typically use (i.e., a leave-in conditioner or curl cream) before wrapping your hair up in the microfiber towel. The next morning, gently remove the towel and shake out your hair to let your curls fall naturally and use your fingers—not a brush—to carefully separate any sections that might have clumped together.
OK, ready to shop microfiber hair towels? We’ve round up the 12 best options, based hair type, length and budget, so there’s something for everyone.
Table of Contents
1. Editors’ Pick: Aquis Rapid Dry Lisse Hair Turban
2. Best Value: Duomishu 2 Pack Hair Towel Wrap Turban
3. Best for Kids: Diva Darling Microfiber Hair Towel
4. Best Multi-Purpose: Aquis Original Lisse Body Towel
5. Best for All Hair Types: Scala Microfiber Rectangle Hair Towel Wrap
6. Best for Thick Hair: Turbie Twist Microfiber Hair Towel Wrap 2-Pack
7. Best for Curls: DevaCurl DevaTowel Anti-Frizz Microfiber Towel
8. Best for Wavy Hair: Duracomfort Essentuals Super Absorbent Anti-Frizz Microfiber Hair Towel
9. Most Absorbent: Orthland Hair Towel
10. Best Design: Coco & Eve Microfibre Hair Towel
11. Pro Pick: Vernon François Micro~Fibre Towel
12. Best for Damaged Hair: The Perfect Haircare Ultra-Fine Microfiber Hair Towel Wrap
Dermstore
1. Aquis Rapid Dry Lisse Hair Turban
Editors’ Pick
This was our first foray into microfiber towels, and we haven’t looked back since. It’s large enough to accommodate our hair—at any length—but doesn’t weigh down our heads or wobble around when wrapped up on top. As our fashion editor says: “It’s the easiest hairstyling trick of all time. No complicated instructions or possible weird reactions to work through, just smooth, healthy hair with 50 percent less time and effort.”
Amazon
2. Duomishu 2 Pack Hair Towel Wrap Turban
Best Value
How annoying is it when you wrap your hair up in a towel only to have it slide off your head the minute you step outside the bathroom? This plush microfiber turban has an elastic loop and button stitched in so you can easily secure your strands in place and go about your life (i.e., drink a glass of wine, read a book, prep some dinner) while your hair dries. And at two towels just under ten bucks, you can always have one at the ready while the other is in the wash.
Amazon
3. Diva Darling Microfiber Hair Towel
Best for Kids
Admittedly, we judged a book by its cover—or in this case, a microfiber towel by its name. However, we were pleasantly surprised by how plush it felt. In fact, it’s probably the fluffiest towel of the bunch and equally as absorbent at half the cost. The only drawback we could find is that some people found it to be on the smaller side (which is challenging for people with larger heads or longer hair, but excellent for smaller domes and kids).
Amazon
4. Aquis Original Lisse Body Towel
Best Multi-Purpose
For a full body dry (or if you have very long hair), this XL towel is the way to go. Despite its large size, it’s surprisingly lightweight and easy to pack. (One editor even brings it with her to the gym.) Made from finely-woven microfibers that don’t pill or shed in the wash, it soaks up any water from the surface of your skin as soon as it touches it. It’s basically the Shamwow of bathing towels.
Amazon
5. Scala Microfiber Rectangle Hair Towel Wrap
Best for All Hair Types
Scala’s microfiber hair towel is 100 times finer than human hair, creating a larger surface area that quickly absorbs excess moisture. The spit fibers of this towel dries hair 50 percent faster than conventional cotton or terry cloth towels, leaving your hair perfectly damp and ready for styling. It also eliminates the need to rub your hair to soak up excess water, reducing unnecessary friction and damage your hair normally experiences with towels and hair dryers.
Amazon
6. Turbie Twist Microfiber Hair Towel Wrap 2-pack
Best for Thick Hair
The turbie twist hair turban is super lightweight and doesn’t have any readjustments or slippage. It has a strong elastic loop that keeps the towel secure on your head, so it won’t fall off when you use it to wrap your hair after bath time. If you don’t want to worry about having too much material left over at the end of the day, then this option might be just what you are looking for.
Dermstore
7. Devacurl Devatowel Anti-frizz Microfiber Towel
Best for Curls
The superbly soft and smooth DevaTowel was designed with curls in mind. It strikes the balance between absorbing just enough water to allow any styling products needed to set your spirals in place, while keeping them frizz-free.
Amazon
8. Duracomfort Essentuals Super Absorbent Anti-frizz Microfiber Hair Towel
Best for Wavy Hair
If your hair is on the wavier side, this popular pick (which has 9,000 glowing reviews and counting on Amazon alone) is a solid choice. Made from a blend of polyester and polyamide fibers, it wicks away moisture quickly without disrupting the hair cuticle, so your natural texture can shine.
Amazon
9. Orthland Hair Towel
Most Absorbent
The Orthland Hair Towel has a button-and-loop design and double-stitches with a larger size of 10.6"x 26" for most head sizes and hair types. It’s made from ultra-absorbent microfiber that can hold up to eight times its weight in water while cutting your blow-drying time in half. This towel also features advanced instant dry technology, so you don’t have to worry about frizz or breakage when it’s wet. You won’t notice any difference in the texture of your hair after just a few washes—it will stay on if you have long, thick hair.
Ulta
10. Coco & Eve Microfibre Hair Towel
Best Design
This fan-favorite towel cuts your drying time down significantly, while fighting frizz. It’s also super plush to the touch, machine-washable and comes in this breezy tropical design that makes us smile whenever we catch a glimpse of our reflection in the bathroom mirror.
Thirteen Lune
11. Vernon François Micro~fibre Towel
Pro Pick
Created by celebrity hairstylist Vernon François (who is the mastermind behind Lupita Nyongo’s mane), this microfiber towel is made with ultra-absorbent fibers that reduce any pulling, stress or otherwise unintentional damage that happens during the drying process.
Amazon
12. The Perfect Haircare Ultra-fine Microfiber Hair Towel Wrap
Best for Damaged Hair
If your hair has had a lot of exposure to bleach recently (hello, highlights), and needs more coddling than usual, try swapping in this super-finely weaved towel. For an idea of just how finely weaved we’re talking here, it’s comparable to the little cloths you use on your glasses, which is exactly what you want when you’re dealing with brittle strands.
