The 11 Best Hair Towels for Frizz-Free Tresses, According to Editors and Experts
Your hair deserves an upgrade — and these expert-loved picks are the perfect, budget-friendly gifts.
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There’s nothing worse than having to wait for your hair to dry. Whether you opt to risk it and let your hair air-dry or always end up blow-drying your strands after you step out of the shower, hairstylists promise that using a hair towel can help significantly improve your hair’s health and appearance. But what exactly should you look out for when shopping for hair towels? And which hair towels do hairstylists actually use? To answer these questions, our beauty editor, Nicole Saunders, spoke with stylists about all things hair towels.
The Best Hair Towels
- Best Overall: Aquis Flip Hair-Drying Tool
- Best for Fine Hair: Yes Tree Organic Bamboo Hair Towel Wrap
- Best Value Set: Turbie Twist Microfiber Hair Towel (4-pack)
- The Oprah-Approved Brand: Cozy Earth Hair Towel
- Best Personalized Gift: Weezie Towels Hair Towel
What to Consider
Material
According to hairstylist Nicholas Taylor and Shvonne Perkins, master colorist at Madison Reed, microfiber hair towels are the gold standard. Since they gently soak up water from wet strands without damaging the hair shaft, they’re an excellent option for virtually every hair type, length, and texture. They’re also more absorbent and fight frizz by smoothing strands of hair.
“Think of your hair and skin like fabrics with different strengths and malleability. Figuratively speaking, the skin on your body is like cotton, and your hair is like silk,” says Taylor. “A terry cloth might be totally appropriate for your skin, and the texture is actually helpful in removing water quickly from your body. But that rougher texture isn’t doing any favors to your hair because it’s creating surface friction.”
Microfiber towels are also a more suitable option if you dye your hair. "Having friction in the drying process and roughing up the cuticle leaves your [color-treated] hair open to quickly fading," adds Perkins.
Size
Your hair texture and fullness, also called density, will help you determine the best hair towel size to shop for your hair. Taylor says hair towel size is important because you want to make sure it’s large enough to wrap all of your hair and thick enough to handle the moisture that comes out of your strands.
Luckily, most of the hair towels on our list, such as the PATTERN Microfiber Towel and DevaCurl DevaTowel Anti-Frizz Microfiber Towel, are one-size-fits-all for the most flexibility. As for the only outlier, the Luxe Beauty Essentials Microfiber Hair Towel Wrap is massive and extra-absorbent, making it ideal for those with long, thick hair.
Closure
Some hair towels, such as the Turbie Twist Microfiber Hair Towel Wrap, sport fasteners to keep your wrapped-up hair in place. These closures allow you to do other things around the house, like applying makeup or picking out an outfit, while your hair is drying. If you opt for a hair towel without a closure, that's okay, too. It just means if you wrap your hair up in a towel, it won't be as secure if you use one with a closure. Either way, we fully stand by all of our selections and know you'll be happy with any of these highly-rated hair towels.
How We Chose
Ready to part ways with your cotton towel once and for all? Keep scrolling to find the best hair towels that tame frizz for smoother, sleeker strands. Perkins and Taylor shared a few of their favorite hair towels, while others were selected by Saunders because they’re aligned with our big three shopping criteria: material, size, and closure.
The best part? These hair towels start at just $13 and boast glowing 5-star reviews across your most trusted retailers, including Amazon, Sephora, and Nordstrom. Happy shopping!
Nicole Saunders is the beauty editor at Best Products with over seven years of experience researching, writing, and editing lifestyle content. She specializes in breaking down complicated topics, like high-frequency wands and microcurrent devices, into easy-to-understand guides. She takes great pride in heavily researching and testing featured beauty products, — such as hairdryers and foundations — on our site, and spotlights her all-time seasonal favorites in her quarterly column Best New Beauty. And she tests quite literally thousands of launches for our Beauty Awards package.
Emily is a contributor for BestProducts.com, where she’s searching the web for the greatest finds in fashion, beauty, and wellness. Her work has been featured in Allure, Byrdie, E! News, and more.
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