As far as life-changing beauty products go, the Aquis hair towel is high on my list. It’s one of my heavyweight holy grail products, like the Shu Uemura Lash Curler, T3 hairdryer and MAC Blot Powder, and it gets its own special place on my shelf (and in my heart).
The thing is like Bounty. It practically guzzles water, absorbing almost every drop of water from wet hair to significantly cut drying time, but I’ve still been trying to track down a cheaper alternative. Sure, $18 might not sound outrageous for something this great, but a cheaper version would mean being able to buy a spare, or two.
Enter the Turbie Twist Super-Absorbent Hair Towel. This lightweight, 100% cotton towel is basically supposed to do what the Aquis does, which is cut way down on your drying time, and it’s supposed to do it for about half the price. Wait — better than half. You get two towels for $10, versus the Aquis at $18 for one.
Being a towel, it’s pretty simple to operate. 🙂 Just place the oval-shaped Turbie Twist on your head, twist the towel with your hair inside, and then loop the towel through the attached elastic band in the back to keep it in place. Team Turbie says it works for both long and short hair (one size fits all).
I’m used to my rectangular Aquis towel, so working with the oval Turbie took some getting used to, but now I think it’s comfy. It’s certainly lightweight, and it fits snugly on my head. I also kinda like how it looks like a terry cloth fortune teller’s turban.
It even works as an improv shower cap. A couple of days ago, I wanted to take a shower but didn’t want to get my hair wet, so I wrapped it in a Turbie Twist to keep it nice and dry.
Now, as far as overall absorbency, the Aquis has the Turbie beat. When I wrap my soaking wet hair up with the Aquis and let it sit for just 15 minutes, it dries as well as mortal towels do in an hour or longer. The Turbie Twist, however, leaves so much water in my hair that it actually drips and runs down my back.
The price is right, but in terms of performance, the Turbie Twist sits somewhere between the Aquis and mere mortal towels. It’s not a bad deal, and I think it does cut drying time somewhat, but I was hoping for a little more.
PRICE: $10 for a pack of two Turbie Twists; available in white, blue, pink and purple
AVAILABILITY: Bed Bath & Beyond stores and also online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B-
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Jasmine says
March 13th, 2011 at 6:41 pmI love the turbie twist! I primarily use it for a different purpose though, I straighten my hair and wash it every few days. I put the turbie twist on before showering, hop in and do my thing and when I get out my hair is still super straight. If I didn’t put anything on it it would curl right up in the shower. Love!
Tiffany says
March 13th, 2011 at 6:41 pmI put the Aquis one on my mental wish list. I neeeed something like this! I got something similar from sephora once nut I returned it because it didn’t do squat.
Casey says
March 13th, 2011 at 6:45 pmOh Gosh! I love the turbie twists! I’ve had them forever, but I haven’t used them since about last month. And let me tell you i’ve fallen in love all over again! I don’t know why i gave them up, but they’re a definite improvement over using big bulky too large towels. They may not absorb as much as a large towel could, but i think they look cute and stay on a whole lot better than their giant floppy comrades.
Devon says
March 13th, 2011 at 6:57 pmI just use mine as an easier version of the regular head towel-wrap. I hate having a huge heavy towel on my head so this works well. That Aquis one is so going on the want list though!
Giselle E says
March 13th, 2011 at 7:19 pmAll these years of me doing typical girl stuff…I have never ever learned how to wrap a towel around my head. I’m gonna have to check out that Aquis!
Nina says
March 13th, 2011 at 7:20 pmi have the aquis and i love it. esp when i had long hair, it just really cuts the drying time!
i have the turban like aquis and im kinda used to it already. 🙂
Nina says
March 13th, 2011 at 7:21 pmand what’s neat is with the $5 off or 20% off coupon from bedbathandbeyond, the aquis is not expensive at all!
Amy says
March 13th, 2011 at 7:22 pmDid you know aquis makes a twisty towel?
Melodie says
March 13th, 2011 at 7:37 pmNow I definitely want to try the Aquis. My problem with the Turbie Twist is that, despite their claim that “one size fits all,” I can never get all my hair inside. To be fair, I’ve got pretty thick and long hair, so most people should be fine.
Polarbelle says
March 13th, 2011 at 7:44 pmWhere do I find the Aquis? I have the turbo twist and it doesn’t do anything a regular towel wouldn’t do. I hate it every time I put it on my head. I want a towel that works!
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Nina says
March 14th, 2011 at 6:22 ambed bath & beyond. 🙂
nekosan says
March 13th, 2011 at 8:43 pmI like the regular aquis towel. I have fairly long hair (hip length), and i have to fold up and squash the ends horribly to get the turban to work. With the regular towel, if i get the diagonal *just so*, all my hair fits without folding.
LorraineER says
March 13th, 2011 at 8:58 pmI have a couple of these but I don’t need them since I cut my hair super short. The towel invention I use more than ever though is this thing called the Tassi. It keeps your hair dry and out of the way when you wash your face in the sink, or do a mask or makeup. It goes around your head like a sweatband but it’s out of towel material and you can pull your hair through the back or sit it in the back part which has room to tuck your hair in. It’s comfy too. I don’t know how I got along without it actually!
Vijaya says
March 13th, 2011 at 9:26 pmI remember seeing commercials for this during the breaks in the Aladdin TV series! <3 I never bought one 'cause I was 6. =D
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Jen says
March 13th, 2011 at 9:57 pmI have one of these hair towels! 🙂 Different brand, but very absorbing! It’s made of micro fiber 🙂
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Jeni says
March 14th, 2011 at 1:03 amI have the Aquis towel and use it every day, but I don’t find that it works that much better than a regular towel. Maybe I don’t leave it on long enough, cause I just use it for a minute or two. Despite having thin hair, my hair takes several hours to dry naturally, even when I use the Aquis. I will try leaving it on for a lot longer tomorrow and see what happens!
Kim says
March 14th, 2011 at 4:38 amDespite my hair being on the thinner side, it does seem to take forever to blow dry. I usually just blot it all with a regular towel when I get out of the shower and then let it start to air dry (towel-less) while I do my makeup, etc. Maybe I’ll check out the Aquis. 🙂
Adria says
March 14th, 2011 at 7:00 amI love my turbie twist. It is a must have for da womyns with curly or wavy hair. Leaves my hair less frizzy than a regular towel. Love it.
Bitsey says
March 14th, 2011 at 7:12 amI use an Aquis (twistie kind) every day. I found the last one at TJ Maxx for less than $10!
Mel says
March 14th, 2011 at 7:12 amI LOVE LOVE LOVE my Turbie Twist! It saves me soooo much time in the morning with drying my hair! I also use it in the evenings – it prevents me from climbing into bed with soaking wet hair! Hooooooray for the Turbie!
Chynna says
March 14th, 2011 at 9:58 amI have 2 Aquis towels and several Aquis turbans and I love them. I take them with me when I travel and use them every time I wash my hair. I got most of my turbans at TJ Maxx, where I found them for much less than I paid for my original. But even at full price, they’re totally worth it. I have curly hair and I love my Aquis towels for plopping: http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-products/to-plop-or-not-to-plop
Ronya says
March 14th, 2011 at 10:27 ami got a question . Whats is the best way to take care of your hair when going to sleep ?
i mean , if i let them free while sleeping , there be broken hair everyhere , if i make a ponytail , broken hairs too .
Help ?
Karen says
March 14th, 2011 at 10:33 amYou can try piling your hair on the top of your head and then secure it loosely with a scrunchie. I do that when I wear my hair curly and don’t want the curls to get frizzy.
Ronya says
March 15th, 2011 at 6:48 amthanks, Karen
Kristina says
March 14th, 2011 at 11:03 amI just have a smaller towel I use for my hair and a large hair clip/grip/crab thing to achieve the same thing 🙂
Futuralon says
March 14th, 2011 at 11:21 amI have 2 different aquis towels and a turbie twist. While the former are more absorbent it’s only with the latter that I can twist up my hair and forget about it.
I find it important to gently squeeze the water out of my hair before leaving the shower. Also rearranging wet hair on/in whatever towel I’m using will help to get it dryer. Truth is some hair is just very absorbent and no towel can contain or dry my huge wet hair! Lol
Also it’s important not to rub hair with a towel. Smooth fabrics such as a tshirt (how’s that for a bargain) will not frizz your hair and can help with natural waves and curls. Be gentle to wet hair!
glittergirley says
March 14th, 2011 at 12:15 pmI have one of these hair turbans that I’ve used for the last five years and I LOVE it. I use it so much that it’s changed to a gross brownish hue (from all the hair dyes) and yet I still LOVE it. It’s been washed several times, and dried, no problems.
Well, despite having it for at least five years, I didnt even realize it was an AQUIS. I just went to check because I was about to go out and buy a real AQUIS to see if it was any different from what I had.. haha. So basically the AQUIS is awesome. I leave it on my hair after I shower, put on my makeup, clothes, whatever. By the time I’m out the door (15 mins of wearing the aquis later) my hair is at a damp stage, and if i drive with the windows slightly open, my hair is pretty much dried by the time i get to work (20 min commute). LOVE IT!
The turban version of the aquis is actually really big, it has a deep area for the “head” part and the longer part that you wrap around your hair is actually long enough for my hair.
Olga says
March 14th, 2011 at 12:58 pmI have one of those and really love them!! But kind of not sure if it really cut the drying time 🙂
xx Olga
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Phyrra says
March 14th, 2011 at 7:51 pmI need to try one of those! Seems very cool.
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Instant Karma (formerly L) says
March 14th, 2011 at 8:10 pmI totally agree with you. I purchased the Turbie Twist several years ago, and it helped me cut down my drying time by a little bit, but not all that much. I bought the Aquis per your suggestion, and it is dramatically better. I bought one the first time, and then when I had a coupon several months later, I bought three more, lol. 😀
Karen says
March 14th, 2011 at 8:42 pmI need to buy a few more! Have you traveled with yours yet? That’s when you know you’re officially hooked.
Alice says
March 15th, 2011 at 1:59 amI was reading something about microfiber towels, and I found out some of them are made of synthetic stuff and some others are 100% cotton! Maybe that is the difference betwee the Aquis and the Turbie Twist… Would you mind giving a look at the composition? Maybe we can guess something from it! 😉
Aquis does not ship to Italy (sigh!), I want to find something similar but just as effective!
Rosemary says
March 19th, 2011 at 4:14 pmI ended up giving mine to goodwill. I have better luck with a normal cotton handtowel and a strong hairclip. I have shoulder-length fine hair, so it doen’t take much to dry it…but these stupid things did nothing.
I will check out the Aquis, as I love the idea of the Turbie Twist.
Corrinne says
March 20th, 2011 at 7:50 amI LOVE me a Turbie Twist! I have wavy/curly hair and I plop my hair into a TT after applying products, and before getting dressed/doing my makeup. It keeps my hair in place and out of my face while getting ready. I can then remove the TT and diffuse – love these towels!
K says
March 21st, 2011 at 1:22 pmCheck your local Ross Clothing Stores or Marshalls, they around $5 for the set of 2.