Everything You Need To Know About Buying Bath Towels

We’re just gonna tell it to you straight: you’re a grown-ass person now, and part of being an adult means not having one ratty old beach towel for all your hand washing, showering, and bathing needs. What we’re trying to say here is that it’s about time you invested in a decent set of hand and bath towels.

If you’ve attempted shopping towels at a major retailer, you may realize how intimidating the process can be. To help with your intro to adulthood, we’re going to give you the basics for buying your very first quality set. Let’s talk quantity: you’ve probably noticed there’s a bunch of different sizes (washcloths, bath sheets, and hand towels, oh my!). For your basic needs, just start with a couple nice sets of hand and bath towels—that’s one to dry off your hands and/or face, and one for your bod post-showering, for those who don’t know.

Towels made of cotton terry will be fluffy and soft on your skin, while those made of microfiber are quick drying, which means less likely to harbor bacteria. If you can find some that utilize both materials (like all the ones features here!), it’s a win-win. And speaking of bacteria, let’s talk about how to keep your towels in tip top shape. A good general rule to live by is to wash your bath towels about every three uses (i.e. wiping down your every nook and cranny) and hand towels—because they’re probably getting wiped on more frequently—every couple days.

Now that you’ve got the scoop, start shopping for your own grown-up towel sets with this handy collection we put together.