Homeline Facial Tissue (Family Dollar)

Tissue paper enjoys a fascinating history, dating back to its use as a gas mask filter during World War I and later as a cold cream remover in the 1920s. Eventually, of course, consumers discovered that tissue was great as a disposable handkerchief, and today tissue paper like Kleenex is synonymous with blowing one’s nose.

Just about everyone out there, it seems, sells facial tissue. You can get it at the big box store, the grocery store, the pharmacy, or the gas station. Dollar stores also sell it. I’ve previously looked at Dollar General tissue, and here I’m going to look at the tissue sold by DG’s smaller rival, Family Dollar.

Homeline is a Family Dollar private label, meaning Homeline-branded products are exclusive to that store. I found two versions of facial tissue at Family Dollar: Homeline Facial Tissue in a cube box, and Homeline Facial Tissue With Lotion in a rectangular box. Both are distributed by Family Dollar’s Midwood Brands and both are made in the United States.

The cube tissues are 8.4 x 8.2 inches, while the lotion tissues are 8.5 x 7.7. That makes the lotion tissue about 3 square inches smaller than the cube. 8.4 x 8.2 seems to be industry standard for tissue in most cases.

Both Family Dollar tissue boxes are $1 as of this post. The cube version comes with 85 2-ply tissues, which comes out to about $0.012 cents a tissue, while the rectangular version with lotion came with 110 3-ply tissues, or about $0.009 cents a tissue. These prices are a little higher than places like Dollar General or Aldi, but they’re still much less than your typical name brand tissue. The Family Dollar boxes are smaller, too, so you can get a decent price without getting a family-sized box.

I wish I could say these were good facial tissues. But, sadly, they’re not that great. Both boxes are less soft and comfortable than Dollar General or Aldi, with a rougher texture that reminds me more of institutional tissue — as in, what I’d get at a school or doctor’s office. I can’t detect much of a difference between the one with or without lotion, either; I’m sure it’s probably there, but not enough to be obvious on touch. I’ve certainly had worse tissue, but I can’t say this is a box I would be likely to buy again unless my options were very limited.

The Verdict:

Family Dollar offers an affordable option for facial tissue if you need it, and you don’t have to get a big box for your trouble. It’s not the softest of textures, though, so if you need something to keep your nose from getting too roughed up during allergy or cold season, you might want to see what else is out there.