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The best body scrub of 2024 keeps skin healthy, soft and smooth
The Body Exfoliator by Nécessaire is the GOAT when it comes to body scrubs — find out why we ranked it the best of the best.
You know that feeling when you haven’t washed your hair in a couple of days, your legs are fuzzy and you just feel like you need a good, long clean? It may be time for an “everything shower,” as the kids say. As the name suggests, everything showers are reserved for when you have time to do it all: exfoliate and shave, plus apply a hair mask in addition to regular ol' shampooing, conditioning and cleansing. First order of business? Breaking out the best body scrub known to man (which you shall learn about shortly). After all, full body exfoliation is not only one of life’s greatest pleasures, it’s also healthy for your skin. Removing all those dead surface skin cells makes way for a softer and smoother surface underneath while abolishing body acne and encouraging skin cell health.
Best overall body scrub
Nécessaire The Body Exfoliator
Best splurge body scrub
Omorovicza Gold Sugar Scrub
Best budget body scrub (and best for dry skin)
Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrub Coco Colada
Best body scrub for keratosis pilaris
First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub
Best body scrub for ingrown hairs
Eos Cashmere Skin Collection Pre-Shave Scrub
Choosing a body scrub might sound easy — especially compared to other skin care products (like sorting out the best face serums for your particular skin type). However, the truth is, scrubs have different consistencies, fragrances and exfoliating ingredients that make them a better or worse fit for your particular preferences.
I'm a big fan of in-spa body scrubs, but I'm equally happy to get my scrub on at home. For this story, I tried more than a dozen of the highest-rated body scrubs. Keep reading to see the five I've rated best for maintaining soft, smooth skin — then clear your calendar to take an everything shower of your own!
Table of contents
Others we tested that didn't make the cut
The best body scrubs of 2024, tested and reviewed
Key ingredients: Charcoal, glycolic acid, salicylic acid, glycerin, niacinamide | Size: 6.1 oz | Scent: Eucalyptus
I had a few criteria in mind for choosing the best overall scrub. The product needed to have the right balance of grit (not too harsh, but gritty enough to be effective), smell great and make my skin feel completely rejuvenated. Nécessaire’s The Body Exfoliator checks all of my boxes and then some.
First, it’s a physical and chemical exfoliant, so it does double duty by combining volcanic pumice with AHAs, BHAs and PHAs. The result is a fine-grain and foamy solution that made my skin feel instantly soft.
Unlike other body scrubs I tested that had thicker (and goopier) consistencies, Nécessaire’s formula stays on long enough to gently exfoliate without making you feel like you're racing a clock. Its calming eucalyptus scent promotes a spa-like vibe (it’s also available in a bergamot scent). Fun fact: The scrub is a favorite of none other than Ayo Edebiri, who hilariously clocked it as “the type of thing a wealthy woman in a Nancy Meyers movie would own.”
- Vegan and cruelty-free
- Dermatologist-tested
- Non-comedogenic
- Comes in a mess-free tube
- Somewhat pricey
- Has a fragrance, so not suitable for scent-sensitive types
Key ingredients: Colloidal gold, fair-trade cane sugar, capsicum peptide, proprietary mineral-rich concentrate | Size: 6.76 oz | Scent: Floral
Speaking of wealthy women, if money is no object allow me to introduce you to Omorovicza’s $93 Gold Sugar Scrub. If you’re going to splurge on an exfoliator, you might as well slather your body in literal gold. The ingredients in this luxurious scrub certainly feel rich — fair-trade cane sugar is used to slough off dead skin cells, while antioxidant-packed capsicum plant peptides make the skin look more radiant and healthy.
It also features colloidal gold, which has antioxidant, antimicrobial and antifungal properties and has been shown to reduce age spots and unwanted hyperpigmentation. Then there’s the brand’s proprietary Healing Concentrate, which is made with Budapest’s actual mineral-rich, healing water.
I like using this scrub with my favorite exfoliating glove, Daily Concepts Daily Deep Exfoliation Mitt. That way, I can really target the rough and dark areas on my body, like the thighs (gotta love that summer chafing). I’ll even use it as a foot scrub (I haven’t made it to the nail salon in a minute, I hate to admit). Overall, I love any kind of bath and shower product that can make me feel like I’m not in my shower and somewhere else when I close my eyes (like the healing waters of Budapest?!), and this one does it for me.
- Free of sulfates, phthalates, parabens, mineral oil, silicone, talc and more
- Cruelty-free and Leaping Bunny–certified
- Tackles aging signs on the body like dark spots
- It’s easy for water to get into the tub packaging
- Contains mica, which can be problematic for some
Key ingredients: sugar, shea butter, pineapple and natural plant oils | Size: 18 oz | Scent: Coconut and pineapple
I remember seeing TikTok video after TikTok video of showers filled with dozens of Tree Hut scrubs. I can now understand the obsession. These body scrubs leave my skin feeling supersoft and moisturized and come in 22 different scent options (my favorite is this piña-colada-esque Coco Colada). The product is housed in an ample-sized tub (18 oz), and the consistency is thick, so you can easily control how much you want to use without it running down your leg and into the drain. Plus, a little goes a long way, so for under $10, you're getting a lot of bang for your buck.
- Paraben-free, sulfate-free, alcohol-free
- You get a good amount of product for the price
- Vegan and cruelty-free
- Easy to control how much you want to use
- Contains added fragrance; scent overall might be too strong for some
- Can leave bathtub slippery from the natural oils
Key ingredients: glycolic acid, lactic acid, pumice buffing beads, bisabolol, vitamin E | Size: 8 oz | Scent: Fragrance-free
Keratosis pilaris (KP) aka strawberry skin, is an incredibly common condition that creates whet looks like tiny bumps on the skin and affects at least 50% of teenagers and 40% of all U.S. adults. I’ve had KP on my upper arms since I was a kid. While it’s significantly reduced over the years, it’s still bumpy and annoying, but if I find a good scrub, it goes away. First Aid Beauty’s KP Bump Eraser, has more than 25,000 glowing reviews. The product sounded promising for helping to alleviate my KP, and, as it turned out, it actually was.
The scrub uses chemical and physical exfoliators, which is always a win for any type of scrub, IMHO. In this case, it teams AHAs, like glycolic and lactic acids, with natural pumice buffing beads. After using this just once, my arms looked and felt 10 times smoother. Of course, it’s not a miracle worker. You have to be consistent with a scrub like this to treat KP regularly.
Another big bonus here is the scrub is fragrance-free, so my fellow KP sufferers who are sensitive to scent can use it without worry.
- Free from mineral oil, parabens, petrolatum, phthalates, sulfates, talc and more
- Dermatologist-tested
- Vegan and cruelty-free
- AHAs can cause skin to be more sun-sensitive
- Product can be hard to squeeze out when it’s almost finished
Key ingredients: Sugar, shea, cocoa and argan butters, | Size: 6.1 oz | Scent: Vanilla cashmere
The Eos Cashmere Pre-Shave Scrub is now officially my go-to for my own everything shower, when I shave my entire body, arms and all. It’s made with sugar and several butters — shea, cocoa and argan — that make my skin so incredibly baby-soft! After all is done with my shaving extravaganza, sometimes I almost don’t want to apply a body cream when I step out of the shower. It feels that good. Also, I haven't had an ingrown hair in months.
- Very affordable
- Made with sustainable shea butter
- Dermatologist-tested and cruelty-free
- Helps reduce ingrown hairs
- Some find the tube hard to squeeze
- Fragrance is strong, so may not be for sensitive noses
How we tested
To find the best body scrubs on the market, I used my over decade-long expertise as a beauty editor obsessed with all things skin care and tested 15 body scrubs. I kept in mind certain features and factors, like the texture (was the exfoliation effective without being too rough?), quality of ingredients, how well the product exfoliated my skin (did it feel soft afterward?) and whether it improved the appearance (did I notice more smoothness). I also noted whether it clogged my tub or not — a real problem with some of the thicker, less-well-made scrubs!
Others body scrubs tested that didn’t make the cut
I really wanted to love the Fenty Skin Cherry Dub Triple Action AHA Body Scrub, but it was a total fail (sorry, Rihanna!). While I loved the cherry-scented formula, it was way too slippery and kept falling off of my body before I got to actually scrub it on my skin. My dog even thought it was something edible and literally jumped into the tub.
Body scrub FAQs
What are body scrubs?
Body scrubs are products that use physical exfoliants (some also have chemical exfoliators) to remove dead skin cells and promote cell turnover. This results in a whole slew of fabulous benefits, ranging from smoother and softer skin texture to a reduction in dark spots, lesser risk of ingrown hairs, prevention of breakouts, reduction of the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, stimulation of blood flow, encouragement of collagen production, and better penetration of lotions, body creams and moisturizers.
How often should I use a body scrub?
Most experts advise against using a body scrub more than once or twice a week due to the risk of over-exfoliation, which can lead to redness and irritation and make your skin more vulnerable to damage. If you have sensitive skin, it’s especially important not to go overboard.
Do I have to worry about microbeads in body scrubs?
In the past, face and body scrubs contained little plastic spheres known as microbeads, which were dangerous to the planet and ended up in rivers, lakes and oceans. Thankfully, in 2015, then-President Barack Obama signed the Microbead-Free Waters Act into law, banning them from being used in personal care products. Nowadays, brands use natural microbead alternatives such as sugar, jojoba beads, pumice powder, coffee grains and more.
What ingredients should I look for in a body scrub?
Body scrubs typically contain gentle natural exfoliants like pumice powder, sugar, salt, etc., but additional exfoliants in the form of AHAs, like glycolic and lactic acids, can level them up. They're especially helpful if you are dealing with skin issues that require an extra boost of exfoliation, like KP. Natural moisturizing ingredients, like plant butters and botanical oils, ensure skin is hydrated and nourished after scrubbing the dead skin cells away.
We received complimentary samples of some products and purchased others ourselves, but we reviewed all products using the same objective criteria.
