7 Daily Towel Habits You Should Change to Improve Your Hygiene

We often underestimate the presence of germs in our households. While we believe that toilet seats and kitchen sinks are the sources, but little did we look at our towels. We tend to use them on a daily basis, wiping our body and face off, and seldom washing them in our laundry routine. Apart from using a clean towel daily, we’ve listed many more daily towel habits we can change to have happy hygiene. Read on to know more.

1. Use your old tee instead of a towel to dry your hair.

When you dry your hair with a towel, it can cause dryness, and frizziness, and can worsen the split ends as well. Instead, you can wrap your hair in an old tee. It keeps your hair smoother and causes fewer tangles.

2. Overdoing your skin care routine can make your skin oily.

It may sound contradictory, but drying your skin can actually make it more greasy. Because rough towels can strip away natural oils your skin needs to stay healthy, sebaceous glands underneath the skin’s surface will have to produce more oil to balance out the dryness, which will result in overly greasy skin.

3. Drying your face with a towel may age your skin.

Terry cloth bath towels are too rough on your face, and using them can create tiny tears in your skin, making it vulnerable to infections and wrinkles. The more you wash the towels, the more brittle the fabric becomes, and the friction they create acts as an exfoliant that can be too much for your skin.

4. Skip towel-drying to increase the efficacy of skincare products.

Although drying your face after washing it seems like a natural thing to do, in reality, it won’t allow your skin to get the most out of the products you’re applying to it. Your moisturizer will better penetrate the skin before all the water evaporates from its surface. Skipping towel drying will allow your skincare products to lock in the moisture your skin needs to look youthful and glowing.

5. Using the same towel for drying your face may cause acne.

Drying your face with the same towel you use to dry your body could be damaging your skin more than you think. Towels are great bacteria traps, and because we usually store them in the bathroom, where the air is damp, it creates the perfect environment for bacteria to grow. When you rub the towel on your face, you’re moving all these bacteria directly onto your skin, which can eventually lead to breakouts and clogged pores. Even if you’re using a separate towel for your face than the one you use to dry your body, you likely aren’t washing it daily, and unwanted bacteria can still make their way to your skin.

6. You can air dry your face instead of a towel if you have sensitive skin.

If you have sensitive skin, using towels isn’t the best option to dry your face. Because most towel fabrics can be too harsh on the skin, wiping your face with them can result in skin redness and irritation.

7. Using the same dirty towel repeatedly may harm your skin.

As mentioned above, towels can be risky for people with sensitive skin. It may also cause breakouts as the skin barrier isn’t working effectively as it should. And when a towel is dirty, it can spread fungus or bacteria onto your skin which further blocks pores and can worsen the flare-ups too.

Bonus: How to dry you face without a towel

Instead of patting your face dry with a towel, let the air do its job. Air-drying is more hygienic and gentle on your skin, and although it requires more time than wiping your face with a towel, your skin will thank you for it.

• Wash your face as usual.
• Let your skin dry naturally.
• Apply your favorite moisturizer.