outside the labs

Best Hair Towels of 2025

We tried out microfiber hair towels from DevaCurl, Turbie Twist, and other brands to find the best for drying different hair types

By Pang-Chieh Ho
Senior Home & Appliances Writer

Updated May 19, 2025

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six hair towels — Several evaluators with various hair textures and lengths tried hair towels for a month, and spoiler alert: More expensive does not necessarily mean better.

My least favorite part of washing my hair is drying it at the end. When I had longer hair, the process of blow-drying it took forever. And even now, with shorter hair that’s fairly straight, I still think of hair-drying as a chore, something to be endured while I count down the minutes it takes.

I appreciate anything that can cut down on my hair-drying time, and a hair towel is one of them. They’re more effective than regular towels at drying hair, says Nicole Negbenebor, MD, a dermatologic surgeon at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. They’re also usually made of a softer material and less likely to cause damage to the hair compared with a regular towel, says Lauren Ploch, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Augusta, Ga.

In this article

Best Hair Towels: Editor's Pick Best Absorption Nice and Snug Budget Pick Good for Longer Hair We Want Cheap, But Not Cheap in Quality
How We Evaluated Hair Towels

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Pang-Chieh Ho

Pang-Chieh Ho is a senior content creator at Consumer Reports who writes about the intersections of home products and health. She has been working in the media industry for almost 10 years. Books are her first love, but movies come a close second. You can send tips to her at [email protected].