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Body scrubs are like the dessert of the skin-care world. Hear me out: They shouldn't replace your go-to body wash, but you're missing out on a major treat if you skip a body scrub in your showering routine altogether. For the sake of this cheeky analogy, may we point out that many of the best body scrubs feature the same ingredients as your favorite baked goods, including, but not limited to, brown sugar and coconut oil.
Not only do physical body exfoliators feel — and often smell — like an indulgent treat, but they're a vital part of taking care of your skin, New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Howard Sobel, M.D., previously told Allure. Scrubs "rid the skin of buildup and dead skin cells, leaving your skin looking brighter, smoother, and healthier."
The only catch? Figure out the frequency that works best for your skin — and don't go overboard. Board-certified dermatologist Loretta Ciraldo, M.D., 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."
Keep scrolling to check out 17 of the best body scrubs to add to your tub (or shower) time from brands such as Herbivore Botanicals, Dove, and Kopari. Some of them are so coveted they even won Best of Beauty Awards and Readers' Choice Awards.
All products featured on Allure are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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Ouai Scalp & Body Scrub
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. It's also formulated with probiotics for balancing your skin's natural bacteria levels — as in, the good bacteria — and moisturizing coconut oil.
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Beneath Your Mask Detoxifying Body Scrub
Dead Sea salts in Allure's Best of Beauty 2020-winning Beneath Your Mask Detoxifying Body Scrub really get in there to pull grime out of clogged pores. To balance things out, aloe vera puts moisture back into skin and avocado softens, so that skin doesn't feel dry and tight after you scrub.
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Dove Exfoliating Body Polish Crushed Macadamia & Rice Milk
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.
In true Dove fashion, the Exfoliating Body Polish Crushed Macadamia & Rice Milk also deeply hydrates, thanks to its composition of 25 percent moisturizing cream. These are just some of the reasons this affordable product won a 2021 Allure Readers' Choice Award.
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100% Pure Body Scrub
The scents of 100% Pure Body Scrub come in delicious-smelling honey almond, blood orange, coconut, and lavender varieties for an aromatherapy-fueled shower session. Crystalized sea salt at its base is suspended in a hydrating blend of sunflower and apricot oils that replenishes moisture while it sloughs away dead skin. Add this Best of Beauty 2020 winner to your shower, stat.
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Alba Botanica Acnedote Face & Body Scrub
The Alba Botanica Acnedote Face & Body Scrub just earned a Best of Beauty Award for the second year in a row. Ground walnut shells slough away dead skin while salicylic acid, a chemical exfoliant, penetrates deep into pores to clean out dirt, oil, and whatever else is sitting under the skin's surface. The under-$10 exfoliator is gentle enough to use on your face, but still tackles concerns like body acne with ease.
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The Seaweed Bath Co. Exfoliating Detox Scrub
This 2019 Best of Beauty winner relies on an array of natural ingredients to polish away rough patches: French clay to coax impurities out of the skin, finely ground walnut shells for a gentle exfoliation, and green coffee beans to revitalize the skin. All are wrapped up in a refreshing, rosemary minty scent and housed in The Seaweed Bath Co. Exfoliating Detox Scrub's sleek black tube.
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Herbivore Crushed Amethyst Exfoliating Body Polish
Just this once, we give you permission to judge a product by its packaging. The Instagram-ready Herbivore Crushed Amethyst Exfoliating Body Polish happens to be as effective as it is gorgeous. The pale lavender paste is brimming with Epsom salt and virgin coconut oil, as well as ground and tumbled amethyst gemstones for instantly boosting skin's luminosity and smoothness, making it an easy choice for a 2019 Best of Beauty Award.
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Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Stress Relief Eucalyptus + Spearmint Sugar Scrub
Slough away dulling dead skin with Bath & Body Works' Aromatherapy Stress Relief Eucalyptus + Spearmint Sugar Scrub, which contains skin-loving jojoba, sunflower, and almond oils to nourish skin as it exfoliates. The 2020 Readers' Choice Award winner also smells incredible and will turn your shower or bath time into a bona fide spa experience.
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This Works Perfect Leg Scrub
This buttery balm 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. The This Works Perfect Leg Scrub also happens to be a Best of Beauty Award winner from 2019, so it comes highly recommended.
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Neutrogena Body Clear Body Scrub
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. Plus, it's gentle enough to use on the reg.
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Dermadoctor KP Duty Body Scrub
This scrub helps treat keratosis pilaris (tiny bumps caused by keratin overproduction) with some serious physical and chemical exfoliators, including glycolic and lactic acids. Because this stuff is so potent, you'll want to use it as a weekly treatment rather than as a daily body buff.
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Fresh Brown Sugar Body Polish
The Fresh Brown Sugar Body Polish launched almost two decades ago, but unlike frosty eye shadow, it's just as popular today as it was in the early aughts — and arguably the inspiration for every brown sugar body scrub since. This fan-favorite harnesses the exfoliating power of scrumptious brown sugar crystals, yet it smells more like a spa than a bakery, thanks to an unexpected hit of ginseng and peppermint essential oils. A blend of skin-loving evening primrose, jojoba, sweet almond, and apricot kernel oils leave skin feeling supple — not greasy.
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Jo Malone London Geranium & Walnut Body Scrub
We're not exactly the linger-in-the-shower type; we're more of the hurry-and-rinse-and-get-on-with-the-day type. But this cocktail of walnut shells and sunflower oil in the Jo Malone London Geranium & Walnut Body Scrub buffs away roughness — and our impatience, which is why this luxurious exfoliator from Jo Malone won Allure's 2018 Best of Beauty Award for best body scrub worth the splurge.
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SheaMoisture African Black Soap Bamboo Charcoal Body Scrub
Charcoal has taken the face-mask game by storm, and the Shea Moisture African Black Soap Bamboo Charcoal Body Scrub allows your body to get in on the action, too. Pore-purging charcoal and zit-zapping tea tree oil simultaneously buff away dead skin cells and draw dirt to the surface (and down the drain).
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Caress Evenly Gorgeous Exfoliating Body Wash
This Allure Best of Beauty winner costs less than a latte, but the Caress Evenly Gorgeous Exfoliating Body Wash smells like a million bucks (read: toasty vanilla that lingers ever-so-slightly as you go about your day). The exfoliators in this gel are small and gentle enough for daily use — which is good, because you'll want to bask in this delicious lather every. single. time. you shower.
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Frank Body Original Coffee Scrub
This Australian-made body scrub looks like ground coffee and smells like ground coffee, but don't expect it to make a good cup of joe. Although it does contain coffee grounds (which act as exfoliators), the Frank Body Original Coffee Scrub is also infused with almond oil, sea salt, and vitamin E to nourish skin. This stuff is loosely packed, so it does get pretty messy. That said, sometimes you've gotta get dirty to get clean, right?
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Kopari Coconut Crush Scrub
This Allure Best of Beauty winner is the ultimate body scrub for coconut oil fanatics. Merely digging into the luscious oil and brown sugar formula of the Kopari Coconut Crush Scrub is a treat, but the real wow factor comes from how ridiculously glow-y your skin will look after a single use.
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