In Search Of: Thin, Rough, Quick Drying Towels

April 22, 2024 6:03 PM

Ok, this will probably sound weird but I hate soft and fluffy bath towels. They shed and never absorb moisture which defeats the whole purpose of having a towel. The only place I've ever been that has the perfect towels is my nearby spa and they don't know where theirs come from. Where can I get some that are thin, kind of rough, and also super good at drying? I need both body and hair towels. Microfiber is not a good fit.
posted by The Adventure Begins to Shopping (22 answers total)

I think you’d like “Turkish Towels.” You can get them on Amazon (or many other places). Note that they are thinner, more like a dish cloth, than a thin “typical” bath towel.
posted by raccoon409 at 6:09 PM on April 22 [10 favorites]

Best answer: IKEA has these really thin, cheap plain white towels that cost like $2.49 and dry really fast. They’re like bargain hotel towels. I love them.

Oh hey they’re on clearance
posted by toodleydoodley at 6:14 PM on April 22 [4 favorites]

Is the spa's towel like a Turkish towel? . Or possibly a waffle towel, like this? Links are random examples from Amazon, not an endorsement on that specific one.

Also, I wonder if you are thinking of a terry cloth towel? Those have loops that have not be cut. A cheap terry cloth towel from a place like Target will be thin and rough.
posted by OrangeDisk at 6:15 PM on April 22

I got a huuuge Turkish towel on Ebay for like maybe $14, and prefer it to softer terrycloth.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:34 PM on April 22

Seconding IKEA’s cheaper towels. I prefer them to their top end ones. I have a Turkish towel I use as a blanket because as a towel it’s meh compared to a much washed IKEA cheap towel that scours you dry in seconds.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:39 PM on April 22 [1 favorite]

100% Cotton terrycloth, not plush/velour, never use fabric softener, dry on a clothesline instead of a dryer.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:39 PM on April 22 [8 favorites]

I'm a fan of linen towels for their thinness, absorbency, and quickness to dry. I've gotten them from various Etsy stores.
posted by thataway at 7:01 PM on April 22 [3 favorites]

You might like Japanese-style waffle towels.
posted by praemunire at 7:06 PM on April 22

YMMV but I got some waffle hand towels from IKEA and don't much like them because they feel like they don't have enough contact area with my skin.
posted by ropeladder at 7:33 PM on April 22

dry on a clothesline instead of a dryer

This is key!
posted by ellieBOA at 7:47 PM on April 22 [3 favorites]

In addition to the Ikea towels, Target's cheapest towels are pretty good in the same ways.
posted by whatnotever at 9:11 PM on April 22

We have Riley Spa Towels which we love and which sound like they’d fit the bill. I also hate plush fluffy towels— the Rileys aren’t that. Thinner, sort of rough, very absorbent, but are also clearly Nice Towels that don’t feel cheap.
posted by Special Agent Dale Cooper at 9:49 PM on April 22

i’ve found that my mid-range cotton terry towels turn into this lovely texture if you soak them in really really hot water with vinegar and then drain and follow up with a really really hot water baking soda chaser. i wish i wasn’t too lazy to do it that much!
posted by crime online at 10:05 PM on April 22 [1 favorite]

I live where it is very humid and love my brooklinen towels. I got them on sale (which they are now). They are really big and absorbent and not rough on my skin, but also completely dry out between showers and don't get that gross wet slimy feeling that plush towels do.
posted by fern at 12:09 AM on April 23

I use Outlier Linen towels and think they're great. I use them in my bathroom and I take one with me when I travel as they're the ultimate beach towel as sand doesn't stick to them. They used to make solid, brighty colored ones and I have a safety orange one which is awesome on the beach as it's visible from anywhere in the water so I can easily keep an eye on my stuff and see how far I'm drifting.
posted by dobbs at 12:17 AM on April 23

I enjoy the flat weave towels from mungo if you want to spend a little bit more money and get something colorful
posted by ch1x0r at 1:39 AM on April 23

Seconding TWinbrook8. I call them crispy towels, it's basically any towel I've ever owned after washing cold with no softener and line drying a few times. They are the best.
posted by deadwax at 2:40 AM on April 23 [1 favorite]

I'm a scratchy towel lover, too, and asked a similar question awhile back though not necessarily about quick drying towels. Still, passing on the information. To keep things "scratchy" and absorbent, I always air dry our towels--no dryer.
posted by Elsie at 4:10 AM on April 23 [1 favorite]

Relatedly, I assume you know this, but be sure to avoid fabric softener when washing your towels. It adds a film to your towels that makes them less absorbent.
posted by hydra77 at 6:47 AM on April 23 [1 favorite]

Maybe a tangent, but Turkish towels are a game changer for any family that does a lot of car camping. They pack small and air dry in a flash on the clothesline. We LOVE ours.
posted by hessie at 7:01 AM on April 23

Yeah, if you want that "absorbent, sort of rough and scrubby hotel towel" feeling, it's basic 100% cotton terry towels, white, so you can wash 'em hot with bleach, no fabric softener, and line dry. It's amazing.
posted by xedrik at 11:00 AM on April 23

Advocating here to try using kitchen towels as bath towels. Started in college bc the regular towels just did not dry well enough. Kitchen towels are absorbent and dry extremely quickly when hung over the shower rail -- or if laid flat on a bed/cot, as I do, when traveling or camping.

While small, they are mighty. Usually, I use two - one for my wet hair.
Some are not as immediately absorbent as others. (cough... Ikea)
Any flat weave kitchen towel from Williams & Sonoma is usually perfect, though their classic striped towels seem better than their brocade patterned towels.

The last few years I've added a few larger kitchen towels that I picked up from the grocery store. These are much larger than a regular kitchen towel and usually look like a thin white sheet of cotton. These pick up water even faster than the smaller kitchen towel and are also a bit better for my long hair than the smaller towel as I can turban wrap - but I used a regular kitchen towel for years, clipping it in place with a bobby pin.
Drawback. If it can be called one. I've only seen them in white or 'natural' (tan/beige).
posted by gardenkatz at 11:32 AM on April 24