Best Disposable Facial Towels
Clean SkinClub didn't win our test of these cloths, which are perfect for drying and makeup removal and that derms say are good. No germy towels here.
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Any time I wash my face and look up to see one lone used towel hanging on a hook, my soul cries. Drying your clean face on a towel someone else has used—or on a towel you set aside just for yourself but don’t wash in hot water after every three to five uses—leaves you vulnerable to bacterial exposure. If you have small children, I don’t have to tell you how often they wipe their dirty hands on towels—and how that dirt can then be transferred to your clean skin when you use that same towel. Yikes.
“Dirty towels can contain oil, bacteria, dead skin cells, sweat, and product buildup, which may clog pores, worsen acne, cause body odor or eye/face irritation, and potentially lead to bacterial/fungal infections or other serious skin problems,” says CR chemist Eric Boring, PhD.
One study found that 89 percent of the kitchen towels researchers tested contained coliform bacteria, an indicator of fecal contamination, and 25.6 percent contained E. coli. A separate study, in which researchers collected and tested 50 bath towels and 50 toothbrushes, found e.Coli on every single towel (and on 48 toothbrushes).
Dry facial towels may not be widely used—yet—but there’s a significant need for them.
Do Dermatologists Recommend Dry Facial Towels?
We prefer skincare products that have been vetted by dermatologists with expertise in skin health, so we reached out to Alexandra Bowles, D.O., board-certified dermatologist at MONA Dermatology, to get her take on whether dry facial towels are recommended for use.
“I think disposable facial towels can be a helpful addition to a skincare routine, particularly for people with acne-prone or very sensitive skin,” Bowles tells CR. “Because they’re single-use, you’re starting with a clean towel each time you wash your face, which may help reduce exposure to bacteria, oil, and leftover skincare products that can build up on a towel between washes.”
Bowles stresses that they’re not a stand-alone solution for preventing acne. “Breakouts are influenced by many factors, including hormones, genetics, excess oil production, and clogged pores. I think of disposable facial towels as one simple way to support good skin hygiene, especially for someone who doesn’t change their regular face towel frequently or prefers using a fresh towel with each cleanse.”
Because they’re single-use, you’re starting with a clean towel each time you wash your face, which may help reduce exposure to bacteria, oil, and leftover skincare products that can build up on a towel between washes.
Dermatologist at MONA Dermatology
How to Use Disposable Facial Towels From Clean Skin Club, Costco, and Other Brands
Here’s where dry facial towels enter the chat. These trendy disposable towels—popularized by the brand Clean Skin Club—are made from materials such as cotton, viscose, and other fibers. The best ones are softer than most paper towels, highly absorbent, resistant to tearing, and large enough to serve a few purposes. You can use them to gently dry your face after cleansing, remove makeup, and even apply products like micellar water and toner—all with the same towel.
According to Mintel data, 32 percent of adults who purchase personal care for health or hygiene benefits rank “gentle or safe for sensitivities” as a top attribute. The dry facial towels we tested are a perfect solution for sensitive skin. They have a soft, smooth side and a texturized side that offers exfoliation benefits, but they should never be irritating on sensitive skin, and as Bowles explained, it’s important to use light pressure and avoid scrubbing your face with them.
Even though dry facial cloths all look the same, they don’t all perform the same way. Lab tester José Amézquita tested them in our labs for absorbency, tensile strength, and abrasion resistance. CR writers Angela Lashbrook, Jodhaira Rodriguez, and I also put them to work at home, evaluating how soft and gentle they are, and whether they left lint behind (which is my biggest pet peeve).
For Clean Skin Club Clean Towels, we included information and safety ratings from a CR partner, SkinSafe, which uses Mayo Clinic data to assess overall safety, potential for irritation, and allergenicity. SkinSafe “scores” products based on how many of the 11 most common allergens each contains. The higher the score, the fewer allergens the product contains (the highest possible score is 100). SkinSafe does not provide data for the other products we tested.
Meet Our Testers
Four CR testers teamed up to find the best and worst disposable facial towels.
Photo: Angela Lashbrook, Jodhaira Rodriguez, Lisa Fogarty, Jose Amezquita (Consumer Reports) Photo: Angela Lashbrook, Jodhaira Rodriguez, Lisa Fogarty, Jose Amezquita (Consumer Reports)
Angela Lashbrook: My skin is very dry and, at the moment, quite sensitive: pregnancy has given me eczema (which I didn’t have before) and also causes me to break out—another issue that’s relatively rare for me (thankfully!). So I need products that are very gentle on my reactive skin.
Jodhaira Rodriguez: I have combination skin—oily around my T-zone but dry around my lips/cheeks. I’ve been using Tretinoin for a while, and my skin has still not totally adjusted to it. I also have rosacea, so I’m super prone to redness. I don’t think I’m ever not a little bit flushed.
Lisa Fogarty (that’s me): I have combination skin that can get drier around the cheeks at certain times of the month. I’m prone to redness and try to never rub my face with towels or use irritating skincare ingredients.
José Amézquita: I am a Project Manager at CR with over 30 years of experience running rigorous tests on consumer products. These facial towels were subjected to a number of physical tests in our lab and then compared with real-world consumer satisfaction.
Here are our top picks—and our take on whether Clean Skin Club Clean Towels rose to the challenge.
