In Depth Baby Product Reviews Led by a Pediatrician
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We tested baby towels from top brands like KeaBabies, Burt's Bees, Green Sprouts, and others to find the best
Credit: Abriah Wofford
By Molly Bradac ⋅ Senior Review Analyst ⋅ May 31, 2024
The Best Baby Towels for 2024
Wrap up your little one in one of the 7 best baby towels available today. To determine the best, we've researched the market, purchased the most popular baby towels, and sent them through hands-on testing to rank the competition. Since we believe your baby's bath time would not be complete without a cozy, soft, and warm towel, we considered these factors and more, like durability and size, while evaluating the lineup. Our review provides the details you need to make an informed purchase, and we are confident there is a baby towel here that will meet your needs and budget.
Rising to the top as one of our favorites is the KeaBabies Bamboo Baby Towel. Made of Bamboo viscose material, this towel is ultra-soft for babies' delicate skin. As soon as you lay your hands on it, you can feel the difference compared to the competition. Its generous size provides fluffy, full coverage after a warm bath, and it can potentially grow with them into toddlerhood. It also feels durable, withstanding multiple launderings during our hands-on testing, giving us reason to believe it has longevity and is worth the price.
The manufacturer claims the towel's material has anti-bacterial qualities. Although bamboo is known for this ability, it can be hard to determine the efficacy of anti-bacterial properties, so we don't believe it should be the towel's selling point. Also, after the initial wash, we noticed the corners slightly curled. Of course, this is not a deal-breaker, nor does it take away from the towel's performance, but it is an aesthetic drawback. This towel performs better, and its softness and size are noteworthy. Despite its higher-than-average cost, we think the towel is worth the investment. For the price, you could also get the Burt's Bees Baby Towels, which comes with two-hooded towels with equivalent durability.
The KeaBabies Bamboo Baby Towel is a dreamboat as it offers softness, size, absorbency, making getting out of the bathtub a little easier.
The Carter's Towel and Washcloth Set may fit your needs if you're on a budget. This affordable and adorable set includes eight pieces: two hooded towels, one standard towel, and five washcloths. The set provides enough towels for multiple baths without needing a load of laundry. The washcloths are ideal for reaching all the tiny wrinkles and creases on your little one's adorable thighs, and we consider the size of the towels (FYI, all of the towels are the same size) more suitable for newborns than toddlers.
The Carter towels are thin and lack fluff. They are also smaller and won't last as long when your little ones aren't so little. With that in mind, this wallet-friendly set will do the job with included practical washcloths. We think this towel set might meet your immediate needs if you are searching for quantity on a budget and don't mind a thinner product. Parents in colder climates may want to look elsewhere, like the large and fluffy KeaBabies Bamboo Baby Towel.
Cute faces make the Carter towel a standout for kids.
If you prefer to avoid bulkiness when wrapping up your baby after bath time, consider the Burt's Bees Baby Towels. This two-pack set of hooded towels is soft and absorbent. During testing, it laundered well with little change after multiple washing cycles. This is important given the regular occurrence of laundry going hand in hand with babies.
These towels are thin, so if thick and fluffy are the qualities you seek, you'll probably be disappointed with them. Their size also makes them more suitable for newborns or younger babies than toddlers. Nevertheless, if you want a set of hooded towels for your younger baby, we believe this set is lovely and a great addition to bath time. But if you are looking for a large, fluffy, and soft towel, look no further than the KeaBabies Bamboo Baby Towel.
The Burt's Bees is a simple towel that has a nice-sized hood for wearing.
Each product in our review was purchased and experienced hands-on testing, along with side-by-side comparisons to evaluate performance.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Why Trust GearLab
The BabyGearLab team has been testing baby products over the past decade. Given our extensive hands-on testing and knowledge, we think it is safe to say we have become baby gear experts. Leading our review is Molly Bradac, a Senior Review Editor at BabyGearLab. Molly is also a nanny and Newborn Care Specialist, holding over 15 years of experience. Her insight and expertise with children and babies make her a pro at identifying top-notch products and offering recommendations. We purchased each baby towel in our review and completed hands-on testing and side-by-side comparisons to analyze and evaluate performance.
Some towels feature loops for easy hanging.
The Green Sprouts towel is the only one in our review with handpockets.
Analysis and Test Results
To replicate real-world utilization, we routinely used and laundered each towel multiple times to evaluate numerous factors, such as softness, size, durability, and more. Our collected information and details can help narrow the options to a product that meets your family's needs.
What's the Best Value?
We focus on performance when ranking the competition, but we can also appreciate a good deal, especially one that doesn't compromise quality for cost. We consider the Carter's Towel and Washcloth Set to fit the bill. If you can look past its upfront cost, this option includes a set of multiple towels and washcloths, making the cost per product affordable and attractive compared to others in our lineup. Plus, with numerous towels, you'll likely have a towel in rotation without needing to do laundry. So, this option will get the job done. However, if you don't mind stretching your budget, especially for higher quality, the KeaBabies Bamboo Baby Towel is more luxurious and ultra-soft than Carter's. It also has a larger size, increasing the chances of this option working from newborn to toddlerhood, boosting your money's worth.
A towel's softness is an essential factor to consider as babies' skin is sensitive and prone to irritations.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Softness
Since your baby's skin can be sensitive, delicate, and prone to irritations, we highly value soft towels and suggest considering this quality when selecting your baby's towel. Any towel that falls short of this profile is not one we favor and ranks lower than the others.
Among the competition, the KeaBabies Bamboo Baby Towel ranks high. This ultra-soft and cozy bamboo towel is a true standout among the contenders, making us wish an adult-sized option was available. Fortunately for your baby, its softness is dreamy, and you'll feel good about wrapping up your little one after a bath.
Unfortunately, a few towels in our lineup became rougher and scratchier after repeated use and laundering. Compared to cloud-like contenders, these options lack a welcoming sense, leaving us less thrilled to use them with tiny tots or babies. The Luvable Friends Hooded Towel and Green Sprouts Towel rank the lowest among the competition. Roughness is not ideal, and anything that feels slightly rough will increase the potential for skin irritations. Therefore, we suggest passing on these options, particularly for newborns or children with ultra-sensitive skin.
Tip: Allow your baby's towel to dry thoroughly by air drying, even if you plan to wash it before the next use. Avoid putting it in a hamper, as mildew, mold, and bacteria can thrive inside some hampers.
The Luvable Friends Hooded Towel will sure catch your eye. But it showed wear and tear after hands-on testing, and it feels rough.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Durability
Durability is an essential factor. Ideally, a baby towel should endure the test of time until the baby outgrows it, including surviving frequent laundering yet maintaining its new-like condition.
The KeaBabies Bamboo Baby Towel and Burt's Bees Baby Towels look nearly the same as they did on day one, allowing them to rank high in this metric. Some mild curling of corners did occur; however, the towels powered through frequent use and multiple launderings unscathed, whereas others showed durability weakness.
Unfortunately, a couple of contenders couldn't compete. The Luvable Friends Hooded Towel had pulled threads and minor damage on the frog's eye, and the San Francisco Baby Towel had loose threads. If these towels did not hold up during our testing, it is logical to question their ability to tolerate more frequent use over time.
A towel's size may influence what product you select, and this may also depend on your baby's age and how long you envision using it.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Size
As we learned, not all baby towels are created equal, including size. Since a towel's size may depend on your baby's age and goals, we appreciate one with longevity. Therefore, baby towels with a more versatile size rank higher than those with limiting or irregular sizes.
The KeaBabies Bamboo Baby Towel and San Francisco Baby Towel rank the highest in this metric. These options are generous in size, and we consider this an upside as they can be of service longer, working from the newborn stage to toddlerhood.
The Green Sprouts Towel ranks the lowest of all the towels in our review. This option has a rectangular shape that is very wide but short, measuring 21.5" in length, not counting the hood. There's plenty of material to wrap around your child, but it lacks full coverage, especially for a taller tot. Although we are not fans of this towel's shape and size, a shorter towel may be helpful if you notice your child tripping over their towel while walking.
If you seek a smaller towel for the newborn stage, the Burt's Bees Baby Towels and Carter's Towel and Washcloth Set may fit your needs. These towels are sized well for newborns or younger babies. While they might not be suitable for larger toddlers, these towels can help make younger babies cozy and warm after a bath without the extra thickness of a more significant option.
Bathtime Toys
Wondering how to make bathtime more fun? Add some entertaining bath toys for your little one. Check out our bath toy review for recommendations.
Since bath time will happen often, we suggest purchasing a few to keep on hand.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Conclusion
Bath time will be a regular part of your baby's routine, and wrapping your baby in a warm, fluffy, cozy towel after bathing is a great way to end water time. We are confident that our lineup includes some impressive products that can meet your family's budget and needs. It could just help inspire little ones to get out of the tub for cozy snuggling.
