90% combed Aegean Turkish cotton blended with 10% Pima cotton, woven in Turkey at 650 GSM.

Softness and strength. Pima is an extra-long-staple cotton — its fibers are longer than standard upland cotton, which produces a smoother yarn with fewer exposed fiber ends. Blended at 10% into an Aegean base, it's enough to change the hand feel noticeably without giving up the absorbency and durability the Turkish cotton brings.

Grams per square meter — the weight of the fabric. 650 is a genuine mid-weight: dense enough to absorb properly, light enough to dry in reasonable time. Kassatex describes these as airy and medium weight, and the Pima content is why they feel lighter than the number suggests.

Same weight, same origin, different priorities. Hammam is 100% combed Aegean cotton in a waffle-terry weave — textured, faster-drying, built for turnover. Pergamon is a Pima blend in a conventional terry — softer, airier, more comfortable against skin. Hammam is the better bench towel; Pergamon is the better towel to dry off with.

Honestly, a mix. Hammam for the bench towel you sit on, because it dries faster between rounds and gets the hardest use. Pergamon for the towel waiting outside for after your plunge or shower, because that's the moment softness actually registers. If you only want one, Hammam edges it for sauna use specifically.

Yes. Pergamon carries OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100, certificate 21.HUS.51051 from Hohenstein — the finished textile tested against 1,000+ harmful substances. Hammam carries MADE IN GREEN, which includes that same testing plus verification of the production facilities. MADE IN GREEN is the broader label.

Yes. Unlike a robe, a towel belongs inside the room — you sit on it. In Finnish practice that's not optional: bare skin on hot wood is uncomfortable, sweat soaks into the bench and shortens the life of the timber, and in any shared sauna a bench towel is the basic hygiene standard.

The bath towel at 30" x 56". That's two inches longer than our Hammam bath towel, which is genuinely useful when you're sitting on a lower bench and want the towel to stay under you rather than creeping.

Three, doing different jobs. A bath towel to sit on inside the room. A second bath towel kept dry outside for after the plunge or shower. And a hand towel for wiping sweat off your face and neck between rounds. One towel trying to do all three ends up soaked by the second round.

Face and neck. Wet it with cold water and hold it against your face during a hot round — it's the oldest trick in sauna practice for extending your time comfortably. Also useful as a cold compress on the back of the neck during the cool-down.

Very. After cold immersion, evaporation keeps stealing heat long after you're out of the tub, so getting water off your skin fast is the highest-leverage move in the rewarming phase. 650 GSM handles it in one pass, and the Pima content means the towel doing that job feels better against cold skin than a coarser one would.

Yes, as a bench towel. Bear in mind a conventional terry soaks through faster in saturated air than a waffle weave does — if steam is your main use, our Hammam towels handle the humidity better.

Bath Towel at 30" x 56", Hand Towel at 18" x 28", and Washcloth at 13" x 13".

Not in this collection as we carry it. If you want something larger for wrapping, call us at (302) 273-0861 and we'll point you at an alternative.

Six: White, Avena, Freshwater Blue, Platinum, Persian Blue, and Powder Pink.

Practically, a mid-tone or darker. Hard water and repeated use eventually cause mineral staining, and Persian Blue or Platinum hide it in a way White and Powder Pink won't. Avena reads warmest against cedar or hemlock.

Very little at a glance — Freshwater Blue is a cool near-white with a faint blue cast rather than an obvious blue. If you're ordering to match existing towels, ask us to confirm rather than judging from a swatch on screen.

Yes, sewn in. That matters more for sauna use than in a bathroom — a towel that hangs fully open dries between rounds, and a sewn-in loop means you can hang it on any hook by the cabin door.

Machine wash cold. Dry on low to medium heat. Do not bleach.

Because bleach breaks down cotton fibers, and on a towel washed twice a week that shortens its life considerably. It also yellows white cotton over time rather than whitening it. Wash whites separately with a normal detergent instead — they'll stay whiter longer than they would with bleach.

This is the one that catches people out. Benzoyl peroxide and hydrogen peroxide — both common in acne treatments, whitening products, and some cleansers — bleach cotton on contact and leave permanent orange or white blotches. Kassatex calls this out specifically. If you use products containing either, keep a dedicated dark towel for your face and don't let it near these.

Yes. New towels carry a finishing residue from manufacturing that repels water, which is why a brand-new towel often seems less absorbent than an old one. One wash removes it and opens the loops.

Softener coats cotton fibers with a waxy residue that fills the terry loops — the exact structure doing the absorbing. It makes towels feel plusher and work worse. On a towel you're relying on to strip water off after a plunge, that's the one thing you can't afford. Skip it. If your towels ever feel stiff or stop absorbing, run them through a wash with no detergent and no softener to strip buildup.

Cotton relaxes slightly across the first few wash cycles. Washing cold and drying low-to-medium keeps it minimal, and the dimensions listed are the finished sizes.

No. The care instructions are the same as any fine cotton towel — cold wash, low-to-medium dry, no bleach, no softener. Pima is still cotton; it just has longer fibers.

Dry them fully, every time. Sweat plus warm damp cotton left folded is exactly what odor-causing bacteria want, and once it sets into a towel it's stubborn. Hang them fully open with airflow after every session, and never leave a used towel inside the sauna cabin — the residual warmth makes it worse.

More often than bathroom towels. A bench towel absorbs sweat rather than clean shower water, so treat it more like gym kit — every two or three sessions, and immediately if it picks up any smell.

For one person saunaing a few times a week, six bath towels is a comfortable rotation — three in use, three clean. Add two hand towels and two washcloths. For a couple, double the bath towels. Towels need a full dry and wash cycle between uses.

Yes — OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100, certificate 21.HUS.51051 issued by Hohenstein. The finished textile has been tested against more than 1,000 harmful substances.

Because of when it touches you. Heat opens pores and raises skin permeability, and a bench towel is in contact with a large area of that skin for twenty minutes at a stretch. Verified substance testing is worth more here than on a towel used once after a shower.

Yes, for an additional $10 per item. Add it at checkout with the initials you want. Conventional terry takes embroidery cleanly — better than a waffle ground does.

Personalization adds 3–5 business days of processing on top of standard shipping, and that applies even to expedited orders.

Personalized items are made to order and are not returnable.

White and Platinum sit naturally alongside our Kassatex robe range. Call us and we'll confirm what pairs with the robe you're considering.

Regularly. Towels are the highest-turnover textile in any facility, and a Pima-blended long-staple cotton is specified where guests will notice the hand feel. We quote multi-unit orders and monogrammed sets carrying a property's mark. Call (302) 273-0861 or email customercare@thesaunarepublic.com with your quantity.

No. HSA and FSA eligibility applies to qualifying wellness equipment such as saunas and cold plunges, not to textiles.

Non-personalized towels follow our standard return policy — unused and in original packaging. Monogrammed items are final sale. Please review our return policy for full details.

Towels ship FedEx Ground. Allow 3–4 business days for processing plus 1–5 days in transit, and an additional 3–5 days if you've added a monogram. Free shipping on textile orders over $100.

We're available seven days a week at (302) 273-0861 or customercare@thesaunarepublic.com. Happy to talk through how many towels a setup needs, choosing between our towel collections, color matching, or monogramming.