Gently exfoliate your way to smoother, suppler skin.
The best body scrubs are like the decadent dessert of the skin-care world. While they shouldn’t replace your go-to body wash, you might be missing out on some serious benefits in your skin-care routine. Not only do physical body exfoliators feel — and often smell — like an indulgent treat, but they’re also a vital part of taking care of your skin, New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Howard Sobel, MD, previously told Allure. Scrubs “rid the skin of buildup and dead skin cells, leaving your skin looking brighter, smoother, and healthier,” he says. Just apply it in circular motions and you’re set.
The only catch? It’s key to figure out the frequency that works best for your skin — and don’t go overboard. Board-certified dermatologist Loretta Ciraldo, MD, told Allure that she advises patients to exfoliate regularly, anywhere “from once a week for everyone to once or twice a day if you have issues such as acne, rough elbows, and dry skin.” You’ll also want to follow up with a rich body lotion or cream to seal in moisture post-exfoliation.
Keep scrolling to check out 15 of the best body scrubs — which include past and present Best of Beauty Award and Readers’ Choice Award winners — to add to your tub (or shower) time, and wave goodbye to dull skin.
Best Overall: Nécessaire The Body Exfoliator
Why It’s Worth It: For a gentle exfoliation that’ll instantly tackle rough skin and ingrown hairs, grab a bottle of Nécessaire’s The Body Exfoliator. This intensive formula contains a slew of skin-refining ingredients, including bamboo charcoal to polish skin and a combination of salicylic, lactic, and glycolic acids to remove blackhead-inducing sweat, oil, and dirt. Nécessaire’s impressive exfoliator comes in two scents (Eucalyptus and Sandalwood), but there’s also a fragrance-free version that’s great for sensitive skin types.
Best Drugstore: Tree Hut Ocean Glow Shea Sugar Scrub
Why It’s Worth It: The aisles of the drugstore are basically a beauty treasure trove that’s filled with skin-enhancing goodies, this TikTok-famous sugar body scrub included. This scrub won a 2023 Best of Beauty Award for its skin-polishing effects, thanks to a mix of sugar and pumice beads buffing away dead skin and rough patches. Its formula also goes beyond polishing with the help of pore-penetrating alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) that target and remove acne-causing bacteria and excess sebum.
Best Luxury: Osea Salts of the Earth Body Scrub
Why It’s Worth It: This best-selling body scrub is a favorite among editors for its combination of mineral salts — derived from New Zealand, Hawaii, and the Himalayas — and seaweed, which provides a wealth of nutrients (amino acids, minerals, and antioxidants). The lavender is also a plus, giving it an especially indulgent feel.
Best Chemical Exfoliant: Peach & Lily KP Bump Boss Microderm Body Scrub
Why It’s Worth It: Kick keratosis pilaris to the curb with Peach & Lily’s KP Bump Boss Microderm Body Scrub. Its combination of glycolic, lactic, and polyhydroxy acids works overtime (alongside tiny microcrystals) to keep blemishes and body acne at bay while hydrating hyaluronic acid and soothing cica comfort even the most sensitive of skin types.
Best Physical Exfoliant: Dove Exfoliating Body Polish Crushed Macadamia & Rice Milk
Why It’s Worth It: This baby blue pot of macadamia-scented deliciousness is the goldilocks of body scrubs: The exfoliators are not too harsh, but they’re certainly not measly, either. Unlike some sugar-based body scrubs, which dissolve within a few moments of use, this one relies on hydrated silica to clear dead skin and provide everlasting exfoliation.
Best for Sensitive Skin: Aveeno Tone + Texture Renewing Fragrance-Free Body Scrub
Why It’s Worth It: Aveeno’S Tone + Texture Renewing Fragrance-Free Body Scrub won a 2023 Best of Beauty Award for its ability to slough away dead skin cells without stressing sensitive skin types. It pairs polyhydroxy acid (PHA, a gentle cousin to AHA) with prebiotic oats; together, they help smooth skin while actively supporting the skin barrier. Plus, it helps even out your skin tone, making it a winner for those prone to hyperpigmentation.
Best for Dull Skin: Bloomeffects Royal Tulip Petal Polish
Why It’s Worth It: If you’re on the market for something a little more luxurious, this scrub — another 2023 Best of Beauty Award winner — feels as indulgent as it looks. Once you crack open this pretty light blue jar, you’ll find an exfoliating cocktail that’s infused with skin-nourishing ingredients like brightening vitamin C, alpha hydroxy acids, buffing sea salt crystals, and even hydrating hyaluronic acid. Together, they can even out skin tone.
Best for Dry Skin: Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Resurfacing Body Scrub
Why It’s Worth It: This tacky green paste comes in a mess-free squeeze tube and smells faintly of papaya, pineapple, and pumpkin — all of which provide enzymatic exfoliation. Lactic and salicylic acids also chemically exfoliate, but it’s the pumice-stone particles — the key physical exfoliants present — that really get in there to buff away rough, stubborn patches. Kate Somerville’s ExfoliKate Resurfacing Body Scrub is also infused with honey and aloe to nourish skin. The end result? Soft, smooth, and radiant skin from head to toe.
Best for Ingrown Hairs: This Works Perfect Leg Scrub
Why It’s Worth It: This Works Perfect Leg Scrub is spiked with Himalayan pink salt crystals to delicately buff away dead skin cells, so its blend of blackcurrant, sweet almond, and crambie oils can penetrate deeply to deliver a smoothing burst of moisture. Goodbye, ingrown hairs.
Best for Body Acne: Neutrogena Body Clear Body Scrub
Why It’s Worth It: In the same way you’d use an acne cleanser for breakouts on your face, the Neutrogena Body Clear Body Scrub’s lathering formula is laced with blemish-busting salicylic acid and tiny exfoliating beads to thwart body blemishes and keep new ones at bay.
Best for Keratosis Pilaris: First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub with 10% AHA
Why It’s Worth It: First Aid Beauty’s KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub is a Readers’ Choice Award winner that’ll address a slew of texture concerns, including keratosis pilaris. This concoction of glycolic and lactic acids provides intensive exfoliation to remove dead skin cells, excess oil, and keratin buildup from your pores while pumice-based buffing beads polish the surface of your skin for a smoother, softer feel.
Best Fragrance-Free: Versed Buff It Out Fragrance-Free AHA Exfoliating Body Scrub
Why It’s Worth It: Sensitive to added fragrances? Then round out your in-shower body-care routine with Versed’s Buff It Out Fragrance-Free AHA Exfoliating Body Scrub. As its name suggests, this formula is completely fragrance-free and smooths skin with the help of exfoliating alpha hydroxy acids and micro pumice beads.
Best for Hair and Body: Ouai Scalp & Body Scrub
Why It’s Worth It: Ouai’s Scalp & Body Scrub is great at sloughing away dead skin cells on limbs, but also gentle enough to use on your scalp. The luxe exfoliator, created by hairstylist Jen Atkin, is made with sugar crystals to remove product buildup, excess sebum, and dry patches of skin (including flakes on your scalp) without drying your hair out. This Best of Beauty-winning sugar scrub is also formulated with probiotics for balancing your skin’s natural bacteria levels — as in, the good bacteria — and moisturizing coconut oil.
Best Scented: Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum Body Scrub
Why It’s Worth It: Make summer last all year with Sol De Janeiro’s delicious Bum Bum Body Scrub, a 2023 Readers’ Choice Award winner. Just like the cream of the same name, it has that heavenly vanilla caramel scent, but it’s the super-fine, sand-like texture that will win you over. The formula uses crushed cupuaçu seeds and sugar crystals to gently dissolve dead skin cells while Amazonian guarana (which has five times more caffeine than coffee) stimulates circulation, and pure-pressed coconut oil leaves a silky afterglow.
Best for Beginners: Tula Skincare Take Care + Polish Revitalize & Cleanse Body Exfoliator
Why It’s Worth It: This scrub is especially ideal for exfoliating newbies. Tula’s Exfoliating Body Wash is a two-in-one cleanser, so texture-wise, it’s softer and gel-like rather than rough and grainy. The pretty pink formula relies on three powerhouse AHAs (glycolic, malic, and lactic acids) to smooth and brighten.