The Best Body Scrubs for Smooth and Radiant Skin from Scalp to Toe (2024)

We tend to spend most of our time, money, and effort on our faces, but the skin below the chin deserves the same TLC to look smooth, luminous, and healthy. Body-care brands have arrived along with elaborate body routines. The options available are extensive, from exfoliating cleansers and moisturizers that double as treatments (hello, retinol body lotions) to red light therapy devices that promise to firm and smooth. They can be helpful, but if you're looking for a streamlined body-care routine, experts suggest zeroing in on a hydrating body wash and an effective body scrub. Scrubs exfoliate the skin, buffing off dead skin cells, dirt, and impurities. "Regular use of a body scrub can promote cellular renewal, smooth skin texture, and reduce buildup," says Azadeh Shirazi, MD, a board-certified dermatologist. Scrubbing also helps the products you apply afterward work better, too. "Exfoliation allows topicals to penetrate more evenly and deeply, allowing for increased or optimal performance," says Vanessa Coppola, skin expert and founder of Bare Aesthetic MedSpa.

What to consider when using a body scrub

To get the most out of your body scrub, apply it on clean, damp skin, recommends Coppola: "Rub in a circular motion with gentle pressure—scrubbing should never be painful or irritating." How often you exfoliate depends on your skin type. Those with sensitive or dry skin should start exfoliating once every other week and build up frequency as tolerated. Others can get away with it once or twice in the same week.

Now that you're caught up on best practices, keep reading to find out the best body scrubs on the market, according to experts.

The experts:

• Azadeh Shirazi, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in California
• Vanessa Coppola, skin expert and founder of Bare Aesthetic MedSpa in New Jersey

A combination of lactic acid, glycolic acid, and bamboo charcoal are in this formula to physically and chemically exfoliate skin and unveil a more radiant and even complexion. While it works double duty to offer clear skin, it's still gentle and leaves behind a moisturizing feel thanks to coconut and sunflower seed oils. "My favorite part of this scrub is its subtle spa-like scent," says Oprah Daily beauty editor Genesis Rivas.

Get rid of scaly skin, razor bumps, or ingrowns with this scrub that leaves skin feeling soft and smooth. While it's called Perfect Legs, you can use it all over your body to reap its benefits. It contains mineral-rich salts to exfoliate and soothe. Blackcurrant and sweet almond and crambe oils help restore moisture to dry and dehydrated skin.

This TikTok viral sensation is popular for good reason. Tree Hut scrubs are affordable and effective, and have fun signature scents that make shower time soothing or uplifting. This particular sugar-based scrub contains hydrating hyaluronic acid to retain moisture, and green microalgae and rainbow algae to induce a glowing finish.

"I really love this scrub because it combines salt and minerals from the Dead Sea with natural emollients, oils, and algae," says Coppola. It offers a deep scrub that leaves your skin feeling ultra clean, but not stripped. "It feels heavenly and is alcohol-free, so it won't dry out skin."

Coppola recommends this pick for dry and sensitive skin. "It's a finely milled medium-texture scrub that contains hydrating ingredients such as shea butter and virgin coconut oil," she says. After each use, your skin feels soft to the touch and adequately moisturized.

Shirazi likes this formula because it's both a physical and chemical exfoliant, so it works double-duty to help smooth keratosis pilaris, the skin condition that causes dry, tiny, rough bumps. It contains glycolic and lactic acids to exfoliate and brighten, pumice beads to physically slough away dead skin, and bisabolol extract to calm and soothe irritated skin.

Manuka honey is loaded with amino acids, vitamins, and antioxidants to restore the skin's glow and prevent inflammation and irritation. It also contains a blend of fruit enzymes and alpha hydroxy acids, so if you leave it on your skin for three to five minutes (as recommended by the brand), it offers a deeper exfoliation. The best part is, despite its heavy-duty exfoliating, the moisturizing formula won't leave you feeling dry or stripped.

You can't go wrong with this $7 option. It contains macadamia to physically exfoliate and rice milk to counteract any potential irritation that might come from scrubbing. It's creamy and easily spreads across the body while leaving skin feeling comfortable and hydrated.

Oprah’s pedicurist, Gloria Williams, a.k.a. the Footnanny, created this body scrub to give your skin the TLC it deserves. It's made with nourishing safflower oil, moisturizing vitamin E, and exfoliating sugarcane grains. It also has parsley flakes, which help decrease inflammation and even out the skin tone.

A body mitt is great for super-sensitive skin, plus it does the work for you without having to invest in another product. It's made with bamboo and other natural fibers to gently exfoliate the skin and remove impurities.

Get a true head-to-toe experience with this scalp-friendly scrub. It's made with sugar crystals to gently exfoliate, panthenol and glycerin to moisturize, and coconut oil to nourish and soften the skin. It can be used on all hair and skin types and is safe for color-treated hair.

Whether you experience bumpy skin, blemishes, or strawberry skin, this exfoliating scrub will retexturize to give you soft-to-the-touch skin. It contains glycolic, lactic, and salicylic acids—a trifecta of exfoliating acids. It also has crushed maracuja seeds to polish.

It's an oil cleanser, a scrub, and a moisturizer all in one, so you can count on it gently cleansing the skin without making it dry or stripped of moisture, thanks to safflower seed oil.

Not only is this cruelty-free and vegan formula a satisfying sugar scrub that sloughs away dead skin, but it also doubles as a body wash. As you work the sugar granules onto your skin, the formula becomes a sudsy lather that cleanses. It's a gentle formula great for all skin types, and it comes in various scents.

Our beauty team is dedicated to finding you the best of the best formulas. We spoke with skin experts to learn about what to look for in a body scrub and got their go-to recommendations. We also researched and tested top-rated and brand-new formulas that hit the market to help you find the best products out there.