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TheWashDay editorial · Updated · From the makers’ own pages · How we compare
A smooth towel lets you squeeze water out of your curls without rubbing them apart. These nine are compared by what their makers publish: cotton T-shirt fabric or microfiber, flat towel or wrap, size, closure and care. For plopping, a large flat towel or a turban made for it works best; for scrunching, any smooth towel you can hold.
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Prices are from each maker’s own store, checked .
A device without a price here is one whose maker’s store gave us no single price for the version we list.
Maker directions, sizes and label details for each product
Hair towels, wraps and turbans whose makers publish their fabric and how to use them, from the makers’ own US pages. We haven’t used or tested them, and commissions never change the list or its order.
Plopping, scrunching or wrapping
Plopping means laying your styled curls into a towel and wrapping it up while they set; Bounce Curl says 20 to 30 minutes with its turban, and Curlfriend Collective describes its 45 x 30 inch towel for it. Scrunching means cupping the towel under your curls and squeezing upward to take water out; DevaCurl and Curlsmith describe their flat towels for that. A wrap or turban with a button or elastic loop holds your hair up while you get ready.
Whichever you use, press or squeeze rather than rub: the point of a smooth towel is to take water out without pulling curls apart.
Curlfriend Collective’s duo is 100% organic cotton in two sizes, 45 x 30 and 24 x 12 inches, washed cold and hung to dry. Breezy Tee’s is a long 18 x 47 inch T-shirt-cotton towel, certified OEKO-TEX Standard 100 or GOTS, that you can tumble dry on low; its page says to wash at 30°C or below and its FAQ says cold, so cold covers both. Neither has a closure: you wrap and tuck.
Microfiber towels, wraps and turbans
DevaCurl’s DevaTowel (39 x 20 inches) and Curlsmith’s Microfiber Towel (39 x 27.5 inches, 88% polyester and 12% polyamide) are flat towels for scrunching or wrapping; Curlsmith says to hand wash its towel in warm water with a mild liquid soap. Rizos Curls’ Microfiber Towel + Wrap is a large 38.8 x 32.2 inch towel with a built-in band.
The turbans and wraps hold your hair up: Bounce Curl’s Satin Microfiber Turban has a satin outside, a bowl for your hair and a button loop; Turbie Twist’s is a tapered microfiber turban with an elastic loop, in Standard and XL; Kitsch’s Microfiber Hair Towel has an elastic pocket and a button, and its XL Hair Towel Wrap an elastic strap. Kitsch gives no measurements for either and no care directions.
Washing them
Turbie Twist says not to use fabric softener, and to wash its towel before first use on a gentle, low-heat cycle. Rizos Curls and Curlfriend Collective say to wash cold, without bleach, and hang to dry; DevaCurl says machine wash and hang to dry. Bounce Curl and Kitsch give no care directions.
What this comparison does and doesn’t claim
We haven’t used these towels; we compare what their makers publish. This isn’t a ranking. Some makers give drying-time claims, such as Kitsch’s “cuts drying time in half”; we can’t check those and don’t repeat them as facts. We don’t show prices on this page yet; each maker’s page has its current price.
Questions before your next wash
Is a T-shirt better than a microfiber towel for curls?
Both are smooth, which is what matters for squeezing water out without rubbing. Cotton T-shirt fabric is a natural fiber, and both cotton towels here are washed cold; microfiber is polyester and polyamide, and some makers say no fabric softener.
How long should I plop?
Bounce Curl gives 20 to 30 minutes for its turban; the other makers here give no time. Our plopping guide covers how to judge it.
