Every time I exit a shower, bath, or pool, I dry myself off in a consistent, particular manner. How did this come about? Do other people use their towels in as a consistent manner as I do? I hope so, because then we can compare towel-usage with heat maps. 

I use three sizes of towels: a bath sheet (60″ × 35″), a bath towel (52″ × 27″) and a hand towel (30″ × 16″). I was curious not only how I was using the towel, but if changing towel size changed the usage pattern. So, I took three showers and dried myself off once with each towel.

The darker areas indicate higher use. The patterns represent both sides of the towel, in aggregate.

Bath Sheet (60″ × 35″):

Bath Towel (52″ × 27″):

Hand Towel (30″ × 16″):

From the maps, we can see I’m a very symmetric towel user, with a focus on the center. I also tend not to evenly utilize my towel’s drying power.

Perhaps I could optimize.

How do you use your towel?

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My toweling regimen, with a bath sheet:

For me, I grab the towel in the middle on the long-edge, from hook it hangs on, and draw out the length with both hands as one would tie a tie. Then, I pull up over my hair and squeegee my hair, allowing the trailing edge to fall squarely on my shoulders. (If the towel were a cape, I’d be holding the trailing edges at down at 45 degrees out to the side.) Without changing grip, I flip the trailing edge back over my head and rub-dry my scalp. Everything goes dark.

Next, with the towel draped over my head, I grab midway between corners and the middle and pat-dry my face and neck. Then, while my hands slide out towards the corners, I flip the towel behind me, the leading edge around my lower back. The trailing edge that earlier landed on my shoulders flips back over to grace my posterior. Simultaneously, I pull the leading edge into my armpits and close the towel like a jacket around my back, chest, and stomach, and underarms. A quick rubdown absorbs most of the water. If the towel is long enough, I’ll give my nether-regions a preliminary dry.

I loosen the towel’s grip on my chest and slide it down my waist, drying my thighs and everything in between. Loosening again, i quickly wipe away any water on my lower legs, and return the towel to my hips before I get dressed and return the towel to its hook. The bath mat takes care of the under-foot.