Name: The Clean People Laundry Detergent Sheets
Brand: The Clean People
Price: 26 USD

Are Disposable Face Towels Better for Your Skin?

By Jennifer G. Sullivan, a Cut contributor and author of the “Ask a Beauty Editor” column. With over ten years of experience in beauty and wellness journalism, she is the host of Fat Mascara, an award-winning podcast that takes a closer look at beauty culture. Previously, she was the beauty director and features editor at Marie Claire.

Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photo: Getty Images

Dear Beauty Editor,

I recently got a facial and asked the aesthetician about some bumps on my forehead (not pimples). She said she thought my towels might be causing the problem and recommended I switch to disposable facecloths from Clean Skin Club. I did, and I feel like they’re making a difference, but I wanted to know what other experts think about this. Should we all be using disposable face towels?

—Anonymous

We all want great skin, but I’m guessing (hoping?!) most of us don’t want to increase our dependency on disposable products to get it. So I spoke with a dermatologist and a facialist to see if they agree that using the same face towel daily can cause skin issues. Not only did they say what you dry your face with matters, they also said how you dry it matters! Below, I’ll explain why damp, dirty fabric can cause skin issues and offer some alternatives that may be more environmentally friendly (and less expensive) than disposable facecloths.

Is it wrong to use your regular bathroom towel on your face?

I have to confess I only wash my bathroom towels once a week, and I use the same towel to dry my face that I use to dry my body when I get out of the shower. I figure it’s only touching clean skin and water, so how dirty can it get? Turns out, pretty dirty. “A damp towel that sits in a bathroom for a week is a breeding ground for bacteria, fungus, and other impurities that can then be transferred back to the skin,” says board-certified dermatologist Deanne Mraz. Without seeing your skin, she can’t diagnose those bumps on your forehead, but she says they may have been folliculitis. “Folliculitis is an infection or inflammation of the hair follicles, which might have been introduced by the dirty washcloth leading to small, red, inflamed bumps that look like tiny pimples,” she says. “The towel switch likely interrupted the cycle of irritation to the skin so that it could heal on its own.”

Facialist Cara Peloso says damp towels are unhygienic and may cause skin issues, but she points out that another reason bathroom towels can be problematic for some people is the remnants of laundry detergent or fabric softener on the fabric. (Those bumps you saw could have been dermatitis or a rash or a mild allergic reaction to your laundry products.) She says she first heard about disposable face towels from a client with really sensitive skin who was using them and saw improvements. “I’ll be honest, I was like, Do we really need this?” Peloso says. But since then, she’s had more clients see the benefits. “They say when they started using the disposable towels, it helped clear up the little indeterminate irritations and things on their skin,” she adds. “They’re not necessary for everybody, but now if I work with someone who I think might benefit, I sometimes recommend Clean Skin Club.”

How should I dry my face?

Whether your skin issue was folliculitis or dermatitis, how you dry your skin can also affect its appearance. “I would be more concerned with training yourself to gently pat the skin dry, regardless of the material of your towel,” Mraz says. Peloso adds that when she asks people how they dry their skin, she’s learned that a lot of them are doing it wrong: “They’re kind of rubbing or scrubbing instead of pressing or patting it dry,” she says.

Switching from rubbing to patting may seem small, but it’s important. “What we do daily over and over again can have a cumulative impact on our skin, in some cases more than genetics,” Mraz says. “How you dry your face is one of many habits that you can create to support healthy skin aging.”

What are some alternatives to disposable face towels?

But you don’t necessarily have to be patting dry with disposable towels to see improvements in your skin. “I highly recommend using a clean towel to dry your face per person, per day,” says Mraz. “I know that sounds like a lot, but there are great options to stock up in bulk.” She likes the Sinland Microfiber Facial Cloths ($13 for six). If a washcloth doesn’t seem large enough to dry your face, check out Amazon Basics hand towels ($22 for eight). Buy enough washcloths and/or towels for a week, use a fresh one every day, and then wash them all on the weekend.

Peloso agrees a clean face towel every time is as helpful as disposable cloths, and she also recommends using fragrance-free laundry detergent and skipping the fabric softener or dryer sheets. She cleans all her towels with Clean People Fragrance Free Laundry Detergent Sheets ($15) and has never had an issue.

The Clean People Laundry Detergent Sheets

$26

~~$33~~ now 21% off

$26

SINLAND Microfiber Facial Cloths

$11

~~$14~~ now 21% off

$11

Amazon Basics Quick-Dry Absorbent Hand Towels

$18

Is there an alternative to Clean Skin Club?

Well, regular towels. But if you don’t want to deal with extra laundry (or need something at the gym or on the go), the Clean Skin Club towels you’re using work. However, there is another option: A woman I know with gorgeous skin recently told me she uses paper towels to dry her skin. She says her favorite brand is Viva Signature Cloths ($39 for six rolls), but they’ve gotten pricier recently, so now she’s using Bounty ($25 for six rolls). If Bounty works, what about a more environmentally friendly paper towel, like these that are made of FSC-certified bamboo and can be composted? Just an idea! I’d rather do more laundry than pay for disposable cloths or wipe my face with paper towels, but the choice is up to you.