This Incredibly Absorbent Hair Towel Dries My Thick Hair So Well, I Barely Need My Blow Dryer

Having chest-length hair most of my life (even waist-length hair at times) has taught me that there's nothing more helpful in my hair care routine than something that dries it fast. Not only does washing my hair take seemingly forever in the shower, but drying it with a hair dryer also takes such a long time in front of the mirror that I sometimes dread the days I have to wash my hair.

The lazy girl in me tries to air dry as much as possible, but preferably without having a mop of hair clinging to my shirt. So I found the best solution in Crown Affair's The Hair Towel, and nothing has been as game changing for my hair care routine like this. The brand sent the towel to me to test at the end of last September, and I'd had it on my social media radar for a while prior to receiving it for trying. Turns out, it was worth all the hype.

To buy: $45; sephora.com and crownaffair.com.

Crown Affair's waffle-weave microfiber towel is super absorbent and gently soaks up all the leftover moisture from my hair without me needing to either rub it dry with my towel (friction can lead to breakages) or torch it with my hair dryer (which can lead to heat damage in strands). To use it, all you have to do is bend forward, let your hair fall toward the ground, place the towel above your hair from the back of your neck (the elastic strap should be on the back of your head and a little above your neck), twist, then flip over to tuck it behind your neck again. I always use it right after gently squeezing out any excess amounts of water from my hair in the shower, and the towel grips wet hair so well that after tucking it into the convenient elastic band, it doesn't fall off my head at all.

Where it would typically take an hour or two for my hair to be 90 percent dry if I wrap it with a regular bath towel (or even if I don't wrap it at all), Crown Affair's towel really absorbs moisture so I can usually take it off around half an hour after showering, and my hair is almost completely dry. I then use my blow dryer for a few seconds tops just to make sure the back of my head—the hardest part to dry—is completely ready, and it really is the simplest method I've found to dry my hair with minimal effort.

Plus, compared to my plush Turkish spa bath towel, Crown Affair's towel doesn't make my hair feel suffocated when I have it tied tightly; when I take it off, my scalp doesn't feel stuffy at all, and my hair actually looks voluminous instead of flat and stringy. Cleaning the towel itself is also super easy—you can throw it in the washer with your typical laundry load and dry it on low heat (I sometimes just hang it up to dry). Just don't hang it up by its elastic band because doing so can stretch it and make it harder to hold onto the towel in the future.

Since this microfiber hair towel has come into my life a few months ago, I haven't washed my hair without it. It's the easiest way I've found to dry my hair, and had I not received it from the brand to try, I would have happily bought it. And now, it's a staple in my hair care system. Shop it now at Sephora and at Crown Affair for $45.

To buy: $45; sephora.com and crownaffair.com.