So here is my issue. I spend 8 hours a week on the trainer. I have a fan set up right next to me, but I utilize a towel over my handle bars. What I am looking for is a soft towel that wont hurt my face and leave it all red. Anyone have a towel that is soft that they would recommend. Right now I am using a standard bath towel and I feel that there should be something better.
Thanks
Microfiber towels. I use them for swimming too, they pack super small and tiny and dry fast. So you could rinse and let hang to dry.
(they’re not like the microfibers you use to clean the car or around the house)
I just use normal hand towels but soon realised that having washed them with my kit using non bio washing liquid (no softener) they were a bit rough on my face! I just wash those with other stuff with softener and all good 
link to some?
I tend to use any old towel but it’s to protect the bike rather than for wiping my face.
I edited to add a link from amazon.
This is what I have been using, which I find works great, though I am a bit of a minimalist:
My preferred towels are the Gatorade towels…like the ones you usually see on the sidelines of NFL games.
Dunno if they are necessarily any softer than normal towels (definitely very soft at first!)…but the size is great and they are absorbent enough.
I have tried microfiber towels, and while they absorb great, they kinda end up being like velcro if you have any stubble, etc. And as someone who shaves his head, that is kind of an issue for me.
Maybe my bath towels are super hold and just lost all of its softness.
I will try one of everyones recommendation and see what I like the best.
Get some sweatbands. Thick, old-school ones. This will keep you from having to wipe your face as often, which will help with the irritation regardless of towel choice. You can get a big multi-pack on amazon relatively cheap. I usually go through 2 sweatbands during a 2 hour workout, but i can get by with one for a 1.5 hour workout, usually.
Never thought of that. I will have to buy a few and try it out.
I lack some hair on my head my sweat just runs down my face.
As a side-note, i’ve also been using a de-humidifier in my training room during workouts and it has been a game-changer. Also really helps with the smell/swampiness post-workout
I do have that going after my work out, my work out station is next to the sump pump. Its a great spot to spit, bad when you drop the roku remote into the water though.
Ditto, head and wrist sweat bands are great. I have a multiple sets so I can swap during a ride if they get saturate. Then I can toss a few sets in the wash will having some available for rides too.
I alternate between 2 halo headbands after each interval, and use a nice gym towel. I bought these:
Amazon.com: Arkwright Hand Towels (16x27, 12 Pack) with Center Stripes, Absorbent Power Gym Towel for Hotel, Spa (Beige) : Home & Kitchen
…and it’s nice to have a dozen of them stacked up just waiting for me to use them.
I mainly use old t-shirts. Soft, pretty absorbent, and free.
I usually wear a t shirt and sometimes even long sleeve to help absorb. I have a heavy sweater. If your behind me in the summer on a ride your getting a small rain shower
The biggest help for me with this was more fans. I went from 1 fan to 4 fans and now the sweat rarely gets to the floor.
I use two of the typical bath hand towel size. One on a shelf within reach for mopping my face periodically and one that I lay over my bars that my hands and drips from my face go on. I have a sweat net that gets the bike between the cockpit and seat. I don’t find the towels scratchy, but everyone has different sensitivities.
I tried headbands, but felt like my head was warmer with them on. I didn’t like that.
I totally agree with this. When I adjusted my setup so that I had 2 fans hitting my face, one for the legs and one for the back, the amount of actual sweat I would experience dropped dramatically due to evaporation. The fans to the face/head are most effective as sweat dripping from my face is the greatest annoyance/distraction.
Word.
Done headbands, cycling caps, etc. and always felt that it made my head hotter and my sweating worse.
YMMV.