The Best Soft Towel

Buying Guide

Whether you’re drying off after a warm bath or want to pamper your face after your skincare routine, having a soft towel is the right way to do it. Rough and poor-quality towels are not only unpleasant to use, but can also irritate your skin after it has been washed.

When looking for a soft towel, one of the most important factors to consider is the grams per square meter, or GSM, which is a metric used to indicate the density of the towel. A high GSM results in a softer, more absorbent and more luxurious-feeling towel. A GSM of 300-400 will give you a lightweight towel, but it will not be soft. These towels are irritating on your skin and do not absorb water very well. A towel with a GSM of 400-620 is softer and can be absorbent. They are still lightweight so they dry quickly.

If you’re going for the ultimate in softness, then you need a towel with a GSM of 620 to 900. These fluffy towels are incredibly soft and envelop your skin. However, because they are so dense, they can take a long time to dry out.

The material a towel is made from also affects the quality and softness. Polyester is an affordable material; however, it is not very absorbent or soft compared to some other options. Supima cotton is a good option with long fibers, making the towel feel soft and fuzzy. Egyptian or Turkish cotton is the next step up and results in a fluffy and incredibly soft towel. This material, while costly, gets softer with each wash.

Some people prefer the feel of a bamboo towel, which is an eco-friendly material. It is highly absorbent and soft; however, it typically doesn’t result in a thick or plush towel.

• If you want to keep your towel feeling soft and fluffy for the long term, then you should wash them without any fabric softeners. While this tip may seem counter intuitive, fabric softeners are not good for towels because some of the residue can get left behind after washing. This makes the towels feel scratchy and rough instead of pillowy soft.
• To fully clean your towels and remove any body oil and soap residue that may remain on them after washing, be sure to wash your towels with vinegar once a month. This will help to get rid of anything left behind on the fabric, including unpleasant musky odors.
• Do your soft and fluffy towels take a long time to dry? It could be as a result of the way you hang them. Towels hung up on hooks take much longer to dry than ones that are hung up on bars. When hung up on a bar, the towels are more spread out and can air out faster than when scrunched up on a hook.
• How many towels do you need for your home? It all depends on how many people live there, how many guests you are expecting and how much space you have for storage. Typically, each person will need at least one bath towel, one hand towel and one wash cloth, but it’s good to have several extra for when you need them. Some people also use bath sheets as well as a towel bathmat. Consider whether you want to get a set of different towels or purchase them individually.