The Benefits of Linen Towels

Think of a soft, fluffy, luxurious towel; your immediate thoughts will go straight to cotton.
It’s a phrase that trips off the tongue, a cotton towel, and has entered the language as something completely natural (in all ways).

But what if we were to tell you that there is more to towels than just cotton? What if we were to tell you that linen is, in fact, a much better type of towel to use? What would you think?
Can you imagine it? Or is the idea of a gorgeous cotton towel the one that still comes to you?

The reason is two-fold.
Firstly, as we’ve said, that image of a perfect cotton towel is hard to shift.
Secondly, the term ‘linens’ is used to describe all manner
of household essentials, from bedding to tablecloths
– but not towels. Never a towel.
Bear with your thoughts. Linen towels are the future. Why?
We’ll tell you. After you hear what we say,
you may change your mind about needing cotton towels.

Long-Lasting

Did you know that linen is the strongest fibre in the world?
It’s what gives paper money its long-lasting ability and its strength. Without linen, the money would be out of circulation within weeks, but with it added, those notes can last for many years. Compared to cotton (which gets its limited strength from strands being woven together), linen is thicker, and the fibres are much longer (although the strands are variable). So, that same strength and durability can also be found in linen towels. Not only will they stay looking fresh and new for longer, but they will also physically last for longer too.

How It Feels

When you think of linen, you may not immediately associate it with the softness and comfort of a good cotton towel. It’s more crisp, more formal, more like a sheet or tablecloth – and certainly not something you’d want to run over yourself to get dry. But actually, that’s not the case at all. Linen responds to touch, and the more you use it, the softer and suppler it gets. It becomes fluid and silky and wonderful to be draped with. As for the wrinkles and creases known to occur in linen, they too will become less the more you handle it – and with a towel that you can use every day, those wrinkles will soon all but disappear.

Drying

No matter how lovely to handle and how long it will last, if it isn’t going to do the one job it has – drying you after a bath or shower – then what is the point of it? The great news is, along with its other perhaps surprising properties, linen can gain almost 20 percent moisture for its surface and weight before you even realize it is damp. Compared to cotton’s 25 percent, you can see that the two types of fibre are so close to how they dry you that, with linen’s added luxury and class, cotton needs to be discarded now – linen is by far the better option.

As a side note of interest, does linen gain strength when wet? Not only that, but it naturally prohibits the growth of bacteria, which, as you can imagine, is almost essential for towels. It is a function that no other material – including cotton – has in quite the same way.

Keeping Warm

If there is one thing that linen is good at, it’s keeping us cool. That’s why linen shirts and trousers are so popular in hot countries – they are an essential staple of any holiday packing. So, surely a linen towel will make us shiver after getting out of the water? Not so!
The ‘linen keeps you cool’ idea is true, but it’s only half the story. The truth is that linen reacts to the world around it; it is natural. So, although in the summer, it certainly keeps you cool, for example, it is a natural insulator, and in the colder months, it traps the warmth within it, making it the perfect warming cover. And there is no need for a heated towel rail either (unless you specifically want one), as the towel will warm as soon as it comes into contact with your body. It’s a clever thing, and hand one when using linen in towels.

It’s Healthy

Despite the number of millennia ago that they lived, and although they had no access to the modern technology we are lucky enough to have today, the Ancient Egyptians were well aware of linen’s almost magical (yet natural) properties. They used linen as medicine since it repels microorganisms and keeps patients cool and clean. It has also been known to help with skin conditions, soothing dermatitis and eczema. Some doctors even suggest that it can help reduce the inflammation associated with arthritis. It can’t cure it, but it can certainly make people feel better. So now imagine those wonderful health properties all wrapped up in one beautiful linen towel – this is why linen should replace cotton in your bathroom (and your life in general ).

History

Speaking of history, linen goes back a long way. As well as medicine, the Ancient Egyptians used linen as money – perhaps this gave modern humanity the idea for our notes. Evidence of the use of linen goes back to at least 8,000 BC.
The fact that we still use it today, 10,000 plus years later, says a lot about linen’s staying power. It says a lot about its usefulness, too.

Conclusion

The idea of a linen towel may be strange at first – linen? Surely it will just crumple up in a big wet heap? Surely it will be cold,
or won’t last as long as a cotton towel? And it certainly can’t feel as good as a soft, fluffy square of cotton!

But yes, compare linen to cotton, which comes out on top. It is durable, long-lasting, ideal for any temperature; it dries perfectly,
and it feels wonderful.

Try a linen towel today and experience a difference you never imagined before.