Best cotton pads on the market?

June 16, 2023 12:29 PM

I use little round cotton pads daily to apply toner, remove makeup, etc. The basic CVS level brand seems to have gotten a lot worse over the last year or so, and I'm looking to level up. Do you have a recommendation for a high-quality disposable cotton round that is available through standard US retail channels?

Specifically the issues I have now with the basic drugstore rounds are that they shed and fall apart almost as soon as there's any liquid on them. As a result I have to use tons of them for a task like removing nail polish; and when I use them on my face there are little fiber bits all over the skin that pill up and get stuck when I try to put on serum or moisturizer. (Unless I spend some minutes carefully removing every last little fiber bit from my face beforehand.)

Please NO reusable/cloth options, I do not have easy or reliable laundry access so they are completely impractical.

posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (12 answers total)

If you’re willing to switch shapes to a rectangle, I LOVE White Rabbit cotton pads (Amazon link). No lint, very strong and except for the shape, checks all your criteria. I use the plain ones but they have textured too, if that’s your thing.
posted by Pretty Good Talker at 12:34 PM on June 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

I switched to Q-Tip brand cotton rounds for exactly this reason.
posted by Mavri at 12:37 PM on June 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Oh good call--definitely no reason to be limited to rounds! All shapes are on the table.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 12:46 PM on June 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Shiseido Facial Cotton is one of the best, it looks like it's available at Sephora, Ulta, and others in the US. Target too I think but that may be an online reseller marketplace type thing.

Review link for various options here too, it includes the White Rabbit linked above.
posted by mireille at 1:08 PM on June 16, 2023 [4 favorites]

Best answer: My fav are squares made by Plunking Yul. I get mine at Dear72 which is definitely not a standard US retail channel but they have free shipping above $30 and are located in/ship from Chicago and Champaign, Illinois. They are in a different league than the standard drugstore ones. And if you want to be frugal you can cut them in half depending on how much product you're using. I haven't looked for them elsewhere but I'm sure other retailers have them.
posted by Bunglegirl at 1:37 PM on June 16, 2023

Target's cotton pads, especially the ones that are a little... textured? I don't know what they're called, but there's like the basic cotton round pads and the textured ones that are like a dollar more--those are great!
posted by theotherdurassister at 1:51 PM on June 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

Came in to recommend Shiseido Facial Cotton, but mireille beat me to it.
posted by Juniper Toast at 2:04 PM on June 16, 2023

Best answer: I like the DHC cotton pads, also available at Amazon and other sites.
posted by beaning at 2:49 PM on June 16, 2023

The Shiseido ones are indeed great, and are often available on the cheap at TJ Maxx (at least where I live).
posted by dizziest at 6:17 PM on June 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Ooh thank you all! Great leads on a crowded field.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:34 PM on June 16, 2023

I became obsessed with the Unicharm ones after getting them in Japan, where they’re very popular. I love them because they’re virtually indestructible and super soft on the skin. You can buy boxes on Amazon in the US for a pretty reasonable price!
posted by anotheraccount at 6:38 AM on June 17, 2023

I'm happy with the Swisspers Premium Hypoallergenic Cotton Rounds, which I get from Costco, but they seem to be available other places as well. The quality is better than Target's premium ones. I use them primarily for removing nail polish.

For nails in particular, you might also like the OPI experttouch lint-free nail wipes. I tend to use these when removing just a bit of polish (e.g. 1-2 coats of a thin polish), and the cotton rounds for thicker or chunkier polishes when more of a soak is needed for removal. They are very sturdy, but pretty thin with a rougher texture, so I don't think you could use them for other makeup purposes.
posted by ktkt at 5:24 PM on June 19, 2023