Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you so much for reaching out to us with this feedback!
We’re sorry that you have been experiencing lack of absorbency with your Oddbird towels.
All of our textiles are woven from high quality unprocessed cottons and linens and therefore require a small period of ‘breaking in’ to reveal their truest nature.
We opt to use these unprocessed fibers, as they increase the lifespan of the textile and ensure that the towel can and will serve you well for decades. This ‘breaking in’ process requires a nice soak (for optimal results, include a natural fabric softener) in cold water for 4-6 hours, followed by a wash and dry cycle. This soaking process allows for the threads to fully hydrate and plump and in turn, increases the absorbency of the towel. Usually this ‘breaking in’ process will take about 4-5 washes until it releases its consistent texture and hand.
Even though drier usage sometimes results in a little but of shrinkage, it also helps to speed up the softening process while also working to eliminate shedding much faster and stripping the fibers down so they are naturally bare and thirsty. Once the initial ‘breaking in’ is complete, the towels will get better and better with time and use and will continually increase in both softness and absorbency. You can find these care instructions available on our website here.
Please let us know if this lack of absorbency persists longer than 5 wash and dry cycles and we will replace your pieces with a different item from the collection that would better suit your needs, while giving your towels new life as a scrunchie! Just shoot a message over to our service team (customerservice@oddbirdco.com) and we'll handle that right away!
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Warmly,
The small but mighty team at Oddbird Co.