Best Overall
Ursa Major Green Slate Mineral Polish
Pros Super-fine crystals are safe for sensitive skin Contains natural ingredients Can also help control oil
You may have thought the perfect face scrub doesn’t exist but we’re here to tell you it does—and it’s this one. Out of all the face scrubs we tested, we kept coming back to this one for a variety of reasons. First, it contains both physical and chemical exfoliants, which is handy when you really want to make sure you’re really getting the job done when it comes to exfoliating. The physical exfoliants, from volcanic ash and aluminum oxide, are super-fine and feel like soft sand on your face. It’s surprisingly gentle, which is important for a scrub, not only to avoid damaging your skin but also to make it possible to use on all skin types, even sensitive skin. The chemical exfoliant element comes from wintergreen, a natural source of salicylic acid, which helps to remove gunk from inside your pores as well as on the surface of your skin.
All the ingredients in this scrub are naturally derived, which isn’t always a deal-breaker for us, but when we find an effective product that is also natural, we certainly like that. The other ingredients in the formula, like glacial oceanic clay which helps to give skin a matte texture and meadowsweet flower which helps to control oil, keep working on your skin even after you’ve washed it off your face. The entire package leaves your skin feeling incredibly smooth and deep-cleaned but not dry and looking brighter and more even-toned. When used as directed (once or twice a week) it made a visible improvement on how healthy our skin looked even days after using it.
While it is recommended to wash your face before using this scrub, we can give this scrub a pass because, in the grand scheme of things, that’s a small price to pay for using such an effective and gentle scrub. Stacking it up against the other scrubs on this list, it basically takes all the things we like about the others—like the ultra-fine particles of the Dermalogica Microfoliant, the chemical component to the Dr. Loretta Enzyme Polish and the gentleness of the Cetaphil Extra Gentle Scrub—and combines them all into one package. So yes, the perfect scrub really does exist.
Read More: Best Face Washes
Active Ingredients Wintergreen, willow bark, meadowsweet flower, glacial oceanic clay Scrub Material Volcanic ash, aluminum oxide Cleansing No Size 3.88 oz.
Best Cleansing Scrub
ATWATER Skin Armor Face Scrub
Pros Cleanses and exfoliates Uses chemical and physical exfoliants Gentle enough for sensitive skin Cons Some people may want more exfoliating power
We always love a product that gets multiple jobs done, which is why this scrub is at the top of our favorites list. Unlike many other scrubs, this pulls double duty as a cleanser, so you don’t need to wash your face before you use it. It may sound silly, but when you’re pressed for time or tired after a long day, those sorts of things make a difference. Because it’s a cleansing scrub, it’s not chock-full of scrubbing particles. Instead, there’s just enough to gently exfoliate your face and then the salicylic acid that’s also in the formula helps get the rest of the job of exfoliating done (plus, it can help remove gunk from inside your pores, too).
The scrub itself has a deep green color from the chlorophyllin copper complex, an ingredient derived from chlorophyll that’s rich in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties. After washing with this scrub, our faces felt incredibly clean and looked visibly brighter and healthier with no clear irritation. Since there are fewer particles compared to other scrubs on this list, it can be used every day, though we always recommend using a new scrub once or twice a week at first to see how your skin reacts. But if you like the feeling of a deeper clean every day, this is the perfect cleanser/scrub to have on hand.
Active Ingredients Clorophyllin copper complex, salicylic acid Scrub Material Jojoba beads Cleansing Yes Size 3.4 oz.
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Best Moisturizing Scrub
Goldfaden MD Doctor’s Scrub
Pros Contains moisturizing ingredients Suitable for sensitive and mature skin Can be used every day Cons Expensive compared to other scrubs
The problem we’ve found with many scrubs is that even when they do a great job of exfoliating your skin, they often leave your skin feeling overly tight and dry, a classic sign of over cleansing. This is particularly the case when you need to use a cleanser before scrubbing. This scrub, however, with its ultra-fine ruby crystals is not only super gentle on your skin, but is also packed with moisturizing ingredients like jojoba oil and hyaluronic acid, so it hydrates your skin at the same as it scrubs away dead skin cells. Not only does your face feel smooth and supple right after you use it, but with consistent use over time, we noticed our skin looked plumper, smoother and well-hydrated for days after using it.
Since the crystals in this scrub are ultra-fine, not to mention the plethora of additional skin-healthy ingredients, this scrub is incredibly effective yet still okay to use on sensitive and even aging skin. In fact, the moisturization factor can help plump out the look of some fine lines and wrinkles. Theoretically, you can use this every day, however, we used it twice a week and were so happy with the results we didn’t feel like we needed more. Personally, we think that using it every day may be overkill unless you have incredibly resilient skin. Trust us, even just a few times a week is enough to achieve incredible results with this scrub.
Active Ingredients Jojoba oil, seaweed extract, hyaluronic acid, red tea extract Scrub Material Ruby crystals Cleansing No Size 3.5 oz.
Best Daily Scrub
Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant
Pros Gentle enough to use every day Also contains salicylic acid and calming ingredients Helps control blackheads Cons Powder formula can come with a learning curve
Generally, we’re skeptical of daily scrubs because most people don’t need to be exfoliating their skin every single day. However, this scrub is the daily scrub that we can actually get behind. It’s perhaps the gentlest scrub we’ve found because the scrubbing particles, which are made from rice bran, are so ultra-fine they don’t even feel like particles at all. The scrub comes out of the tube as a powder, which you add water to to create a creamy lather. When you apply it to your face, it barely feels like a scrub at all, more like a slightly rough foam. Since the scrub is so fine, we found that the risk of over scrubbing or damaging your skin is fairly minimal.
Because of that powder format, it can be a little hard to get used to using. We found that it’s best to get your hands very wet first and then shake the powder into your hands (instead of adding water later). It lathers quickly and unlike other similar powder products that we’ve tried, doesn’t turn into paste. Finding the right amount of powder for an effective scrub can take a bit as well, but we found that three to four good shakes do the trick. You still should cleanse your skin before you use it, as well, but with the addition of salicylic acid to help deep clean your pores and colloidal oatmeal to soothe skin, once you’ve used it your skin feels fresh, smooth and extra clean.
Active Ingredients Salicylic acid, colloidal oatmeal, allantoin, phytic acid Scrub Material Rice bran Cleansing No Size 2.6 oz.
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Best Drugstore Scrub
Cetaphil Extra Gentle Daily Scrub
Pros Cleanses and scrubs Gentle enough for daily use Good value Cons May not be strong enough for some people
The benefit of Cetaphil, and the reason why it’s always a reliable drugstore option, is that everything they make is designed with sensitive skin in mind. This scrub is no exception and, since it’s designed to be used daily, is ultra gentle. It’s a combo cleanser and scrub, which is always a hit with us, and the gel texture is smooth without much lather (often, lathering cleansers strip your skin more than non-lathering versions). After washing, it doesn’t leave your skin feeling overly dry or tight. Instead, it feels hydrated and smooth.
The tiny bamboo particles work well to physically exfoliate your skin and, while there aren’t any additional chemical exfoliating ingredients unlike other scrubs on this list, it feels effective and leaves your skin looking bright and feeling smooth. Some people may want a bit more scrubbing power, but if you have sensitive skin or want to use a scrub every day (like if you want to use this as your primary cleanser), it’s ideal. Plus, you can’t beat the value.
Active Ingredients Glycerin, Vitamin B5, Vitamin E Scrub Material Micro-fine bamboo particles Cleansing Yes Size 6 oz.
Best Luxury Scrub
Dr. Loretta Exfoliating Enzyme Polish
Pros Contains physical and chemical exfoliators Niacinamide helps fortify skin barrier Contains additional moisturizing ingredients Cons Very expensive compared to other scrubs
What makes this scrub so great is the combination of physical and chemical exfoliants. That might not sound groundbreaking, since many of the other scrubs on this list have that too, but the specific combination of the two that is featured in this formula is what makes it such a pleasure to use. The ultra-fine “bio-fermented polish” that’s in this scrub seems thick when it comes out of the tube, but once you apply it to your face it reveals a super fine texture that smooths over your skin with ease and doesn’t irritate. The chemical exfoliant is fruit-derived enzymes, which gently help remove dead skin cells from the surface of your skin and, again, without any irritation.
The creamy texture is luxurious and packed with not only niacinamide, which helps strengthen your skin’s protective barrier, but also coconut oil and glycerin which leave your skin looking and feeling super moisturized. The price tag is high, which may be hard to justify for some people, but the process of using it—not to mention the great results—is worth it enough for us to say it’s definitely worth shelling out.
Active Ingredients Safflower seed oil, pomegranate fruit ferment extract, niacinamide Scrub Material Bio-fermented polish Cleansing No Size 1.69 oz.
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Best Gentle Scrub
Paula’s Choice The UnScrub
Pros Cleanses and exfoliates Gentle enough for sensitive skin Very moisturizing Cons Expensive compared to other scrubs
There are plenty of gentle scrubs on this list, but what makes this one the best is not just the creamy, but not heavy texture, but the glycerin and caprylic triglyceride in the formula, both of which not just moisturize skin but help it retain moisture longer. We found that using this just a couple of times a week helped our skin feel moisturized longer as well as helping it look brighter and more even. We also love it, of course, because it cleanses as well, and you know how we feel about products that pull double duty.
Overall, this scrub is pretty simple with minimal additional ingredients that could bog down the formula. That’s exactly what makes it so great. It does what it sets out to do (cleanse and exfoliate your skin) and does it extremely well without trying to do too many additional things. Realistically, properly cleansed and exfoliated skin allows other products to penetrate your skin and work better, so using this as a first step means that whatever you put on your face afterward is going to really go to town. That’s exactly the reason this scrub doesn’t try to force too much at once—and that’s why we love it.
Active Ingredients Glycerin, caprylic triglyceride, chamomile extract Scrub Material Jojoba esters Cleansing Yes Size 4 oz.
Most Balanced Face Scrub
iS CLINICAL Cleansing Complex Polish
Pros Powerful exfoliator but gentle on skin Unscented Also cleanses Cons Expensive compared to other scrubs
How gentle a scrub is is always important–you don’t want to use a harsh scrub that may damage your skin–but you also don’t want to sacrifice exfoliating power. This cleansing scrub hits exactly the right balance of gentleness and efficacy. This gel is packed with naturally dissolving jojoba esters that go to work to whisk away dead skin cells and buildup from the surface of your skin after just one use, but it’s also packed with glycerin to maintain moisture and leave your skin feeling healthy and supple, not dry or scratched. There’s also sugarcane in the formula, a natural chemical exfoliant that helps leave your skin feeling incredibly smooth.
We wouldn’t recommend using this every day, though it’s gentle enough that if you have especially resilient skin you probably could. For most people, once or twice a week is more than enough to slough away dead skin and brighten your complexion. Not to mention, it will leave your skink with a deep clean, but not uncomfortable, feeling. It may be on the expensive side, but in our book, the results speak for themselves and justify the price.
Scrub Material Glycerin, sugarcane Cleansing Jojoba esters Size Yes Active Ingredients 4 oz.
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Best Scrub For Clogged Pores
Versed Day Maker Microcrystal Exfoliatior
Pros Uses plant-based, biodegradable scrub particles Good for acne-prone skin Helps regulate oil Cons Some may not like the creamy texture
The creaminess of this scrub, combined with the fine scrubbing particles, make it a great option for basically anyone. But if you struggle with breakouts or blackheads, it’s especially good. Generally, using a scrub with active breakouts isn’t advised, but if you’re not breaking out and just want to get rid of blackheads and help control oil that could lead to future breakouts, this is a great option. The black currant and raspberry leaf extracts in the formula help to control oil production and reduce inflammation that can both lead to pimples.
The scrubbing particles aren’t as super fine as other scrubs on this list, which means it’s not ideal for daily use, but they also help to remove deep-seated dirt and grime from your pores that leads to blackheads. We recommend using it once or twice a week to keep your skin smooth and help reduce the occurrence of future breakouts. Even if you’re not concerned about pimples or blackheads, the formula is moisturizing and the creamy texture is a pleasure to use, which we endorse for pretty much everyone.
Read More: How to Get Rid of Blackheads
Active Ingredients Black currant and raspberry leaf extract, sunflower seed oil, jojoba oil Scrub Material Microcrystalline Cleansing No Size 3 oz.
How to Use a Facial Scrub
Most scrubs are designed to be used after cleansing your face, so you’ll want to wash your face thoroughly with a face cleanser before using it. After washing, apply a small amount of the scrub to your hands and then gently scrub your face in circular motions, making sure to cover hard-to-reach areas like around your nose. Don’t press too hard or scrub aggressively as you’ll risk scraping or damaging your skin. Let the scrub do the work, not your hands. You’ll usually want to scrub for about a minute and then rinse thoroughly with warm water.
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How Often to Use a Facial Scrub
Some more gentle scrubs are designed for daily use, but generally you want to use a scrub once or twice a week. Most people don’t need more exfoliation than that. Even if you are using a daily scrub, keep it to once or twice a week at first to see how your skin reacts. If you have no reaction, you can work up to every day.
Can You Over Exfoliate?
Yes, you can, which is why it’s best to start slow. Over-exfoliation may lead to redness, irritation and damage to your skin’s protective barrier. If you think you’ve over-exfoliated, stop using the scrub (or other exfoliator) immediately and consult a dermatologist.
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