11 Best Body Scrubs for Smooth Skin All Year Long

Editor's tip: This combination of physical and chemical exfoliators is powerful, so limit use to once or twice a week.

Key ingredients: volcanic pumice, niacinamide, alpha hydroxy acid | Who it's for: dry to oily skin, acne-prone skin | Fragrance-free: no

Best Salt-Based Body Exfoliator: 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, like amino acids, minerals, and antioxidants. The lavender only adds to the experience, giving the scrub an extra-indulgent feel.

Editor's tip: The salt base may be too harsh for sensitive skin types, so those with easily irritated skin should proceed cautiously.

Key ingredients: salt, safflower seed oil, shea butter | Who it's for: acne-prone skin, dry skin, oily skin | Fragrance-free: no

Best for Treating KP: 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 addresses several 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. At the same time, pumice-based buffing beads polish the surface of your skin for a smoother, softer feel.

Editor's tip: Though its main purpose is tackling KP, this scrub can also treat rough patches of skin on your elbows, knees, and feet.

Key ingredients: pumice, glycolic acid, vitamin E | Who it's for: those with chicken skin, KP, and other bumps or textural concerns | Fragrance-free: yes

Best Body Exfoliator for Dry Skin: C & The Moon Malibu Made Body Scrub

Why it's worth it: C & The Moon's Malibu Made Body Scrub is a conditioning savior for ultra-dry, flaky skin. It'll soften your roughest parts with a mix of hydrating brown sugar-based buffing crystals alongside a slew of moisturizing oils, including sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, and coconut oil. This formula is so moisturizing that you won't even have to apply a body lotion after stepping out of the shower (unless you want a hit of extra moisture).

Editor's tip: If you're currently obsessed with the gourmand fragrance craze taking over TikTok, you'll love the true-vanilla scent of this scrub.

Key ingredients: brown sugar, sweet almond oil, castor oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil | Who it's for: dry skin, flaky skin | Fragrance-free: no (food-grade vanilla extract)

Best Body Exfoliator for Body Acne: 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 skin to minimize irritation and redness.

Editor's tip: You can also use this product as a body mask for active breakouts. For an intensive body acne treatment, the brand recommends leaving this scrub on your skin for up to 5 minutes.

Key ingredients: alpha hydroxy acids, centella asiatic, hyaluronic acid | Who it's for: people with bumps, breakouts, and ingrown hairs | Fragrance-free: yes

Best Sugar-Based Body Exfoliator: Biossance Squalane + Enzyme Sugar Body Scrub

Why it's worth it: The beauty of sugar-based exfoliants like Biossance's Squalane + Enzyme Sugar Body Scrub is that the star exfoliant acts as a hydrating humectant as its granular texture exfoliates your skin. That means as sugar scrubs away dry patches, pore-clogging sweat, and excess oil, it also provides much-needed moisture to leave your skin feeling soft and plump without a tight, stripped feel post-scrub. This gentle, Allure Best of Beauty Award-winning exfoliator also contains squalane, a lipid known for its conditioning and skin-smoothing properties.

Editor's tip: Its ultra-fine sugar crystals dissolve quickly, making clogged drains a thing of the past.

Key ingredients: sugar, squalane, pomegranate enzymes | Who it's for: normal to dry skin | Fragrance-free: no (essential oil-based fragrances)

Most Intensive Body Exfoliator: Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Resurfacing Body Scrub

Why it's worth it: Kate Somerville's ExfoliKate Resurfacing Body Scrub is an Allure Best of Beauty Award-winning formula our editors swear by for revealing velvet-smooth skin. Lactic and salicylic acids also chemically exfoliate, but the pumice-stone particles—the key physical exfoliants present—really get in there to buff away rough, stubborn patches. This scrub is also infused with honey and aloe to nourish the skin. The end result? Soft, smooth, and radiant skin from head to toe.

Editor's tip: This tacky green paste comes in a mess-free squeeze tube and smells faintly of papaya, pineapple, and pumpkin—all providing enzymatic exfoliation.

Key ingredients: pumice, papaya enzymes, lactic acid | Who it's for: people with dry patches and rough knees and elbows | Fragrance-free: no (essential oil-based fragrances)

Best Scented Body Exfoliator: 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 the super-fine, sand-like texture 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 behind silky, glowing skin.

Editor tip: It leaves skin with a subtle shimmer, so slather this before a night out.

Key ingredients: sugar, coconut oil, guarana | Who it's for: people who want to show some skin | Fragrance-free: no

Best Exfoliating Bar: Soft Services Buffing Bar

Why it's worth it: The Soft Services Buffing Bar tackles body bumps and brings tough ingrown hairs to the surface using microfine crystals. A 2022 Best of Beauty winner, this bar is a favorite among people with ketosis pilaris. In her glowing review, Allure commerce producer Sarah Hoffmann called the bar "one of the easiest, most low-maintenance solutions I've come across." However, since it has a grittier feel and more intensive formula than other options on this list, this product isn't for you if you have sunburned or very sensitive skin.

Editor's tip: The bar can initially feel harsh when directly applied to the skin, so wet it entirely and let it soften before use.

Key ingredients: magnesium oxide and alumina, glycerin, shea butter | Who it's for: people with ketosis pilaris, rough skin, and ingrown hairs | Fragrance-free: yes

Gentlest Buffing Beads: Dove Body Scrub Brown Sugar & Coconut Butter

Why it's worth it: If you prefer minimal grittiness, try Dove’s Body Scrub Brown Sugar & Coconut Butter. This exfoliator has a creamier formulation than most scrubs and features brown sugar to delicately polish skin without scrubbing it raw. The addition of skin-conditioning coconut butter will make your skin feel smooth to the touch once you hop out of the shower. Allure associate manager of special projects Talia Gutierrez says this scrub is a must-have in her everything shower regimen. "It smells like deliciously sweet brown sugar cubes and does a great job of exfoliating my body," she explained.

Editor's tip: This scrub is available in three different scents, each featuring its own unique blend of physical exfoliators, but this brown sugar-based pick is our favorite for its slightly grittier texture.

Key ingredients: brown sugar, coconut butter | Who it's for: normal to dry skin, flaky skin | Fragrance-free: no

Best Drugstore Body Exfoliator: Tree Hut Ocean Glow Shea Sugar Scrub

Why it's worth it: "The affordable formula is super effective at buffing away dead skin without feeling too abrasive," said social media manager Bianca Richards of this TikTok-viral scrub and 2023 Best of Beauty Award winner. Tree Hut's Shea Sugar Scrub uses a mix of sugar and pumice beads to buff away dead skin and rough patches effectively, and alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) penetrate your pores to remove acne-causing bacteria and excess sebum. To keep dryness at bay as you slough away, this body polish is enriched with hydrating hyaluronic acid and antioxidant-rich algae extracts, the latter of which also brightens skin and evens discoloration.

Editor's tip: Tree Hut's lineup of exfoliating scrubs gets bonus points for its 20-plus fragrance lineup. Moroccan Rose is an Allure 2024 Readers' Choice Award winner while Richards is a fan of Exotic Bloom, which evokes "the feeling of settling into your sheets after spending a long day at the beach," Richards says.

Key ingredients: hyaluronic acid, green algae, sugar | Who it's for: people who want both exfoliation and hydration | Fragrance-free: no

Frequently Asked Questions

Body scrubs have tremendous benefits, especially for people with drier skin. "The good ones that aren't too rough or harsh on the skin will help make the skin feel nice and smooth by helping remove a dead layer of the skin," David Kim, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at Idriss Dermatology in New York City, says. "When your skin doesn't have that dead layer, it will also be able to absorb skin-care products much better!"

As you can expect from their name, body scrubs tend to contain physical exfoliators, which polish the top layer of skin to remove dead skin buildup. Most body scrubs have sugar- or salt-based granules that dissolve as you massage them onto your skin, minimizing the chances of micro-tears and irritation. With that being said, you can also find non-dissolving options made with skin-polishing bases like coffee grounds, plant seeds, and even ultra-fine rice powder. Gary Goldfaden, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Hollywood, Florida, and founder of Goldfaden MD skin care, previously told Allure to keep your physical exfoliant's base in mind when looking for a new body scrub in order to prevent issues like irritation. "People with oilier complexions have larger sebaceous glands, which makes their skin thicker and better able to tolerate more abrasive particles," he explained.

If you struggle with body acne or sensitive skin, it's understandable that you might be hesitant to put anything rough-feeling on your skin. Still, Dr. Kim explains to Allure that it's perfectly safe when used sparingly and gently. "I would recommend [body scrubs] only once or twice a month for people with sensitive skin," he says. "It's also important to moisturize the skin immediately after showering when it's slightly damp."

Dr. Goldfaden also had some exfoliating advice for sensitive skin: Generally use products with smaller granules, which are less likely to irritate, cut, or rub your skin. As always, if you start using a product that gives you an adverse reaction, stop using it immediately and consider speaking to your dermatologist or exploring other body scrub options.

• David Kim, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist at Idriss Dermatology in New York City.
• Gary Goldfaden, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist based in Hollywood, Florida, and founder of Goldfaden MD.

When Allure tests a product, our editors look at it from every angle in an effort to best serve you. We review ingredients, scrutinize brand claims, and, when necessary, examine peer-reviewed scientific and medical studies. In addition to testing each and every product that’s included in each and every review, we rely on experts who shape their fields, including dermatology, cosmetic chemistry, and medicine, to help us vet the ingredients and formulas.

For our list of best body scrubs, we considered each product’s performance across five primary categories: product ingredients and efficacy, packaging, fragrance, texture, and product wear. Every product was determined to have excelled in each category by our editorial team, which is composed of in-house writers and editors as well as contributors—along with special consideration from board-certified dermatologists we interviewed for the piece. To learn more information on our reporting and testing processes, read our complete reviews process and methodology page.

A beauty product is a personal purchase. You might be searching for a face cream to address persistent dryness or a new nail product to add to your Sunday self-care routine; you may simply be browsing around for the latest launches to hit the hair market. No matter what you seek or your individual needs and concerns, Allure wants to ensure that you love anything we recommend in our stories. We believe that having a diverse team of writers and editors—in addition to the wide range of outside testers and industry experts we regularly call upon—is essential to reaching that goal.

After all, can we really say a skin-care product is the "best" for people over 50 if the only testers we’ve solicited opinions from folks who have yet to hit 30? Can we honestly deem a high-end diffuser worthy of your hard-earned cash if it’s never been tested on curls? We’re proud that our staff spans a wide range of ages, skin tones, hair textures, genders, and backgrounds, which means that we are able to fairly assess any beauty product that comes into the beauty closet.

Read more about our favorite body care products:

• 12 Best Body Oils for Smooth, Glowy Skin All Year Round
• 15 Best Body Washes That Leave Our Skin Feeling Baby-Soft
• 11 Best Body Lotions for Mature Skin, According to Dermatologists
• My Keratosis Pilaris Is No Match for Soft Services' Buffing Bar

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